VANDENBERG MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a joint test assembly is scheduled to launch from North Vandenberg Monday between 3:01 a.m. to 9:01 a.m.

The launch is an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.

The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel approximately 4,190 miles, hitting a pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll.

The 576th Flight Test Squadron, which will direct the missile launch, installed tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet safety requirements. Maintenance and operations task force personnel from the 91at Missile Wing, Minot AFB, ND are conducting operational tasks leading up to launch.

Col. David J. Buck, the 30th Space Wing commander, is the launch decision authority for this mission. Lt. Col. Lesa K. Toler, the 576th FLTS commander, is the mission director. A crew visiting from Minot AFB will launch the missile under the direction of the 576th FLTS.

This launch, the first of three in 2009, comes at a time of change within the missile world, as the Air Force moves closer to combining its nuclear missile and bomber assets into a fledgling Global Strike Command.

"The move to Global Strike Command means that we can re-build the way we do business from scratch," said Colonel Toler. "This is a great opportunity for us to write our future. We are already the best at what we do, but now we are currently looking at our processes to see how we can do our job faster and more efficiently."

The entire ICBM community, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, will use the data collected from this mission for continuing force development evaluation.

Here is a Google Earth image of what I think the Minuteman III flight path will be. The yellow pin is Vandenberg AFB Launch Complex. The white pin in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is the Kwajalein Atoll. The other whit pin will be my location on the San Clemente Pier. Hopefully i will be able to capture a nice early morning flight path image.

Click on the image to see a larger view.

Yosemite Night and Day

Sunday I drove to Yosemite just for the night. Just like last year in June I went to capture a Lunar Rainbow or Moonbow. This time I went in May on the night after the full moon. The difference from the two months June and May, May has a lot more water coming out of the waterfalls. Here is a link to last years post on Lunar Rainbows or Moonbows June 2008.

Here is a Shot that I took from the pathway in Cooks Meadow parallel to the Merced River. It was almost 2:00 AM and the Moonbow was starting to disappear.

This video was shot on the same day May 11, 2009. It is a 360º view from the highest point on Sentinel Dome.

Sentinel Dome 360º from KiHo on Vimeo.

Sentinel Dome 360º May 11, 2009

Blue Stars Bokeh...

Blue Stars, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

My fist attempt of using a cut out to create bokeh. I think I only needed one star in the center, not the five or six I used. I will get better as time goes on... Blue Christmas light were the target of this image.

Bokeh is an adaptation from a a Japanese word meaning blur. In photography this term is used to describe the quality of the areas in the picture which are not in focus.

When referring to Bokeh, we can distinguish some of it characteristics:

- Is the light/dark gradient smooth or sharp?

- What shape will a small dot of light take what it is in the Bokeh area? (mirror lenses for example, create a bagel like Bokeh)

We can play with those two variants to create a special Bokeh. Click... here.

BLACK FRIDAY…

I dreaded the holiday shopping season as a retail employee. In celebration of “Black Friday”, and that I haven’t worked retail for over 150 full moons, here are some shopping ideas for the photographer in your life.

1. Books are always a good idea. How to’s: for better technique. Amazon.com com has a great selection of photography books. Some great authors are Scott Kelby, Joe McNally, and Annie Leibovitz. Also, some other books are the Photo Workshop series.

2. Magazines are another gift that keeps giving for at least 12 months. There are a plethora of Photography or Photoshop magazines. Most of these can be purchased or ordered from the websites directly. Popular Photography (PopPhoto) is a great general magazine.

More specific are magazines like Photoshop User or Layers magazines. National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) puts out these magazines. NAPP also has a membership that will not only get all the Photoshop User issues for the year you also get discounts to buy gear and on-line tools and training.

2. Glass Blow Ornaments are always a good stocking stuffer. Here are some VINTAGE CAMERA ORNAMENTS.

Another great gift resource comes from the guys at NAPP and Layers Magazine. It’s the Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide. You will have to navigate to different pages to see the entire gift guild, but it worth the looks. This is the 2007 Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide. The 2008 Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide version has been released, but you will need to purchase the Layers magazine to see this years toys. Stay tuned for an update.

Now if you haven’t noticed already, everything I posted can be had over the internet. I try to do most of my shopping this way. I hate having to deal with holiday shoppers and the nastiness it brings out in the average Joe.

If you know what you are looking for and have a good idea what retail is for items, you can score some good deals on-line. Warning, be smart and wise and make sure the product and company is reputable.

That’s if for me. I will be braving the crowds at the Apple Store today. Apple usually has a one day sale on “Black Friday”. Apple is notorious for never selling anything under MSRP, except for “Black Friday”.


Good Luck and may the shopping be with you…

24 Beams of Light...

This was my first year to Pigeon Point Light Station to watch and photograph the light of the old first order Fresnel lens. It was a fantastic opportunity to capture the beams of light emanate from the 24 prism panels in the lens.

They light was lit at 6pm and for the first five minutes they held the carriage still to keep the lens from rotating. Giving an untold amount of photographers the opportunity to capture 24 beams of light. After the first five minutes the lens rotates beaming a signature flash of light every ten seconds.

The closer you stood the lighthouse structure the more the beams were pronounced. It was amazing to see the beams of light streak past on the distant hillsides and in the ocean.
In the lantern room the bull’s-eye lens is 100' above ground to the focal plane of the lens. Also 150' (about) above sea level to the focal plane of the lens. This height compensates for the curvature of the earth. On a clear night, light has a visual distance of 24 miles from the ocean.

It was announced on Saturday that this might be the last lighting of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Lantern. With further investigation it may be discontinued until the necessary renovations are completed to fix the damaged lighthouse structure.

The reason why they may not light the lamp in 2009 is a safety issue and not a cost issue. The Coast Guard engineering studies report the structure may collapse if an earthquake or a very strong wind storm were to batter the lighthouse.

Over the years the sea spray and salt air have slowly decayed the exterior structure. In 2001 part of the west facing caprice fell (cornice on the exterior of the lighthouse fell off). The result was the closure of the Lighthouse Structure to the public.

According to Staff and California State Parks, lack the funding needed it to fix the lighthouse and lantern room. Current estimated figures are around 5 million dollars to repair and renovate the structure and rework the lens. Most of the funds required, have to be provided by private funding.
Donations can be made to restore the Pigeon Point Light Station or to Cal. State Parks Foundation.

Fireworks…

As the 4th of July draws closer we think of days at the beach, picnics, hotdogs, lemonade and fireworks. Many of us in California are restricted to what kind of fireworks we can have. Most of us in the densely populated coastal regions can’t purchases fireworks. Even the “Safe and Sane” fireworks we sold in fireworks stands as boy scouts have been outlawed.

The only thing we can count on, are the professional firework displays that are put on by most local cities. These are the huge mortar type fireworks launched by professionals.

I have always wanted to capture my own photographs of these large displays. I used to think you went out and set your camera on a tripod, set the aperture to bulb and held the shutter open for a few seconds. Last year I went to a local display to capture some photographs. This was truly my fist attempt to photograph fireworks.

What I discovered was I had no clue what I was doing. I didn’t prepare enough to take a quality picture. I didn’t take into account ambient light, from parking lot lights that are not shut off. Another issue I experienced was line of site interference from light poles, trees, people and buildings. I didn’t scout the site to pick the best position for the camera with an unobstructed view. I also didn’t take into account the flight of the fireworks. In order to capture the entire flight path of the fireworks, I needed to get further away from the launch site. This adjustment in my position added more light and distractions.

Other items I learned. Once you set up and you are ready to shoot, anticipate the shot. If you know where most of the action is going to take place set your shutter speed, aperture and focus beforehand. Another trick learned about after the fact is to take a black card (poster board) with you to put over the front of the lens. This will give you the ability to leave the shutter open and quickly cut off the light to the lens in-between firework launches. When the next launch starts you can quickly pull the card away to capture multiple firework exposures.

Here is a great reference from Digital Photography School on photographing fireworks displays.

Good luck and Happy Independence Day. Have a safe and sane holiday.

Moonbow...

Moonbow sounds like the name of one of Frank Zappas daughters...

The dynamics of my office are changing, and my bosses, boss suggested I take a few days off. Because they don’t know if I will get any time off in the near future. I took advantage of the offer and decided to take the last two days of last week off. This coincided with the June full moon.

Armed with the knowledge of a full moon and the understanding that Magellan had to work. I decided to take another trip to Yosemite Valley, alone. Last month when Magellan and I were in Yosemite it was also a full moon, but unfortunately I didn’t know about the “Lunar Rainbow” phenomenon. I found out about it after I got back to the house. However, this month I knew about it and was given the time to take advantage of the moon.

On Wednesday late afternoon I made reservations at Housekeeping campsite, and I think I got the last site available. Its summer and every hotel, cabin and campsite are booked through the summer and early fall.

I walked over to the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village. If you are a photographer and find yourself in the Yosemite Valley, you need to make a stop at the Gallery. Not only is it a good place to cool down on a hot summer day, but it is a valuable fountain of knowledge. Most of the Ansel Adams Gallery staff are photography students or professionals. With very little coaxing they are willing to share their knowledge and expertise for free.

Example: I walked to the gallery and talked to the lady behind the photo counter. I told her that I had made the journey for the “Lunar Rainbow”. Immediately she told me that the previous night was the actually the full moon, but I should still get some good shots.

I explained that this was my fist time… taking lunar rainbow images, and before I could get the last syllable out she laid down a list of tips. The most important tip was the time. I knew the moon would rise around 9:30~10:00 PM. Yes it does for the rest of the world, but in the Yosemite Valley it has to clear the south rim. Which translates to several hours later. On Wednesday full moon for the Valley was around midnight. The next night, the night I was there, it was expected to be an hour later at 1:00 AM. I also asked for some tips and tricks.

My first image was shot with an ISO of 400. With and exposure of 101.0 seconds and an aperture of f/3.5. I didn’t want to blow it so I made sure I was wide open to get the image. As the night or morning progressed and I became more confident, I changed my ISO to 200, but kept the aperture wide open.

I shot from three different locations. Each time I changed location, I moved closer to the river and further away from the falls. My final position I found a flat boulder about 10 feet into the river. It was the perfect platform to set up shop. This allowed me to have more of the river flow in my image.

For my fist attempt I will say I didn’t do a bad job. However I did make some notes for next time. I would use a small aperture like f/16 or f/22 to give greater Depth of Field. I would also use a wider angle lens. I was used an 18mm ~ 200mm lens, set to 18mm. If I had a little wider lens I could have incorporated more of the night sky. Last, I would have done this at full moon in May. But I understand on the night of the full moon in May with the melt off water flow at full throttle that over 800 photographers were present to capture the event. More people then I would want to deal with.

Moon Illusion

See a Huge Moon Illusion Wednesday

Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com

As the full moon rises this Wednesday evening, June 18, many people will be tricked into thinking it's unusually large.

The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon. But it really is all in our minds. The moon is not bigger at the horizon than when overhead.

The illusion will be particularly noticeable at this "solstice moon," coming just two days before summer starts in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason, according to NASA, lies in lunar mechanics: The sun and full moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging moon and a strong, long-lasting version of the illusion.

If it's any consolation, space station astronauts report the same effect.
Here's how it works: Your mind believes things on the horizon are farther away than things overhead, because you are used to seeing clouds just a few miles above, but the clouds on the horizon can indeed be hundreds of miles away. So if we think something (such as the moon) is farther away, and it's not, then it seems larger.

If you remain doubtful, test the idea yourself. Go out at moonrise with a small object, perhaps a pencil eraser. Hold it at arm's length as the moon rises and compare the sizes of the moon and the eraser, then repeat the experiment an hour or two later when the moon is high in the sky. A rolled up tube of paper works well, too.

Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations, according to NASA: New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Miami, 8:35 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.
The moon rises about 50 minutes earlier Tuesday night, when the effect will also be noticeable because the moon will be nearly full. Oh, and that raises another fallacy: There's no such thing as a full moon.

Additional moonrise times for your location are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site.

Effulgence…

Photo by: Kirk Howard Copyright© 2007

I have spent the last few nights working on a project for my wife. She is a school teacher and she has a weekend news report segment that everyone participates in on Mondays.

She and I take pictures of what we are doing on the weekends. She then makes a slide show on her MacBook and then shows her students every Monday. It is always a hit with the kids. I wish I had my wife as my teacher when I was in elementary school, she really makes learning fun.

However this week since it is Christmas… I mean Holiday season, and this will be the last week of school before the winter recess. My wife has requested pictures of holiday displays and lights. I have spent the last few evenings freezing my arse off in what feels like sub-artic cold. The other night I took pictures until my hands nolonger had any feeling.

I managed to capture a few good images. The best time to get the images is just a few minutes after sun set. The sky still has great light. The brightness of the bulbs are offset by the ambient light in the sky. Also there is not such a stark contrast between the bright lights and the black night. Unfortunately, time is short before your surroundings go black and everything gets blown out.

Photos by: Kirk Howard Copyright© 2007

effulgence - a shining forth brilliantly; brightness; splendor (noun) the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light [syn: radiance]