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last thursday i headed out on a spontaneous adventure...well, spontaneous...yes, the adventure part is questionable.

i heard about a little thing called the geminid meteor shower, which was supposedly taking place that night. i quickly clicked over to wikipedia where i read that the geminids reach their peak dec. 12th through the 14th, and with a new moon currently in the skies, this annual event would have perfect viewing weather.

side note: i had no idea meteor showers were annual? anyone else.......hmmmmm, the stuff you don't learn in architecture school.

the best viewing time for this astrological show, would be between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m. not really having anything scheduled during that time, i decided to head out. thinking this would be a great time to try out some night photography, i loaded up a thermos full of coffee, put on my long johns, two coats, gloves, grabbed the tripod and headed north, out of town.

i drove until the lights of wichita disappeared, and then turned onto a dirt road. as i set up the tripod i could see the metors already streaking across the night sky! perfect! i angled my camera 45 degrees away from the star of castor which is in the constellation gemini, internet knowledge gained an hour before my trek, and set a long shutter speed.

i took several pictures, some of which as a metor went by. this would be great! what an event to capture on film!. as it was very dark, and viewing a picture on a tiny screen of the night sky doesn't show very well, i would just have to wait until i got home to view my captures.

getting back home about 2:30 i uploaded the pictures, and double clicked! scrolling through the photos, i realized, not a single one had even the faintest hint of a comet. putting them in the little digital trash can on my desktop, i went to bed, disappointed.

i almost hate to admit, but it took me a couple of days to realize i had still seen an amazing show. i just hadn't captured it on film. i had the memory, and it was still amazing.

what is it about seeing a "shooting star" that remains just as magical as it did when you were a young....

i guess some memories just aren't meant to be on film....


but as i like to say, "when the world gives you lemons, use photoshop".

so to make this blog entry slightly more interesting, i've added some pictures i saved from the trash and photoshoped for your delight.

the constellation orion:


in this one, you can almost see the constellations: click to enlarge.


close up of orion's belt: this one is tightly cropped, and the contrast adjusted heavily, but that's all....a little creepy.