Crepuscular Rays Over Phoenix

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

Crepuscular Rays are one of my favorite natural phenomena. These are exactly as they came out of the camera- I didn’t add anything to enhance these photos.

The ‘rays’ are actually all parallel- that they look like they radiate out from a central point is an optical illusion.

Crepuscular Rays Over Phoenix
Details:

  • Nikon D200 dSLR
  • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Lens
  • 34mm (51mm equivalent)
  • ISO 100
  • f/8
  • 1/250 exposure

Crepuscular Rays Over Phoenix

Details:

  • Nikon D200 dSLR
  • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Lens
  • 48mm (64mm equivalent)
  • ISO 100
  • f/7.1
  • 1/200 exposure

Photos taken September 10, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ. 5:16 PM.

Enjoy!

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

Man On Fire…

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

Maybe it’s just me watching too much anime as a kid (and into adulthood), but when I got home and pulled this image out of the camera, it looked to me like a figure getting struck by lightning.

Am I the only one?  Well, if there are any sightings of Voltron, Optimus Prime, or VF-1 Valkyries around Phoenix in the next couple of days, I’ll know I was right!

Man On Fire

Taken September 9, 2011, looking Southwest over South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ. 10:30 PM.

Details:

  • Nikon D200 dSLR
  • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Lens
  • 18mm (27mm equivalent)
  • ISO 100
  • f/3.5
  • 10-second exposure

Enjoy!

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

Fire in the Sky…

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

…or “The one where I again put myself in danger to get another amazing photo*”.

Quite a few cells rolled into Phoenix last night from the Southwest, and the lightning was hit or miss.  There were periods where it was relatively quiet, then there were short bursts of lots of activity.  The photo below shows cloud-to-cloud lightning propagating across the sky.

Fire in the Sky

(*since my family and friends read this, I have to add the disclaimer that I wasn’t really in danger- the lightning was actually quite far away)

Taken September 9, 2011, looking Southwest over South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ. 10:28 PM.

Details:

  • Nikon D200 dSLR
  • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Lens
  • 18mm (27mm equivalent)
  • ISO 100
  • f/3.5
  • 10-second exposure

Enjoy!

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

Haboob Sunset

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

As most locals know, during the monsoon season, Phoenix is prone to dust storms, also known as haboobs.  Weather officials say haboobs only happen in Arizona, the Sahara desert and parts of the Middle East because of dry conditions and large amounts of sand.

Yesterday (August 18, 2011), Phoenix experienced the 4th largest haboob on record.  Once the storm passed, there was still a lot of dust in the air, which led to a fantastic sunset.

This photo was taken August 18, 2011 at 7:20 pm off of Pima Canyon Road in the South Mountain Park preserve- the largest municipal park in the country, according to the Trust for Public Land.

Storm_sunset

Taken August 17, 2011, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ.  7:23 PM (about 11 minutes after sunset).

Details:

Nikon D200 dSLR

AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED Lens

12mm (18mm equivalent)

ISO 100

5 exposures (bracketed) blended into one HDR photo: f/4, shutter 1/20; f/4, shutter 1/40; f/4, shutter 1/10; f/4, shutter 1/5; and f/4.5, shutter: 1/80;

HDR generated using Photomatix, Tone Compressed (using default settings). Adjustments include the Color Temperature being dropped to bring out the blues, as well as the Color Saturation being increased to bring out the reds and increase the overall contrast.

Enjoy!

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

That’s No Moon…

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

…it’s actually the sun, taken during this evening’s Haboob.

Dsc_0430

-Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

Sunset over the Painted Desert

Posted by Dan Mitchell on
Arizona_sunset

Taken August 17, 2011, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ.  7:23 PM (about 11 minutes after sunset).

Elevation: Approximately 1,600 Feet (450 feet above the City of Phoenix).

Details:

Nikon D200 dSLR

AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED Lens

12mm (18mm equivalent)

ISO 100

3-shot HDR-

f/4, shutter 1/40; f/4.5, shutter: 1/80; and f/5, shutter: 1/100 (bracketed)

HDR generated using Photomatix, Tone Compressed (using default settings). Color Temperature dropped to bring out the blue, Color Saturation increased to bring out the reds and increase the overall contrast.

Enjoy!

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

Lightning Over Phoenix

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

A nice cloud-to-cloud capture.  Looking south, not really any rain to speak of, however.

Dsc_0449

Details:

  • Nikon D200 dSLR
  • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens
  • 18mm (27mm equivalent)
  • ISO 100
  • f/3.5
  • 10-second exposure 

Dan, aka @PHXPhoto

The ‘Supermoon’ Full Moon: March 19, 2011

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

By now, you’ve probably heard about Saturday’s ‘Supermoon’.  The moon was at ‘Perigee’ (the closest point to the Earth in its elliptical orbit); at 221,567 miles, it was also closer than it’s been in 19 years.

The moon’s average distance from Earth is 238,857 miles, so it was 17,290 miles closer to the Earth than average. Consequently, the full moon appeared about 14 percent larger than a ‘normal’ full moon.

If you missed it, you’ll have another chance in November 2016. If you miss that one, though, the next one won’t be until January 2036; after that, you’ll be waiting until December 2052.

Photo above taken with a Nikon D200 and an AF-Zoom Nikkor f/4-5.6D ED lens.  HDR composite using Photomatix to merge 5 photos into one.  Shutter speeds: 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, and 1/40. Aperture for all photos: f11.  Source photos taken March 19, 2011 at 7:57 p.m. local Arizona time.

Supermoon over Phoenix

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

I’m still processing my photos of tonight’s Supermoon, but here’s an early frontrunner for one of the better shots I captured.  I used a little photographic fakery by way of HDR to combine multiple photos into one to get the level of detail in the photo.

Supermoon over Phoenix March 19, 2011

Did you take any photos tonight?  Please share them below.

-Dan, a.k.a. PHX Photo

Photo Ops In Phoenix This Weekend: The ‘Super Moon’

Posted by Dan Mitchell on

This one is for all of the astronomers out there.

By now, you may have heard about the ‘Super Moon‘; if you haven’t, this Saturday, March 19, 2011, the moon will not only be at ‘Perigee’ (the closest point to the Earth in its elliptical orbit); at 221,567 miles, it will be closer than it’s been in 19 years.

The moon’s average distance from Earth is 238,857 miles, so Saturday it will be 17,290 miles closer to the Earth than average. Consequently, the full moon will appear about 14 percent larger than a ‘normal’ full moon.

If you miss it this time around, you’ll have another chance in November 2016. If you miss that one, though, the next one won’t be until January 2036; after that, you’ll be waiting until December 2052.

The forecast for Saturday is perfect for viewing the full moon, and the moonrise should occur around 7:02 p.m. local time.

I’ll be outside with my camera Saturday. How about you?

If you take any photos, please share them below.

-Dan, a.k.a. PHX Photo
Waning Gibbous Moon with 96% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.