IMGP8764.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I was out late the other night trying to shoot another meteor shower, this time over Blue Mesa Reservoir. I saw three nice bright meteors but didn't wind up with any really good meteor shots. In fact, I only got this one and I have to admit it's not all that impressive (meteor trail is faint in the upper left quadrant).

But the night was not a total bust! In the process of trying to get a good meteor shot I took two sets of about 50 exposures each using a home made IR intervalometer since my camera doesn't have one built in (I'll dedicate a post to that project soon).

Using ImageStacker software I combined each set of individual images to create these star trails photos. I'm fairly happy with how these came out and that my cold night next to the lake was not spent in vain!

All shots in this post made with a Pentax K-x and a Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye lens

The streak in this one is a plane flying by.

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IMGP4930.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I had fun taking some star shots Friday night while camping with the family at Hartman Rocks. For this one I used the 8mm Rokinon fisheye which worked perfectly for a nice ultra wide shot. Fun lens, fun night. The meteor in the upper left was icing on the cake!

The light on the rocks was from the campfire and the sage was from a flashlight.

Pentax K-x, Rokinon 8mm, 15s f/5.6 ISO 3200

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IMGP9575.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I thought I might get wet or threatened by lightning on this ride, but I had to get out there. The light was surreal and I only got some light rain on me and distant thunder rumbles. I put fewer miles in than I was planning but took a lot more photos than usual!
The evening sun, wet landscape, and dark stormy skies add to to some really nice photo conditions. The firm tacky trails made for great mountain biking too!

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IMGP9673.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

Sometimes there is beauty or at least interest in very ordinary things. I try and keep an eye out for these pockets of beauty that are right under our noses or in unlikely places.

I caught the lines of the grate reflecting on the water out of the corner of my eye as I rode by this culvert for probably the 500th time and had to stop and get dirty to get the shot. I love reflections and shadows, so this was something I was excited to discover!

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IMGP9521.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

Wow, it was so nice last night. I rode in shorts and short sleeves for the first time in a long while. I just love the long evening shadows. Bring on summer!

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IMGP9531.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

Spring seems to have finally sprung this week. With all the late snow I think we may see some flooding this year if it continues to stay warm.

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IMGP9370.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I was having fun shooting these drops on the laundry line and decided to get in the shot myself.
Shot with a Pentax K-x, Vivitar pk-a/r-pk Macro 2x TC, Pentax da40.

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IMGP7288.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

My friend Kevin and I had a fun morning skiing the Pencil Chute on Axtell. Beautiful morning, and fun skiing although I was a little gripped at the start. I just carried the K-x and DA40 combo to keep it small and light, but sharp.

Warm temps earlier in the week and then a little new snow on top a few days ago made conditions pretty nice and relatively safe.

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IMGP6997.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I shot a few water study photos with the Sears 135 f/2.8 the other day for a class I'm taking. Light was really tough for landscapes (bright overcast) so I decided to focus on closer views.

1/15 was as slow as I could go without overexposing them but it seemed to be the magic number.

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IMGP6534, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

On a little bit of an impulse I picked up an inexpensive fisheye recently. It's a Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 MF. I guess this same line of lenses comes under several names like Bower and Vivitar.
Anyway, it's a fun lens. Distortion is actually less than what I was expecting.The day it arrived I took it to the fairgrounds to shoot some test shots and my cat was hanging out over there. So he got to do a little modeling for me.

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