5DMII | Bud Branch

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The Quadrantids (Every January 4th)

Posted in 5DMII, Long exposures, sky on January 6, 2012 by budbranch

I read that the Quadrantids meteor shower early Wednesday morning averaged 2 per minute – I didn’t capture nearly that many, maybe because I was looking out over Charlottesville. Anyway, I got my share! Notice in the last frame, there are TWO! (click into the images to make them full-screen…) The circular star-trail image was assembled from all the frames taken between 2:20 and 5:30AM. Since the Quadrantids radiate from a point in the Northern sky, all my frames included the star Polaris, around which all the stars visible in the Northern Hemisphere seem to rotate.

The business parts of a tulip:

Posted in 5DMII, Macro on January 3, 2012 by budbranch

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Orion Sets For The Last Time In 2011

Posted in 5DMII, Available Light, Long exposures, sky on January 1, 2012 by budbranch

This was composited from 244 30-second exposures, f/4 ISO1600 taken between 10PM and midnight. Occasional traffic painted the trees with interesting light. At the center of the frame you can see the three, equally spaced bright stars that form Orion’s belt, and the light smear below made by his sword, (I’ve included a visual aid below…) Composite images like this are only possible because of Startrails software by Achim Schaller – THANKS Achim!