Photography

[T-hawk]

I just happened to be flying to Las Vegas tonight, and we saw it from the plane over Chicago. My low grade phone camera couldn't get any of it, though.

[KingOfPain]

I just happened to be flying to Las Vegas tonight, and we saw it from the plane over Chicago.  My low grade phone camera couldn't get any of it, though.

Such a rare on rare opportunity!


The light was strong enough that I wasn't too worry of shooting toward city lights.
My little hometown 




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[KingOfPain]

Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS over Penticton - Oct 19, 2024 between 7-9pm
Visible only til the end of the month, but it will return in about 80,000 years.

Use this interactive site to find how to view @ your location




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[RefSteel]

That's a great picture - the long perspective across the city, lake, and mountains reminds me of the way you explained your telephoto "blood moon" setup, except that this one shows the whole landscape instead of zeroing in on the comet behind a distant landmark.

Also, apparently the comet's course is being observed and recalculated all the time - and the latest estimate suggests that 80,000 years may have been a big underestimate: According to NASA, there's even a chance it might leave the solar system altogether!

[KingOfPain]

Caught this two nights ago. I'm still working on post-processing because it looks over-processed even to me. This is a tough location to shoot with five spotlights shining on the statue and all sorts of ambient lights with different colors. I actually brought a few pieces of large cardboard to cover as much light as possible, but I still had to fight against flares.

Only redeeming value this one has is that it also caught the Orionid meteor shower which I forgot was peaking. It must have been quite dense, this 4 seconds exposure happens to capture ~10 streaks. :Hangs Head In Shame: would have been a great opportunity to do a stacked time lapse.





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[T-hawk]

Wow, that looks great. I'd guess it looks post processed because the camera is doing exactly that? Pretty much all cameras nowadays do, though some might have a particular "raw" mode.

[KingOfPain]

Over-processed by me because the meteor was on its way out and quite faint, so I had to push the exposure way up, which also increased the noise level. My efforts to eliminate the background noise while preserving as much of the comet's trail as possible have left me with faint dark clumps visible upon close inspection. This is filed away in the "WorkOnThese" folder...

[KingOfPain]

Some Photoshop Fun With A Small Town Icon


After two years of design and construction, Alice, a giant metal T-Rex statue, has taken her place on a property in Penticton, B.C., overlooking Okanagan Lake. This new icon has drawn significant attention from local residents and people all around the valley. There has been nonstop chatter about it, with people frequently asking for directions. I've "contributed" to the commotion by having some Photoshop fun with the latest small-town icon and publishing the results.



What a missed opportunity. There are numerous viable locations where this could be much more visible and transform into a popular tourist attraction. As it stands, one can barely get a good look at the T-Rex, if they can find it in the first place.

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Celebrating the 110 years old boats
Imagine if this location was the chosen for the installation. 




My car got crushed in a hit-and-run incident that tore off the front bumper cover. Might as well make fun of the situation. (it is not as bad as it looks, only the cover got ripped)
On February 5, 2012, an early morning fire destroyed Slack Alice's Show Pub. Slack Alice's was the only strip bar in town, and we all mourned its loss, not the hotel. The hotel, known as the Valley Motor Inn, has a rich history. Originally built in 1905, it was first called the BC Hotel. Local historians say the hotel had a bordello on the top floor, catering to orchardists, ranch hands, and miners working in the South Okanagan. Of course, when a historic building with an operating business in a small town burns down, there are always suspicions that the fire was set by the owner.



Starship's narrow escape



Alice dreaming of a white X'mas and Penticton legendary Ogopogo, in a snow globe



MC Hammer, the Flood and the Peach

On a hot summer night in 1991, MC Hammer had just finished his set at Peachfest. Teen angst boiled over into a full-blown riot on the streets, and in the ensuing rampage, a Penticton icon was trashed and rolled over on the beach.

The Peach, a beloved icon in Penticton, is a soda and ice cream stand by the beach. The owner often dresses it up for special occasions. Nearby, the Romp statues add charm to the area. Interestingly, a random tourist once bought life jackets for the statues' children, and someone kindly added masks to them during COVID.

Someday, I might tell how that Penticton sign on Munson Mountain got changed to read Grad 81...




Rainbows



Just maybe...



Reality Check
I'm not letting the city developer off the hook. I have nothing against bike lanes, but the downtown core has seen three Downtown Beautification Projects. How did it end up looking so fugly?



These concrete dividers also made it a logistical nightmare for trucks delivering to the local businesses because there just isn't enough room for them to turn a corner. At least we made enough fuss they have these sign posts removed, at a cost of $50k



The Real Reason Behind The Cancellation.





Disaster Waiting To Happen










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