All Your Baby Bears Are Belong To Us (except, not really at all)

Hopefully the blog post caught your attention a bit and you are thinking exactly what I had hoped you would be thinking..is there a sequel to Zero Wing that involves baby bears? Sadly, no, that is not the case (hey Nintendo, that would be an awesome idea though!) instead the blog title was thought up by my girlfriend Jill, who accompanied me today on a trip up to Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, Maryland.  We became Platinum members of the zoo this past week after seeing the two European Brown Bear Cubs Frankie and Ringo on the morning news this past week.  Being a Platinum member at the zoo has a TON of benefits, but perhaps the best benefit is the ability to take a behind the scenes tour with a staff member that allows you to see a lot of the animals much closer than you could at probably any other zoo (I cannot speak from experience on that, however). During the tour (led by Michelle, who was great!!) we got to meet (among other animals) a giraffe, a porcupine, a fox, two tigers, timber wolves, and we also got to see Michelle (our tour guide) interact with many of the animals as well (this was probably the only time that I will ever get a chance to see a European Brown Bear give upside down bear kisses to another human being!)  All of the photos of the other animals were taken by Jill (as my arm is still in a sling after rotator cuff/bicep tendon surgery) but the baby bear photos were taken with my Canon S100 Point and Shoot.  We will be posting photos of the other animals (including some really unique shots of tigers) in the very near future, so be sure to check back for those photos!

But, of course the absolute highlight of the tour were the bear cubs Frankie and Ringo.  The cubs were born on 8 January 2013 and are quite possibly the cutest animals that I have ever seen.  They already have some pretty big claws and try to suckle on your hand and make a noise that resembles purring.  They are already pretty adept at climbing and even took a nap in the middle of a petting time!

I want to thank the staff at the zoo for taking the time to give us the tour today and making the bears available to Jill and me for some photos (and of course some cuddle and play time).  If there is an influx of Platinum Level members the staff may not be able to schedule time for all of the new members to see the cubs but a membership is a great way to support a great cause and (potentially) have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and pet European Brown Bear Cubs!

Michelle, the zoo manager/our tour guide

Nap Time

Inside the tall X-Pen

Owner of the zoo

I get a high paw!

Cuddle time

I want some food!

Jealousy Part I

Jealousy Part II

Nothing My Paw Can't Fix

Time for Noms!

More Noms

Starting To Fall Asleep

The link to my Google + photo album

The link to Plumpton Park Zoo

The link to my flickr album

These photos are shared via my Google+ account, so you should be able to download them and view them without any issue.  If you would like a copy/copies of these photos, please feel free to contact me (preferably  through the Email me tab at the top of the page). If you enjoyed viewing this photo, please take a moment and leave comments and/or feedback. Please also feel free to pass the link of this photo on to others if you so desire. Thanks for stopping by!!

Comet PANSTARRS

As you may (or may not) know, Comet PANSTARRS (C/2011 L4) is currently able to be seen for about an hour to hour and a half after sunset, although you need a spot with a good, unobstructed view of the western sky, as the comet is roughly 10 degrees above the horizon (about the size of your fist).  I searched for a good spot and found a possible candidate, Matapeake State Park which is just on the other side of the Bay Bridge in Queen Anne's County.  We visited the park on Sunday in an effort to determine if it provided a good enough view but unfortunately the western sky was cloudy just above the horizon and I was unsure if the park would provide a good enough view.

This evening the comet was a few degrees from the crescent moon, which acted as a good guide to try to find the comet. I first was able to see the sliver of the moon at about 7:25 (15 minutes after sunset) but I wasn't able to see (on the camera LCD screen) the comet in a photo until about 7:40 or so.  Unfortunately it was very windy, so unfortunately only a few shots provided a good clear shot of the comet with minimal effect from the wind and a bit of luck with a clear view through the atmosphere. The comet disappeared into the light haze from Annapolis at about 8:40. While I was lucky to get several photographs with my 70-300mm lens, I never actually was able to make out the comet with just my eyes, as it was a little too dim and a little too bright, but fortunately the camera sensor was able to see it just fine!

(Author Note: Due to the changes in the atmosphere, each shot appears slightly different.  The following 12 images are what I feel are the "best" of the approximately 300 photos that I took this evening)

Comet PANSTARRS




























Please feel free to click on the photo above to view it in various sizes. Clicking on the photo also takes you to my online gallery, hosted over at smugmug, where you can browse this (and other) photos that I have posted. If you enjoyed viewing this photo, please take a moment and leave comments and/or feedback. Please also feel free to pass the link of this photo on to others if you so desire. Thanks for stopping by!!

Old Mill Dam - Burlington, North Carolina

The topic of today's post is Old Mill Dam, which is located in Cedarock Park near Burlington, North Carolina.  During a recent trip to Burlington we decided to visit the dam, hoping for some late day pictures with what looked to be a pretty decent sunset.  Unfortunately, the orientation of the dam was to the east (the other side of the sky from the sunset) and due to a combination of not wanting to fight below freezing temperatures; the chance that a sunrise would not be as spectacular; and the fact the park itself does not open until 8:00 AM; taking a shot of a sunrise over the dam may not be possible.

After parking I decided that I wanted to get a shot from the "other" side of the dam, which required me to walk up and around the creek (about 2/3 mile total).  I thought about trying to cross on a fallen tree, but ultimately it was too unstable and would have likely ended up with my photography equipment (and less importantly, myself) going into the water.  Old Mill Dam was definitely a nice little find and a great subject for shooting some photos (and, of course, a blog post) and if you are in the area I highly recommend stopping by and trying to take a few shot of the dam.  If you would like to read more about Cedarock Park and Old Mill Dam please feel free to visit the Alamance County Recreation and Parks website.

In Front of Old Mill Dam

Above Old Mill Dam

Please feel free to click on the photo above to view it in various sizes. Clicking on the photo also takes you to my online gallery, hosted over at smugmug, where you can browse this (and other) photos that I have posted. If you enjoyed viewing this photo, please take a moment and leave comments and/or feedback. Please also feel free to pass the link of this photo on to others if you so desire. Thanks for stopping by!!

Some Really Great News!

I have some really great news that I can finally share with all of you! This summer, I was approached by a representative from Random House publishing who inquired about using a photo that I took of St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C on the cover of an upcoming book.  Naturally, I was quite honored to even be considered to have one of my photos on the cover of a book, as I still think it is quite surreal that people would even want to display the photos that I take on the walls of their homes and offices.

The book is titled "The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home" and was written by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina.  It is due to be released on March 5th of 2013, and is slated to be released in both hardcover and e-book editions.  You can see what the cover of the book looks like on the official Random House website of the book, which is located at http://www.randomhouse.com/book/219104/the-church-by-cardinal-donald-wuerl-and-mike-aquilina


This is the full version of the photo that I took that is on the cover, as it was cropped slightly to fit on the cover of the book:




I am quite looking forward to getting a copy of the book, and if you would kindly share this post with anyone that would possibly be a fan of either my photography or the book (or even both!) I would greatly appreciate it!


Brian

Geminid Meteor Shower 2012

Today's post consists of 3 photos that I took last night (out of a total of 281 overall shots) while trying to capture meteor streaks from the Geminid meteor shower.  While the overall statistics are disappointing (just over 1% of the photos I took last night contained what I was hoping for) I did see probably around 75-100 during the several hours that I spent outside trying to capture the meteor streaks.  Of course, that is also offset by the last picture in which I actually caught two of them! (which I did not even notice until I went through each photo today)

Some things that I learned while taking these shots were:

- Ensure the camera battery is fully charged
- Dress warm and in lots of layers
- Use a higher ISO than normal (I should have gone up to 800 or even 1600)
- Anything more than about 20 seconds produces star trails (see higher ISO setting)
- Find somewhere that is really dark
- Dress warm and in lots of layers
- Have a chair to sit on
- Use a flashlight (with a red lens/light) if you have to move around
- Try to be patient (I am really working on this one)
- Dress warm and in lots of layers

While I was setting up I saw 3 really bright meteors in about a 30 second time period that passed right through the constellation Orion.  I did not see a single meteor the rest of the night that passed through Orion. Hindsight is of course 20-20, but I certainly wish I had been set up and ready and been able to capture that photo! I tried to capture photos with Jupiter, the Pleiades, and Orion in them, but when it came down to it, I tried to crop the photos so they would retain one (or more) of those center points in the shot.

I did a very small amount of processing (primarily cropping) with these shots, and (as my first attempt at meteor photography) I am pretty happy with the results.  All in all I feel pretty lucky in that I was able to get 3 total shots of meteors and one shot with two of them in a single photo!

Meteor Below Jupiter and the Pleiades

Meteor Streaks Through Trees (Lower Right Corner)

Two Meteors To The Left of Orion

Please feel free to click on the photo above to view it in various sizes. Clicking on the photo also takes you to my online gallery, hosted over at smugmug, where you can browse this (and other) photos that I have posted. If you enjoyed viewing this photo, please take a moment and leave comments and/or feedback. Please also feel free to pass the link of this photo on to others if you so desire. Thanks for stopping by!!