Venus Transit Photo's - Volume 3

[Speed]

A few more shots of the transit. More clouds on the sun. Hope you enjoy them. If you see anything you like, let me know.

[Old Timer]

Outstanding images Speed. Well done.

[paulnj]

nice job Speed................

while these are not what I'm obsessed with, I CAN TRUELY APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK IT TAKES TO GET THESE! great job!!!!

[Speed]

Outstanding images Speed. Well done.

I'd like to thank Nikon for making the N80. I'd like to thank Celestron for making the C-8. I'd like to thank Fuji for making Superia Xtra 400. Most of all, I'd like to thank all my fans out there in PR land...

OK, so I'm full of it. ;-)

Just a little lightness and frivolity.

Thanks for the comments O.T. I do appreciate them.

[Speed]

nice job Speed................

while these are not what I'm obsessed with, I CAN TRUELY APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK IT TAKES TO GET THESE! great job!!!!

I truly appreciate the comments.

The hardest part was getting out of bed at 5 am!

I did my research on this one though. I knew when the sun was rising (5:54 am - which is why I got up at 5 am), I knew where the sun was rising (059 degrees, magnetic - which is why I carried my compass), and I knew when Contact III and Contact IV were (when Venus hit the edge of the sun : 7:06am, and when it left the suns disk : 7:26am). Having done my homework, I was in place, facing the right direction, and watching the sky and my watch. When the sun shone through the clouds and fog, I was ready. At that point, it was a matter of using my experience at astrophotography and judging the light to determine the correct shutter speed.

As someone once told me: "All it takes is lots of practice." I've been practicing!

Knowing your gear also helps. I was really tempted to use some Provia 100F film for this, but I went with Superia Xtra 400 because I know it like the back of my hand. It's what I use for the vast majority of my astrophotography. I know what shutters speeds work, and I didn't want to take any chances with what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Venus transits the sun again in 2012, but we may have a hurricane when that transit happens. I wasn't willing to take any chances with this one.

Thank you again my friend. You have been one of those who have pushed me to become a better photographer, and it paid off in spades when it counted!

[paulnj]

seems your homework paid off huh??

when people ask me "how do you get so close" or the meriad of other questions I hear , MY ANSWER IS ALWAYS " KNOW YOUR SUBJECT!!!"

seems it applies to most any subject, YA HEARD!!

[Chunk]

A few more shots of the transit. More clouds on the sun. Hope you enjoy them. If you see anything you like, let me know.

More terrific work Speed. I hope you are looking at these with a levels adjustment too, or does that offend the scientific side of you?

[Speed]

More terrific work Speed. I hope you are looking at these with a levels adjustment too, or does that offend the scientific side of you?

What's that? :-O

Actually, I have never done a levels adjustment on any of my photo's. Cloning out dust specks is a big challenge for me! I can crop or resize an image with the best of them. But I've been learning new things on Photoshop Elements real slowly. The main reason being, I just haven't played with it enough. I've got it on my work computer and my home computer, but I've never sat down for an afternoon, (or two or three) and played with the various functions like levels adjustment, USM, etc, that others deem basic. I really need to go to a workshop on PS and learn these things.

In the meantime, I have given carte blanche to my PR family to play around with my images as they please. I've had them converted to B&W (I know the simple way to do that), USM applied, saturation adjusted, etc. Feel free to play with them, adjust them and improve upon them as you see fit. The scientific side of me does not mind at all. :-)

[Speed]

seems your homework paid off huh??

when people ask me "how do you get so close" or the meriad of other questions I hear , MY ANSWER IS ALWAYS " KNOW YOUR SUBJECT!!!"

seems it applies to most any subject, YA HEARD!!

Yes, I heard ya!

And Seb.

And Penny.

And Nat.

And Charles.

And ....

You get the idea!

And I thank you all. Pat yourselves on the back. You all helped make these shots happen.

[Chunk]

What's that? :-O

Actually, I have never done a levels adjustment on any of my photo's. Cloning out dust specks is a big challenge for me! I can crop or resize an image with the best of them. But I've been learning new things on Photoshop Elements real slowly. The main reason being, I just haven't played with it enough. I've got it on my work computer and my home computer, but I've never sat down for an afternoon, (or two or three) and played with the various functions like levels adjustment, USM, etc, that others deem basic. I really need to go to a workshop on PS and learn these things.

In the meantime, I have given carte blanche to my PR family to play around with my images as they please. I've had them converted to B&W (I know the simple way to do that), USM applied, saturation adjusted, etc. Feel free to play with them, adjust them and improve upon them as you see fit. The scientific side of me does not mind at all. :-)

Levels or Curves is kind of a first stop when I want to look at changing an image. I don't know what Elements has for an equivalent. Maybe someone else will.
Here's a quick levels adjustment using Paintshop Pro. This afternoon I did one with PS 7 that I think was a little better result.
There's a good example of using levels in Nat's Running Circles thread over in the Critique forum.

[Speed]

Levels or Curves is kind of a first stop when I want to look at changing an image. I don't know what Elements has for an equivalent. Maybe someone else will.
Here's a quick levels adjustment using Paintshop Pro. This afternoon I did one with PS 7 that I think was a little better result.
There's a good example of using levels in Nat's Running Circles thread over in the Critique forum.

I've got to play with Photoshop a lot more! That is simply gorgeous.

I've got to dig out my Elements manual and see what I can do with Levels and Curves.

Thank you Chunk for showing this to me!