Comet Neowise and More Map Making

Comet Neowise

This past week, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get a picture of Comet Neowise because of the tropical weather we have been dealing with here in southern Louisiana. On Tuesday, when the comet was supposed to be closest to the Earth, I went out to see if I could capture the comet because the skies cleared up to see stars. I drove to one of my favorite storm spotting area and got some shots. Sure enough, I got it.

I did a long exposure shot when I got my camera setup so I could find it in the sky. Once I found it, I started zooming in so I could get a close up shot. I’m pretty stoked I was able to get it. I’ve never captured a comet before.

Map Making

After creating a map in GIMP, I started looking around for creating maps. I found a tutorial on how to create maps using a picture from space. Here is what I started with and ended up with.

This process was so cool and fun to create. If you are interested in learning how to create maps like this, let me know in the comments and I will provide links to start creating.

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I will talk to you later. Peace.

Waiting on Tropical Storm Barry to arrive...

John here.

We are patiently waiting for an unwanted visitor this weekend - Tropical Storm Barry. He has been sitting in the Gulf of Mexico just chilling, taking his sweet time to get here. We had the day off of work because of the potential for severe weather. It was actually a beautiful day. It was nice and breezy which helped make the humidity a bit bearable.

Yesterday evening, we had a nice storm come through. Here is one of the shots I was able to get.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend. The giveaway winner announcement may have to be postponed. It will depend on what happens with Barry. The forecast has us getting lots and lots of rain. We shall see.

I’m outta here.

John

Ground to cloud lightning with stars...

John here.

Last night, my youngest daughter sent me a text asking if I was watching the lightning to the south (I wasn’t). I checked my radar and saw the whole coast of Louisiana had storms. I got dressed in my photography clothes (long pants, long sleeve shirt, and a hat to help ward off mosquitoes) and went outside to see what I could see. I noticed flashes but couldn’t see anything because of the trees in the yard. I walked to get a good view of the south and saw the lightning. It was strobeing, constant flashes. I got in my car and drove to my favorite area to spot storms. I took over 35 minutes of video, seven minutes of timelapse video and 84 still shots. This shot was the best of the batch, a ground to cloud bolt.

This particular edit was requested by my wife. She thought it would be cool to show the lightning and the stars so here it is.

I am going through my content to see what I have. I will be posting more soon.

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I’m outta here.

John