The NEOWISE Comet

We went in search of the NEOWISE comet. on the first day that the sky was clear enough the location we went to did not have a good enough view of the Northwest sky so I ended up doing some light trail and a star trail shots of the northern sky.

The next clear day I went to look on Google Earth for some open fields in the area with clear views of the northern sky. It turned out that the road that I was interested in was blocked off and belonged to a large farm but I did have access to one of their fields from a side road that gave a good view to the north. I set up along their fence line and took some pictures of the thunderclouds as the sun set.

Around ten pm it was finally dark enough that I thought I should be able to see the comet but nothing was visible and I was afraid it was low enough on the horizon that it was covered up by the clouds. so I put my camera on the tripod and pointed it in the general direction the comet should be in, below the Big Dipper.

A four second exposure at f2.8 and ISO 1000 made everything visible and at the top of frame I saw a streak on the camera display. when I zoomed in I realized it was the tail of the comet. So I centered the comet in the frame and changed to a longer lens, 70-200 and then 150-600. now I was able to get a closer shot of the comet.

I actually find this picture to be less interesting than the one above because it doesn't really show much. Maybe if I had a star tracker I could have done a longer exposure and got more of the tail to show in the shot.

While I was watching the comet I saw some thunderstorm clouds lighting up on the horizon which also made for an interesting photo.

Overall it was a fun experience that turned out some wonderful photographs.

Aviation Photography and the Hidden People that make the flights happen

One day while browsing through some aviation pictures I realized that most of the pictures you see are of airplanes and pilots and not much of what goes on behind the scenes or the people that work there. I have always been impressed by the Rosie the Riveter photographs that show work being done behind the scenes.

By Alfred T. Palmer - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID fsac.1a35371.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag … — By Alfred T. Palmer - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID fsac.1a35371.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4002670

So I set out to do something similar, not staged and therefore without the beautiful lighting they created in their photographs. I created a Flickr album called Invisibles for the invisible people keeping the airplanes flying.

Replacing the Auto throttle clutch pack involves partially disassembling the throttle quadrant.

Here is a link to my Flickr album Invisibles.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXJKVwK

Westville in Columbus Georgia

A Day Trip

Westville represents a small village in the nineteenth century south. The interpreters dress in period costume and talk about what life was like in that time period while working at their chosen profession. On the day we visited everyone was busy making ornaments to display around the village sell in the gift shop.

The Buildings are quite picturesque inside and out. It would be fun to do a photoshoot here with more people in period dress.

This was an enjoyable trip with many attractions in the area.

Westville

https://westville.org/

Columbus

https://visitcolumbusga.com/

National Infantry Museum

https://nationalinfantrymuseum.org/

National Civil War Naval Museum

https://www.portcolumbus.org/

Buena Vista Georgia

A Day Trip

We took a trip to Buena Vista, Georgia to see Pasaquan, a rather unique Folk Art location along the lines of Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia.

Marion County Courthouse built in Buena Vista, Georgia

Our first stop was the Coffee Club for some good coffee and sandwiches.

Next we stopped by the Swamp Fox Distillery named for Sir Francis Marion named the Swamp Fox by British Colonel Banastre Tarleton during the American Revolution. After an informative tour of the distillery we were given a taste of each of the Whiskeys they had on hand, all very tasty. One of the more interesting ones was a distillation made from muscadine wine creating an interesting flavor. F. Marion Continental Whiskey is a safe bet to bring home or give as a gift.

We took a walk around town. There are a lot of picturesque buildings around town.

The final stop was Pasaquan, A Folk Art environment created by Eddie Owens Martin or St. EOM.

“You’re gonna be the start of somethin’ new, and you’ll call yourself ‘Saint EOM,’ and you’ll be a Pasaquoyan - the first one in the world.”

- St. EOM

It is an interesting quiet place to wander around and wonder. Columbus State University is now preserving and maintaining the site.

Swamp Fox Distilling Co.

https://swampfoxdistillingco.com/

Pasaquan

https://pasaquan.columbusstate.edu/

Inman Farm Heritage Days

Inman Farm Heritage Days takes place at the Minter’s Farm in Inman, GA just South of Fayetteville, GA on highway 92 around the end of September.

If you have ever wondered if something is collectible this is the place to take it because there is probably a collector here. There are trucks, cars, tractors, make-and-break engines, gas washing machine engines, a saw mill and wood plane, sorghum syrup, bees, kitchen knife sharpeners, tools, printing presses, a one room schoolhouse, and all kinds of other things that were used on the farm in the past.