MACH 2 For Spin and Karen!

A great weekend for the Stewarts: the motorhome worked and even more importantly Karen and Spinner got their MACH 2. Thanks to the GKC for having us and to Laura and Dave for being such good hosts.

George!

Definitely one of my favorite pups! George does the teeter with great enthusiasm albeit a bit of a fly off. Thanks to the Warrenton and PVBSD Clubs for having us. A bit muddy but much more comfortable temperatures than the last few months.

Bubble Nebula

OK more dog photos coming once we get started shooting again next month. in the interim here's a shot of the Bubble Nebula or NGC7635. This is a false color image with the red channel from Hydrogen Alpha the Blue Channel from Oxygen 3 and the green a synthetic made from the other two.

Cayman Fun!

Karen and I are back from our trip to little Cayman. We had a super time with a ton of shark activity. Too cool! Here's a Caribbean Reef Shark checking out his reflection in my dome port.

Moven en Shaken

Thanks to the Movers and Shakers for having us shoot their annual Southern Splash even. We had a great time and the dogs obviously enjoyed it. Lots of super shots - here's one from the Courier Class.

Elephant Trunk Nebula

Life is good! The weather has co-operated for the last couple of nights. Here is a shot of the Elephant trunk Nebula (IC1396) through a Hydrogen Alpha filter.

The Great Globular Cluster

Well while Karen is up training in Maine I waited patiently for a few clear nights. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago - Messier 13 or M13 sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. It is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars. Way cool!

Triple Q

Kudos to Karen and Spinner for a triple Q day. They have been harder to come by this year but they pulled it off this weekend. Thanks to the Piedmont Border Collie Association for having us last weekend. A hot but a least a dry one.

Pure Joy

Congrats to Judy and Seig on their shinny new MACH! Thanks to the Belroi Agility Club for having us shoot this weekend and a big thank you to Laura and Dave for hosting the event on their fabulous homestead. Laura great job - carrying on the tradition of Emily and Nelson's hospitality and expertise.

Fast Courses Lots of Fun!

Thanks to the Touch and Go Agility Club for having us shoot last weekend. Some really fast courses and the pups to take them on. Lots of super runs to take pictures of.

Weaving Out Of The Tunnel

A little wet but still a great weekend at the DKC Agility Trials last weekend. Here's a picture of Weaver launching himself out of the tunnel. Thanks to the DKC for having us. See you all in Lynchburg this weekend.

Finally A Full Moon

i have been struggling with getting a good picture of the full moon with my astro camera since the moon is so bright compared to other objects I shoot. I ended up shooting through a small 2 inch porthole that I made for the front of my telescope and a very dark filter. See you all at the DKC trials this weekend.

Sylvia's Bart In The Finals

Well another AKC National Agility trial has come and gone. Congrats to all the competitors, especially our NC team. We took thousands of pictures over the weekend - and my hand tells me it feels like it:-) We're sorry we couldn't get Sunday's up for you to see at the trials but we got some great pics so check them out on our website under recent events. Thanks once again to the AKC for inviting us to shoot. Here's a picture of Sylvia's Bart one of our many friends that made it to the finals this year.

Congrats Tracy!

Congratulations to Tracy and Chipper for MACH5! Thanks also to the Star City Canine Training Club for putting on a great show and inviting us to shoot.

Planteary Nebula

These guys tend to be pretty faint. PKPK164+31.1 is magnitude 14. Looking up we can see about a 4th magnitude star from our backyard. So this guy is about 10,000 times fainter. Sort of looks like the Eye of Sauron to me.

Hi Flying Newfie

Here's a shot of Beacon taking the bar jump at the DKC Obedience Trials last weekend. No problems here. Thanks to the DKC for having us and congrats to the competitors for some outstanding runs.

Ouch!

This guy cut the entrance into the tire a little close at the Star City trials last weekend. Thanks to the Star City and DOTC clubs for having us and putting on a great event. See you all again in February.

The Cone Nebula

One more astro image and then its off to the Star City Canine Training Club's trials this coming weekend. Here is a black and white shot of the Cone Nebula NGC2264 done through a Hydrogen Alpha filter (650-657nm).

M81

Finally got out after the snow, moon and clouds cleared. Here is a quick process of M81 a very beautiful spiral galaxy that lies in the northern portion of Ursa Major (Big Dipper).

Spinner's HIT

A little bragging here on my part. This is Spinner on her way to a High in Trial this weekend at the DKC Obedience trials. Congrats to Karen on a good showing. Thanks to the DKC for putting on a great trial and inviting us to shoot. This was a very nice venue and we certainly enjoyed shooting at it this weekend.

Plenty of Time

Here's Pree getting prepared for the triple - lots of time to spare :-) Thanks to the Youngsville Agility Club for having us this weekend.

Tadpoles

Can you find the tadpoles in the picture of IC410 that I shot this weekend? A little hint - look to the lower left of center. Some people have told me that this looks like a monkey skull to them.

Last Run

Well it finally came. The last run at Nelson and Emily's place. Many thanks to both of them for providing a venue that created many very fond memories, sharing their terrific hospitality and a created place to share one heck of a great sport with a lot of other fine friends. I will miss it dearly.

Intensity!

Here's a young black lab focused on delivering the goods. Thanks to the Yadkin Retriever Club for having us there this weekend. And thanks to the powers that be for some great weather.

Hair Born

I can't get enough of these guys. Always great to photograph. Thanks to the Gloucester Kennel Club for having us shoot last weekend and for ordering the super weather. Maybe a little less wind next time though. See you all in Gloucester again in a couple of weeks.

Flaming Star Nebula

I spent the last week out at a star party in Robbins NC. Lots of great views and little sleep. Here is a picture of the Flaming Star Nebula - IC405.

Blue Sky, Mountains and Sun

We had terrific weather and a super agility event at Rectortown last weekend. Thanks to the Potomac Valley Belgian Sheepdog Club and Warrenton Kennel Clubs for inviting us to shoot.Here is Ginny's new pup taking the A frame in full stride.

Testing The Bar

Here is Rush just checking out the agility jump height. She is growing like a weed and is one speedy pup when she doesn't want to get caught!

Crescent Nebula

Well no sleep with the new puppy anyways so have been out shooting at night. Here is yesterday's Crescent Nebula NGC6888. Only an hour and half of exposure but still not too shabby for a near full moon evening.

"Rush" Arrives

Well no sleep last night as "Rush" (No Time To Paws) our new pup is getting (slowly) used to being crated at night. Amazing how much sound can come out of such a little thing. Good to have some more paws in the house.

Polamania

Some great weave pole action at this weeks Greater Monroe Kennel Club Summer Extravaganza. Thanks to the club for having us. Sure glad we were inside this weekend. Here's one of Cree blasting through the poles!

Horses in the Caymans

Karen and I just got back from a trip to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Had a great time at Pirates Point Resort as always. Karen caught this great shot of one of the three sea horses we saw there.

Movers and Shakers

Another fine weekend with the Portuguese Water Dogs. Thanks to the Movers and Shakers for inviting us to shoot the Southern Splash Water Dog trials.

Cocker's Galore!

Thanks to the American Spaniel Club for inviting us to shoot their national agility trials this weekend. Thanks also for the great southern hospitality.

Leaping for Joy!

We were up in Maine last week for some hunt tests. Here is a quick shot of Spinner having a big time training for the upcoming test.

Beardie Big Time

Here is a shot of a Beardie definitely having a big time at the Capital City Cocker Club agility trials last week. Thanks to the club for inviting us. Always nice to be indoors during the hot summer even if it was still a bit warm inside.

Took The Long Route Home

Well we're back from our diving trip to Wakatobi in Indonesia. Our plane broke on the way back so it took us an extra day and a few extra stops: Wakatobi Sulawesi, Bali Indonesia, Jakarta Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vancouver, New York and finally Raleigh. That all said we had a wonderful time on a very nice dive yacht - the Pelagian. Our apologies to the Belroi Club for missing the club trials as a result of our delays.

DKC Dodged a Bullet

Well, the weather turned out a whole lot better than expected. Thanks to the Durham Kennel Club for inviting us to shoot. Tracy - a good job as usual! Here's Sony peeling off the table. See you all in Gloucester after our trip to Bali.

NGC4565

Up to the no frills star party at Tuckahoe State Park in Maryland this weekend. Here's one of NGC4565 from about 3am. Cool edge on galaxy about 20 million light years away in Coma Berenices. This is about 2 hours of exposure.

Terrific weather at the Merrimac trials this weekend. Thanks to the club and Emily and Nelson for having us. Sorry we popped the breaker:-) See you all at DKC in a couple of weeks.

Markarian's Chain

A beautiful chain of galaxies that make up part of the Virgo Cluster. Some of the more prominent galaxies that can be seen in the picture are M84, M86, M8 and M88.

AKC Nationals

Just getting back from the AKC National Agility Trials in Tulsa OK. We had a blast shooting this event this year. Some terrific dogs. Congrats to our own North Carolina team members Melanie and Austin for making it to the finals.

Left Turn!

Some tight turns on the courses at the Tidelands Poodle Club Agility Trials this weekend at Gloucester VA. This is JAG making a tight left hander after the chute. Thanks to the club for having us. We ended up with some nice weather despite the forecasts.

Tire Fun

Using the ears to help line up the tire at the Star City Agility trials last weekend. Thanks to the Star City Canine Training Club for inviting us to shoot. See you at YAC next weekend.

Birds Galore!

Spent the holiday in Rodanthe along the coast. Rodanthe is close to Pea Island. Always a great place to get shots of winter bird migrations. Here is one of a flock of Northern Pintail ducks.

Lowchen High Jumper

Nothing low about this Lowchen! Some great altitude over the long jump at the DKC Obedience trials last weekend. Thanks to the club for inviting us and congratulations to all the competitors for some super runs.

Speedy Courses

Some speedy courses by Laura English this weekend. Thanks to the Danville Kennel Club for a super weekend!

Orion Is Back

I always look forward to the fall for lots of reasons, one of which is Orion returns. Orion is one of my favorite constellations. Here is a shot of M42 and M43 from the other night. This is an hours worth of data taken at from 2 to 3am.

Monty Mania

Yes sir, Monty the Sussex Spaniel is having a great time at the Youngesville Agility Club trials last weekend. We did also - it was dry and sunny! Thanks to the club for having us.

More Beardie Fun

Couldn't resist another Beardie pic. Thanks to CVAC for having us on a somewhat wet but fun weekend.