February 21, 2020 Mill Mountain at Twilight and Iphone

I 💓my hometown.
Roanoke, Virginia.
The vista never gets old.

Taken at twilight, with Canon camera, I used a long exposure to capture the car trails winding up 581. I also used F18 to create the light bursts! (Yes, I used my tripod😀)
The next photo is an in-camera double exposure, created by camera settings. After taking the first photo, I turned in the opposite direction to face the Roanoke Star..... focused, and shot! (I need a little more practice to get my INTENT.....but I'll save that for a later surprise.)

Once again, Ron and I were standing side by side........
His intent was to create a 'close up'.
His colors are vibrant, bold, and exciting.
(I might use his for a card!)

He also shoots with a Canon, and used a tripod for this!
Just for fun, I snapped 2 with my Iphone, using the night mode.
Gotta tell you, I was impressed.

I don't think that the iphone will surpass the DSLR cameras........ but wow.... they sure do pack a punch!

February 10-23, 2020 Backyard Birding

'A bird-friendly community.'
A 'STOP AND WATCH THE BIRDS MONDAYTHRU THURSDAY'.
My yard was overpowered with birds this week.
These flying creatures were swarming.
Yes, there was plenty of food in the feeders.

The mealworms have been in the feeder for several days (a favorite of Bluebirds).
But today, the Bluebirds came in droves!
We have also enticed our yard sanctuary with the addition of a birdbath.
Perhaps that was the attraction.
Seriously, why would you not want these beautiful Bluebirds in your backyard?
No less than 15 were seen today. 💙💙💙
I've been working fervently on increasing my photography skills capturing birds.
Sit, wait, be ready, use high speed continuous speed, and be ready to delete hundreds of photos, before you are satisfied with a few!

  Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.
And then there were Cardinals.........
What on earth lured Cardinals to my yard today, like ants to a picnic? 🐦🐦🐦
I'm still shaking my head.
It was cold and rainy but the Cardinals were not particularly hard to please.

Their beaks are strong and thick..... perfect for large seeds and other hearty foods, like safflower seed, and black oil sunflower seeds. They prefer to eat during the early morning and late evening.
Again, sit and wait! and be prepared to use the remote!

The Mourning Dove was perched on a branch early in the day. Usually seen in pairs, these birds mate for life. More information about these beauties here: Mourning Doves

The Downy Woodpecker will appear, promptly upon placing the suet feeder near by. They enjoy peanut butter and sunflower seeds as well.

In case you missed the first post of 2020 about the birds in my yard, click here to read!
2020 January Birds
Enjoy the birds! They are very entertaining!

February 9, 2020 Downtown Twilight, Blue Hour, Golden Hour

I love our lovely little city!💓
Roanoke, Virginia
The downtown area, as with most cities, offers a variety of 'views', depending on one's perspective.
With cameras and tripods in backpacks, Ron and I headed to one of the parking garages, parked the car on the top level, and began to scout out our own unique perspective.
We, FYI, can be standing elbow to elbow, and capture 2 entirely different photos.😁😁😁. 
We also edit our photos differently, as well. 
It's always fun to see what the other "sees".
Our 'intent' began earlier in the day.
(Roanoke has had an over abundance of foggy, cloudy, rainy days. When I saw the Clear Sky Chart, I was determined to GET OUTSIDE!This site is the amateur astronomers forecast for a period of 48 hours.)

We arrived at our destination near TWILIGHT.
Did you know that there is an Astronomical Twilight, a Nautical Twilight, and a Civil Twilight?
These are specific TIMES during the day, before night!
Here is the chart that I use for the Roanoke area: Time and Date for Sunrise and Sunset . The chart gives specific times for Twilight start, sunrise, sunset, twilight end, day length, solar noon, Nautical twilight, etc.
We stayed at our destination during the BLUE HOUR.(... "The blue hour generally lasts 20-30 minutes just after sunset and just before sunrise. It occurs when the Sun is far enough below the horizon so that the sunlight's blue wavelengths dominate due to the Chappuis absorption caused by ozone... Rather, it refers to a state of natural lighting that usually occurs around the nautical stage of the twilight period...") 
Ron's photo 👇👇👇

And then there is the GOLDEN HOUR. (Roughly speaking, the golden hour is the first hour of light after sunrise and the last hour of light before sunset.) I'm including a blog post here for dynamic explanation and photos. It is a WOW blog, and worth reading→→→.What is Golden Hour and How to Photograph It.  (one day I intend to master this creative technique 💪💪💪.
HAHA..... Confused?
According to my camera settings, this photo was taken at 18:27:31...... I'll let you figure out the hour  👇👇👇👇

Here is a tip: If you are out shooting somewhere and want a rough estimate about how long it will take before the sun will set, just use your hand to figure out how much time is left before sunset!

Check out this interesting link HOW TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT BEFORE SUNSET 😎😎😎
Below is another chart, copied from Photopills (an excellent phone app), showing the horizon.

Recently, I updated my Iphone, that includes the NIGHT MODE.
I'm very impressed with the new hardware. It does require a steady hand, but WOW, how cool is this? 👇👇👇

SMH at the clarity of this pocket-sized phone, versus the DSLR. (heavy equipment, tripod, backpack, etc).
Last Tip: Remember to check the weather forecast, and TEMPERATURES........ What started out to be a fairly balmy day, ended up being FREEZING and WINDY...... I was NOT PREPARED and needed more clothes, and gloves, and scarves!