Lunar Lineup

Jupiter, Crescent Moon, and Venus in a bent line. Saturn’s between Jupiter and the Moon, but it’s not bright enough to show up in the wide-angle photo.

Moon over the Rio Grande at dusk.

Moon over cranes in the Rio Grande at dusk.

Moon in the Tangle Heart Tree.

Jupiter with moons and stars.

Cranes: What’s the big deal? We could fly up to the moon if we wanted to!

Hunting The Hunter’s Moon

At dusk looking south with Venus overhead.

Jupiter only had two moons tonight. The bazooka is such a blast as it got a tiny Saturn with its rings.

The Hunter’s Moon making its way over the Sandias. Sandhill Cranes in the moonlight.

The Hunter’s Moon rising.

Moon tunnel. Moon glow through the trees.

Mia’s Tree under Venus.

Venus in Purple Sky

Venus in focus through blurry tree (Bazooka). Mia’s Tree with Venus (iPhone 13 Pro). Tree in focus with Venus in the background (Bazooka).

Jupiter with three moons shot with the Bazooka. Moon shot with iPhone 13 Pro. Moon blasted by the Bazooka.

I traded in my iPhone 12 Mini for an iPhone 13 Pro. I decided I wanted the camera with the LiDAR scanner†. As you can see from the two moonshots, the iPhone has a long way to go before it can compete with the Bazooka, but I’m really impressed that I was able to control the exposure well enough to get as much detail as I did shooting a bright moon at 15x zoom†† on the iPhone. I had to lock the focus on the moon while I adjusted the exposure because the moon was jumping all over the screen with the slightest movement at 15x zoom.

Here’s the kicker, since I got a decent discount on the iPhone 12 Mini when I bought it, between Apple’s trade in allowance and T-moble’s trade in allowance, I got $75 more in trade-in value than I paid for the iPhone 12 Mini. The iPhone 13 Pro is larger than the iPhone 12 Mini, but I think it will be worth the larger size for the camera upgrade.

†The Wiki article on LiDAR states LiDAR scanners are available on the iPhone 12. That is not true. It’s only available on the iPhone 13 Pro, currently.

††15x Zoom on the iPhone Pro 13 Pro is equivalent to 390 mm. The Bazooka on the Canon 7D Mark II body is equivalent to 640 mm.

Minimalist Skies

Jupiter above the moon at 6:15 am this morning.

Daddy Owl blowing in the sunset.

Crows play in pink.

Sparse clouds over the Sandias.

Mama Owl is still “tufting” it out.

Washboard clouds

Minimal clouds to the west.

Lovers in Lace

Mama Owl and Daddy Owl in a lacy cottonwood tree. January 3, 2021.

Lovers in Lace
Lyrics & Music by Timothy Price
Guitars, Bass, and Percussion: Timothy Price

Lovers in Lace is another new, original song that is very different from Memories that I posted yesterday. Imagine yourself in the low light of a smokey bar gazing into your lover’s eyes with Lovers in Lace playing in the background.

Jupiter peeping through a tree. Saturn is barely peeking through where the lower branches meet the lacy edge of the Elm trees. January 3, 2021.

Spunk

Travel Photo Challenge Day 8 Taos Mountains

Dawn glow

We go to Taos in northern New Mexico for Day 8 of the Travel Photo Challenge. In August 2009, Laurie and I attempted to hike to Wheeler Peak, the highest peak in New Mexico at 13,167 ft (4,013 m). We got up to around 12,500 feet and turned around because the weather was becoming cold and stormy. We still had a wonderful time with beautiful scenery.

The photographer of the day is picpholio nature photography at https://picpholio.wordpress.com/. picholio combines photography with his love for nature, walking and cycling. He mainly shoots in Belgium and the surrounding countries and does especially great macro photography.

Jupiter with moons and Saturn getting ever farther apart. December 28, 2020.

Canadian Geese echelon flying over the Rio Grande with the Sandias in the clouds.

On the way to Wheeler Peak, 13,167 ft (4,013 m)

Travel Photo Challenge Day 7 Troglodytes

Marble doing her best troglodyte imitation.

Jupiter & Saturn. December 28, 2020. The clouds blocked Jupiter’s moons tonight.

Day 7 of the Travel Photo Challenge takes us to Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. These photos were taken in 2004 on our way back from Big Bend in Texas. You can learn about Carlsbad Caverns at https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm.

Speaking of troglodytes, I’m doing two favorite photographers/artists/writers/musicians tonight. Not that they are troglodytes, at least I don’t think they are, but it’s because troglodytes have come up in one form or another over the last couple of days with these two bloggers.

Just today, Dale at https://adelectablelife.com/2020/12/28/weekend-writing-prompt-189-troglodyte/ posted a 95-word weekend writing challenge with “Troglodyte”. Dale is a wonderful photographer, writer, and cook, she’s posted some great looking food. Dale is an Artgown model, she has the Peach Tree, and she also has a great sense of humor.

Marina at https://marinakanavaki.com/ posts music from https://oannes.gr/ as part of her blogging. Oannes posted “Jet Set Junta” by the Eligible Bachelors at https://oannes.gr/the-monochrome-set-jet-set-junta-eligible-bachelors-1982/. I commented that the song reminded me of Loquillo y Los Trogloditas. Marina is a wonderful artist, photographer, writer, and musician. She is also an Artgown model, has the Incognito Pear Tree, an adorable dog, plus she has a great sense of humor.

Carlsbad Caverns