Great Skies

Well the last couple of weekends before we start hitting the agility road again. The weather has finally co-operated with some nice night skies. Here is SH2-188 the dolphin nebula. A really nice planetary nebula in Cassiopeia.

Mist and Moon

Out to Medoc last week for an evening of astronomy. The weather has been so bad that even a night with a full moon and humidly (read ground fog) couldn't keep us astronuts away. this great pic was taken by Tony Garcia.

Beautiful but Deadly

Back from our trip to Sulawesi in Indonesia. Had a great trip and logged a large number of creature pics. Here's one of a blue ringed octopus. This creature is beautiful to look at but has the dubious distinction of being the most deadly animal in the world.

Coming Together

Last bit of work on the telescope before we leave for Indonesia. This is a test fit of the miror and rocker boxes.

Indoors - Thank Goodness

Well a very hot weekend but thankfully we were indoors at a very nice venue in Cary, NC. Thanks to the DKC for inviting us to shoot their obedience trials.

Telescope Progress

Karen is headed home this Sunday so its time to get the garage cleaned up. I am making progress on the telescope. Here is a test fit of the mirror box and rocker box.

Field Trials and Telescopes

Well, while Karen is up in Maine getting some retriever training in and getting a third place on Miss Spinner in the qualifying and two more legs to get Miss Rush to a Senior Hunter, I have been building a new telescope. It's chaos in the garage until I get it built. It looks like Karen will be home before its done.Guess the car will have to stay outside.

Yahoo!

Well Miss Spinner didn't have too successful a weekend Q-wise but she had a big time running on the fabulous turf at Laura's place. Thanks to the Belroi club for putting on a great trial and thanks again to Laura and Dave for providing such a super venue.

Wet and Wild

Well it's Durham Agility Club's trials again and as much as we do enjoy shooting there - there always seems to be a little (or a lot) of rain. Two great days on Friday and Saturday and then the skies opened up on Sunday. It did make for some interesting shots - as Willow would atest too. Once again thanks for having us.

Thank You Merrimac

Always good weather and great runs at the Merrimac trials. Thanks for having us and thanks to Laura and Dave for being such accommodating hosts! I think there was a jump somewhere ahead?

Super Nova SN2012aw

Well had one clear night last week. Took a shot of the new supernova in M95 - SN2012aw. M95 is pretty close to us - only 37 million light years away so the event we're seeing now happened a scant 37 million years ago. I've marked the location of SN2012aw so you can see it better.

Happy Dog!

A very big thank you to the Tidelands Poodle Club for having us shoot this weekend at what has to be one of our most favorite outdoor venues (thank you Laura and Dave). Here's a shot of Spinner having a big time through the tire. See you all at Merrimac!

Nightly Vigil

For those of you who have wondered where those astro images come from - here you go. The Astro Haven. I figure every hour spent in here under the stars is time added to my life.

Jumping With Style

Thanks to the Star City Agility Club for having us this weekend. We had a big time as usual with the exception of the loooooong ride home on Sunday. Courses were great and the dogs - well just awesome.

The Owl Nebula

Yep no trials again this weekend so I had time to get out last night and do a little imaging again. This is one of my favorite planetary nebula's M97 or The Owl Nebula.

The Cigar Galaxy

Finally had a little time and clear evenings to get out to the observatory. Here is a quick process of M82 or often called the "Cigar" galaxy for good reason. It's about 12 million light years away from us.

Spinner Caricature

Spinner at her finest! Created by Camille Weber from woofsbyweber.com

Tunnel Fun!

Thanks to the DOTC and Star City clubs for having us shoot their January trial. The Virginia Horse Center is a terrific venue. Karen and I apologize for not being able to shoot Sunday. The good news is she is up and around again and should be ready for next months gig.

Another Year!

Wow, how time flies. The DKC Obedience and Rally trials mark the end of the year for us with Christmas just around the corner. It's hard to imagine that we have gone a whole year since the last one. Thanks to the club for putting on a great trial and thanks for letting us take pictures of all your wonderful dogs.

Nice To Be Inside

A big shout out to Carolina Piedmont Agility for putting together a great trial last weekend. It was nice to be inside on a very crispy (read darn cold) weekend. Thanks for having us and we look forward to the next trial.

Thanks to YAC!

A great weekend at the Youngsville trials. Thanks to the Youngsville Agility Club and Teamworks for having us. Weather was terrific. Let's hope for a few more days like this before Christmas. Here's Spinner in the weaves.

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!