Astronomy - low vision style

The night sky has always fascinated me. The fact that there are billions of stars out there at even longer distances away from us is truly awe inspiring. It DOES make you pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Having being "blessed" with low vision. (HA HA) doesn't hinder me from enjoying the starry night as one might think. True, I may not be able to spot the fainter specks in the sky, but the major constellations and even the Milky Way on a dark night is visible to me. I'm lucky that my night vision isn't as affected as my overall visual acuity.

Once the eyes adapt to the darkness, it is amazing what the human eye perceives. Finding dark skies, meaning void of urban light pollution, is a rarity in this modern day and age of mega malls and urban sprawl. The darkest parts of the sky is usually looking straight up. Cooler temps usually yield clearer skies than warmer evenings where heat can distort and haze up your viewing experience. Higher elevations in drier climates away from large cities is most ideal "dark sky" condition for viewing.

Viewing the stars with just your eyes is an awesome experience, especially if it is under dark skies. Telescopes are nice for deep space viewing, however, even a nice pair of binoculars is all you need to see a little further out than the unaided eye allows. Binoculars, or "binos" with large lens openings are ideal for gathering as much light as possible to bring you a clear, vivid image. You don't need extremely powerful ones either since there is kind of a sweet spot in which you get both good light gathering and resolution. I like the 7x50 for just that reason. The first number "7" is the magnification factor. You guessed it, seven times. The second number is the size of the objective lens. Larger the second number, the more light it allows in, and heavier too. Fog and waterproof models are also features to look for as well.

Photographing the night sky can be done without too much experience or specialized equipment. Modern digital cameras with manual exposure controls can yield surprisingly nice shots of the night sky. Sure, dedicated astrophotography cameras with guided motorized mounts are nice, but my humble Canon DSLR on a tripod works just fine.

Remember that the stars move across your field of view throughout the night. Well, the Earth is actually moving, but you get the idea. Long exposures over a minute usually start to show star trails. If you want pinpoint stars, try to keep your time under 20 seconds. Using normal to telephoto lenses magnify the movement, so even shorter times are required. If you want the long streaking star trails. You would need to leave your shutter open for at least a half hour.

A tripod and cable release for your camera is essential in eliminating camera shake. Also "fast" wide angle lenses are most ideal for capturing the wide expanse of the star field.

So dress warm and head out into the night air for some astro photography. Yeah, it gets chilly standing around under clear skies at night.

Effecient inner city transportation

So I love the overpriced, testosterone-driven supercars as much as the next red blooded male, but the two wheeled zero emission (Not counting the human gas.) pedal powered apparatus has its advantages.

When traveling frequently in the inner city for short distances, the bicycle is king. Just look at the New York bike messenger service. No more circling the block multiple times awaiting a parking spot to open up. No more idling in gridlock traffic polluting the air while your engine overheats in the August sun.

Sure, you can't carry as much nor are you protected from the elements as a car provides, but for short jaunts around town, it is actually faster to get around powered by your own two feet.

I love riding my bike for leisure as well. The sense of community you feel with other cyclists around you is a nice benefit. Aside from getting some fresh air along the bikepaths, you get more of a sense of accomplishment knowing that you've arrived on your own power. I packed my bike with some saddlebags and stuffed camping gear and pedaled about a 50 miles to my campsite. The knowledge of having my food and shelter as well as getting there on my own power was gratifying.

From a visual acuity point of view, the bike moves a lot slower than a car so you will have plenty of time to identify and avoid potential hazards along your ride. Situational awareness also comes from the sounds around you as well. I have a helmet with a visor to cut down on the glare. It also helps when riding at night where the glare from oncoming car headlights can temporarily blind you if not ready for the sudden change in illumination. Of course wrap around sunglasses with safety glass rating is a must. Oakleys are awesome for their industry standard polycarbonate lenses that don't shatter on impact. Polarized lenses are even better in controlling glare and also reduces the reflective glare from the road as well.

You don't need to spent thousands of dollars on a good bike. Once you get above a thousand bucks, the gains in features or components becomes an exercise in diminishing returns.

My Trek Valencia has a mountain bike type frame with thinner road tires for more efficiency. The tires have puncture resistant design which is a nice useful feature.

Some accessories I'd recommend for your bike is a flip out mirror for your handlebar so you don't have to strain your neck negotiating rush hour traffic. A headlight and tail light is also a smart accessory to have. Flashing ones are even better. Lightweight, brightly colored moisture-wicking clothing or at least removable reflective strips for your arms and legs work wonder for visibility. And of course a helmet.

Extras that are nice to have are trunk bags and handlebar bag for your goodies. Gloves and eye protections is also a good idea to have while riding.

So go dust off your bike and top off the tires with air and go tour your neighborhood from the seat of your two wheeled vehicle.

Painting with light

The technique of painting with light in photography involves a flashlight of some sort and the shutter on the camera left open for the whole duration of the "painting" process. Most people think of light streaks in mid air depicting swirls or geometric shapes. However, the practical application that I'm referring to is to use it to illuminate a tricky subject, or to control and balance the mood with a single flashlight.

Here are two examples of my first attempts at product photography. I used a single flashlight for the first shot in which I momentarily shined the light on both sides of the scene to get it depth.













In the second example, I used the dual colored LED flashlight to paint red and blue tones onto the scene.

I chose to use the painting technique to further control the amount of light in the scene without washing out the backlit displays of the light meter and remote cord pictured.

Exposure was about 15 seconds. Let me know what you think.

In this last shot of the brightly lit tree against the star filled sky, an LED flashlight was used to "paint" it with light. A little too hot, but the effect of panning the flashlight's beam up and down the tree during the few seconds the shutter was left open made for this effect.