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Imagery - Blog Posts
What is night? Restless and dark, a heavy cloak upon my heart.
My eyes burn and my hand shake, but sleep eludes me, cold hands gripping me in the dark.
I cling to the bedside light, stare at it until my vision blurs. I long for sleep.
My chest feels too tight for my heart, pounding anxiously in its cage. My breath is too short.
What is rest? It is night yet my mind races, and I lay awake.
My random Poetry
How quaint the thought of your touch,
Like the north wind's tender embrace to the eastern sea.
I live among the fish,
Deep down in the shallowest of waters.
A little drop in a pond of an endless sea.
Tumbling to and fro through the unwavering current.
To feel the roughness of your hands,
Like the rough edges of the shores.
Carved through the ever flowing waters,
Much like my every flowing love for you.
10 Things: How to Photograph a Meteor Shower
Taking photographs of a meteor shower can be an exercise in patience as meteors streak across the sky quickly and unannounced, but with these tips – and some good fortune – you might be rewarded with a great photo.
These tips are meant for a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but some point-and-shoot cameras with manual controls could be used as well.
1. The Photo Op: Perseids Meteors
The Perseids are dusty remnants of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
Earth passes through the comet’s invisible, multi-billion mile trail of tiny debris each year around August, creating a meteor shower of so-called “shooting stars” as the particles are vaporized in our atmosphere.
Perseid meteors already are streaking across the sky. This year's shower peaks on a moonless summer night -from 4 pm on the 12th until 4 am on the 13th Eastern Daylight Time.
Read more on the Perseids ›
2. Get away from city lights and find a place with dark skies.
In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky in Spruce Knob, West Virginia, during the 2016 Perseids meteor shower. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Too much light and it will be hard for your eyes to see fainter meteors, plus your image will get flooded with the glow of light. Turning down the brightness of the camera’s LCD screen will help keep your eyes adjusted to the dark. The peak of the 2018 Perseid meteor shower occurs just after the new moon, meaning a thin crescent will set long before the best viewing hours, leaving hopeful sky watchers with a moonlight-free sky!
3. Use a tripod.
In this ten-second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky above Washington, DC during the 2015 Perseids meteor shower, Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Meteor photography requires long exposures, and even the steadiest of hands can’t hold a camera still enough for a clear shot. Heavier tripods help reduce shaking caused by wind and footsteps, but even a lightweight tripod will do. You can always place sandbags against the feet of the tripod to add weight and stability. If you don’t have a tripod, you might be able to prop your camera on or up against something around you, but be sure to secure your camera.
4. Use a wide-angle lens.
In this 30 second exposure taken with a circular fish-eye lens, a meteor streaks across the sky during the 2016 Perseids meteor shower as a photographer wipes moisture from the camera lens Friday, August 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
A wide-angle lens will capture more of the sky and give you a greater chance of capturing a meteor in your shot, while a zoom lens captures a smaller area of the sky. The odds of a meteor streaking past that small patch are lower.
5. Use a shutter release cable or the camera’s built-in timer.
Long exposures are not just for meteors. In this shot taken at Joshua Tree National Park, a hiker's headlamp leaves a trail of light along a twilight path. Credit: National Park Service / Hannah Schwalbe
A tripod does a great job of reducing most of the shaking your camera experiences, but even the act of pressing the shutter button can blur your extended exposure. Using the self-timer gives you several seconds for any shaking from pressing the shutter button to stop before the shutter is released. A shutter release cable (without a self-timer) eliminates the need to touch the camera at all. And if your camera has wifi capabilities, you might be able to activate the shutter from a mobile device.
6. Manually focus your lens.
In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseids meteor shower Friday, August 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
At night, autofocus will struggle to find something on which to focus. Setting your focus to infinity will get you close, but chances are you’ll have to take some test images and do some fine tuning. With your camera on a tripod, take a test image lasting a few seconds, then use the camera’s screen to review the image. Zoom in to a star to see how sharp your focus is. If the stars look like fuzzy blobs, make tiny adjustments to the focus and take another test image.
Repeat until you are happy with the result.
If your camera has a zoomable electronic viewfinder or live view option, you might be able to zoom to a star and focus without having to take a test image.
7. Aim your camera.
The Perseids appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, visible in the northern sky soon after sunset this time of year.
Even though we don’t know when or where a single meteor will appear, we do know the general area from which they’ll originate.
Meteor showers get their name based on the point in the sky from which they appear to radiate. In the case of the Perseids, during their peak, they appear to come from the direction of the constellation Perseus in the northern sky.
8. Calculate your exposure time.
In this 20-second exposure, a meteor lights up the sky over the top of a mountain ridge near Park City, Utah. Even though this image was captured during the annual Perseid meteor shower, this "shooting star" is probably not one of the Perseid meteors, which originate from material left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Instead, it's likely one of the many bits of rock and dust that randomly fall into the atmosphere on any given night. Credit: NASA/Bill Dunford
As Earth rotates, the stars in the sky appear to move, and if your shutter is open long enough, you might capture some of that movement. If you want to avoid apparent star movement, you can follow the 500 Rule. Take 500 and divide it by the length in millimeters of your lens. The resulting number is the length of time in seconds that you can keep your shutter open before seeing star trails. For example, if you’re using a 20 mm lens, 25 seconds (500 divided by 20) is the longest you can set your exposure time before star trails start to show up in your images.
9. Experiment!
In this 30 second exposure photo, hikers find their way to the top of Spruce Knob in West Virginia to view the annual Perseids meteor shower, Friday, August 12, 2016. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Once you know the maximum exposure time, you can set your shutter priority to that length and let the camera calculate other settings for your first image. Depending on how the image turns out, you can manually adjust aperture (set it to a lower number if the image is too dark) and ISO (set it to a higher number if the image is too dark) to improve your next images. Changing only one setting at a time will give you a better understanding of how those changes affect your image.
10. Enjoy the show.
The crew of the International Space Station captured this Perseid meteor falling to Earth over China in 2011. Credit: NASA
With your camera settings adjusted, capturing that perfect photo is just a matter of time and luck. The highest rate of meteors visible per hour is in the hours after midnight and before dawn. Set up your camera next to a lounge chair or a blanket to witness the wonder of a meteor shower for yourself – and, with any luck, you’ll take home some envy-inducing shots, too!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Wound from the Mouth of a Wound, ‘Essay Fragment: Preexisting Conditions’ by Torrin A. Greathouse
[ID: Mother Mary, scars on my wrists my spine a cracked rosary eyelids a thin & bloody veil.]
I think we’re all broken,
you whisper to the dark shimmering water lapping against the hull.
I can see our reflections—
You, halved in white and
Me, fading to black like an old film reel.
Broken how?
I don’t really need you to answer, not really. We’re cursed,
I know and you know, too, so you just laugh.
Even that sounds like shattering glass.
What is it about stars and streetlights and silent European nights
that tear us open to the core?
Cursed, you whisper,
And suddenly thousands of years worth of history and ghosts and
fiends are clamouring for release beneath
The liquid obsidian rocking the boat.
Cursed, I whisper, but remind me:
Aren’t curses simply blessings from below?
.
— Cruise on the Danube (y.c.)
A friend of mine wants flowers for her room, she says.
She wants to make it beautiful and vibrant and fresh, but
Blossoms fade and petals mold, she says,
Clutching her falsified flowers,
Petals carefully crafted—
A forgery,
hundreds of days in the making in factories where they make
hundreds of petals that never die.
Immortality is the prize, beauty a side effect, and yet
How many of us choose both as a goal?
-
—Immortality comes with plastic petals (y.c.)
gothic fiction delicacies
𝖔𝖓𝖊. decaying setting
haunted houses, castles with secret passages/rooms, trapdoors, mazes, labyrinths, closed doors, trick panels with hidden levers, dark or hidden staircases, added flavor with darkness, uneven floors, branchings, claustrophobia, echoes of unusual sounds.
𝖙𝖜𝖔. supernatural beings or monsters
time of great discovery and exploration in the fields of science, religion, and industry; revere and question the existence of a higher power; ghosts, death and decay, deviant forms of humans: vampires, zombies, wolfmen
𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊. curses or prophecies
obscure, partial, confusing prophecies and curses, undecipherable maps and house plans
𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖗. omens or portents
disturbing dreams, phenomenons, imitation thoughts, foreshadowing, statues falling, paintings ripped and staring back, windows tapping at night, dark curtains caught in the wind
𝖋𝖎𝖛𝖊. a suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere
fear enhanced by the unknown, inexplicable murders, mutilated bodies, mounted corpses, raised suspense, mysterious invitations, surreal appearances, blend between imagination and reality
𝖘𝖎𝖝. heroes in distress
appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, events that leave one fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing; lonely, pensive, oppressed hero/heroine; pronounced sufferings, abandoned with no protection, “stay here, I’ll be right back.”
𝖘𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓. tyrannical antagonist
power as king or queen, lord or mistress of the manor, forcing the intolerable, supernatural/paranormal strength, poisonous seduction, irresistable charm
𝖊𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙. light and dark interplay
shades of grey or blood-red colors, blood as visual spectacle, blood stains, red roses, candle-light, violet night, silver moon, household silver
𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖊. intense emotions
madness - strange or troubling events that, while logical, seem to originate from unexpected forces; repressed fears & desires, memory of past sin, terror, sorrow, anger, feeling of impending doom
𝖙𝖊𝖓. metonymy of gloom and horror
suggesting mystery, danger, supernatural; howling wind, blowing rain, doors grating on rusty hinges, sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds, footsteps approaching, clanking chains, lights in abandoned rooms, gusts of wind blowing out lights, characters trapped in a room, doors suddenly slamming shut, ruins of buildings, baying of distant dogs or wolves, thunder and lightning, crazed laughter
Late 60s Early 70s medieval revival part 1
Today's aesthetic is flower power
House Boats, Floating Homes, via Moon to Moon
my dream home !! 🏠
A Little Princess
I first saw A Little Princess (1995 version) probably with my parents around the time of its release. With no film background, I will say, did a great job at ageing the film as I always am surprised to discover that it’s not as old I thought it was (something that has happened repeatedly). While somewhat a romantic, fairy-tale type story the core parts that stick with me are the beauty within the story, particularly when Sarah and Becky are imagining a great feast and the colors of India in the very beginning of the film.
The images created in this film are stunning and completely breathtaking on their own and an amazing job is done using the colors in the fil to show the contrast between what we want our world to be like and what we don’t, the stories are even more real. Yes, the fairy-tale elements of her father remembering her just before she’s about to be arrested (she’s a child but ok), and dramatics of him ending up next door to where she lives, and how regardless of everything she insists on being a kind princess are all good and honorable it is the story of the neighbor that hits the most. Both the bleakest, most realistic, connecting, accurate and somewhat breaking is the father next door who tries to be kind during a war and is grateful for closure when he loses his son and his surrogate son (and in a way granddaughter). I think this is why I saw it with my parents, and so frequently. While there are many stories that accurately portray war, this is one that focuses on being kind in the homefront and probably portrays what they experienced living separated, but closely connected to war and genocide.
There was no good photo to symbolize the story of the neighbour, but part of the theme of kindness is quoted below
Another unrelated shout-out that connects to a Little Princess to me, shout out to Shirley Temple who will never be bested even by those who manage to get their pets Instagram famous
This is absolutely brilliant! Worth the read. I want to see this put to music and dance now.
The stage is empty, save a single thought. She walks over to pick it up and it leaps from her grasp, landing on the worn planks with a hollow thump. She reflects briefly that it sounds like a heartbeat, the sound of this thought landing on the stage, and begins her chase. Her bare feet flash from a billowing skirt and pad softly in pursuit. As the thought moves away from her in a fluid bound, she giggles and whirls around to leap after it. The cresting fabric of her skirt pulls tight around her knees, and then loosens as her direction changes. The only thing she can see, can focus on, is catching this thought, though it alludes her thus far. It pauses and she slides across the boards with a rasping sound that reminds her of leather in some strange way. She crouches low, one knee bent up to rest against her shoulder as her arm stretches out to hold her balance. Her skirts wafts gently under her left leg, stretched out long and lean. Her breath is harsh and ragged, and all traces of giggles have ceased. She is now determined; she is a woman with a mission. She holds her position steady as the though turns listlessly in place.
Suddenly it seems like there are two of them. Are her eyes playing tricks on her? She closes off all her senses, retreating into solitude for a moment or two, then comes back to the moment. As her eyes open she gasps and loses her balance, falling backwards. Her legs somewhat splayed, she attempts to regain some sort of composure as her eyes widen in amazement. What was a solitary thought has become hundreds, each a different size and texture but all staring in her direction. She plants her hands on the wood between her legs and pushes into a hunkering position. The thoughts remain still. She extends a hesitant foot out towards a group of three. They remain still. As she slowly begins to shift her weight to that extended foot, she notices something of a tension amongst the triad. As she stretches her hands to stroke the closest one, pandemonium erupts. Every one of her thoughts is exploding away from her. She bursts into action, coiled muscles relishing the chance to spring her into the air. Her breath is ragged, tearing from her lungs in short bursts as she flies about the stage. Nothing has meaning except that she, above all, must lay hand on any one of these. But they are tricky and can sense her desperation. They playfully flit in and out of her range, seeming to know exactly the moment to dart away so her hands close on air.
She moves about the stage, running after them as they all begin to vanish. As they seemingly all disappear, her eyes close and harsh sobs wrack her body as it sinks to the floor. She sits cross-legged with her face in her hands, and the lights on the stage begin to darken.
Sitting alone with the last of her sobs behind her, she begins to wonder where she'll go from here. The last of her tears run down her face as she feels something silky crawl into her lap, a warm weight settling down as if to comfort her.
What wonderful World
Above image is a pride flag with every color band represented by a NASA image. White is Earth clouds, pink is aurora, blue is the Sun in a specific wavelength, brown is Jupiter clouds, black is the Hubble deep field, red is the top of sprites, orange is a Mars crater, yellow is the surface of Io, green is a lake with algae, blue is Neptune, and purple is the Crab Nebula in a specific wavelength.
A favorite from my collection - this luminous little one from the 1960s.
Check this out... A lamppost angel with tree branch wings
honestly fucked up they make fluorescent lights. YOU HAVE SNAPPED OFF AN ANGEL’s WINGS!
WHY!? There is no god there, only a mute and deaf angel which will not answer your cries!! You can die below it and it won’t even bat an eye!
Coloured light is…. Fine… but still not angelic enough. The angels are choking on their own light and whatever they have for a voice and are at your mercy.
Getting closer. There are angels here. They’re heard and seen and they love you. They invite us. Me and them are such good friends.
YES YES YES!!!! ANGELS MY BELOVED OH HOW I ADORE YOU! Please lead me, and below your guidance I’ll see the world. I trust and love you. Let’s dance in the streets.
Look at how much work this lovely angel is doing. What a sweetheart.
Charlie Bears "Rodders" Cat
Charlie Bears official website link. (In stock as of 01/01/2025)
🌟Golden Christmas Star🌟
