Almost here (shortest day of the year)

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

7 days until Winter Soltice is here!!

YEE HAW!!

 

[Pau Hana]

It's 2020, Tom- the Solstice may not arrive.

 

[Northern Spy]

Can't wait to get home to a lower latitude and a bit more daylight. I'm only at around 58 north, about the same as Juneau. Or southern Norway and northern Scotland, for perspective.

 

[MurrayM]

As a photographer, I love the low angle light where (if the sun is out) gravel casts a long shadow at noon.

Dusk/dawn all day

 

[MurrayM]

...and the nights are super dark with tons of stars.

Went out photographing the Milky Way for the first time a couple nights ago, which was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

We have for many years chosen to host parties on both solstices. We began the tradition when in Alaska, for obvious reasons. This year it will be scaled down but still a night of fun.

 

[MurrayM]

Doesn't everybody dance naked (boots allowed if there's snow) around a big fire in the back yard at midnight?

 

[Giggitoni]

...and the nights are super dark with tons of stars.

Went out photographing the Milky Way for the first time a couple nights ago, which was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

You must have a stout tripod. How long do you typically leave the shutter open?

 

[MurrayM]

You must have a stout tripod. How long do you typically leave the shutter open?

Yup...a Sirui carbon fibre with waterproof leg sections and an L bracket on the camera for vertical shots.

Took a wild ass stab at it...3200 ISO...wide open aperture...60 second exposure, and shortened the rest to 50 seconds. With my wide lens the stars were moving near the frames edge, so will have to shorten up the exposure next time if I want them as points of light.

 

[Comodave]

Cannot wait for some more light in the evening.

 

[MurrayM]

Minimal post processing with Mac Photos with no sharpening...will really play with it in Capture One. Cars going by on the highway "painted with light" the riverbank in the foreground with their headlights. We plan on driving into side valleys next time to fill the frame with jaggedy glacier draped peaks. (Grrr. Weird circle thingy in sky was probably lens flare from headlights even though I was shielding it with my hand).

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. MM. Lens flare? Are you sure about that?

 

[Oldersalt]

Just think! By Dec 2 or 3 the days will start getting longer! Can summer be far behind?

 

[MurrayM]

Greetings,
Mr. MM. Lens flare? Are you sure about that?

True Dat.

Thank you for reminding us to look beyond simple mere physics, to portals of unknown Alien depths for the Great Answers in Life.

 

[AlaskaProf]

As a photographer, I love the low angle light where (if the sun is out) gravel casts a long shadow at noon.

Dusk/dawn all day

One of the few good thongs about the Northern winter is the very long sunrises and sunsets arising from the shallow angle at which the solar track cuts the horizon. My office at UA had a south facing window; sometimes hard to get work done.

 

[AlaskaProf]

7 days until Winter Soltice is here!!

YEE HAW!!

Or: only 190 days until the days start to get shorter !

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Doesn't everybody dance naked (boots allowed if there's snow) around a big fire in the back yard at midnight?

Well yes! Is that not a pagen tradition.

 

[RT Firefly]

Crank it!

Even better IMHO. Sing along if you know the words.

 

[MurrayM]

Crank it!

Pfffft.

Big city wannabes.

I give you, The Hu, a Mongolian band, steeped in wilderness, still in touch with our collective Animistic roots.

Giving serious thought to getting a kick-ass sound system aboard and will have this blaring while slowly entering a crowded anchorage.

 

[MurrayM]

Then, there's the Real Deal:

 

[RonR]

Ya, I picked a poor time to haul out.. Light at 8, dark at 3:45... Not a lot of work gets done, and add in a lot of rain..

 

[soin2la]

I give you, The Hu, a Mongolian band, steeped in wilderness, still in touch with our collective Animistic roots.

Giving serious thought to getting a kick-ass sound system aboard and will have this blaring while slowly entering a crowded anchorage.

There is a story on the central coast, of an Heiltsuk approaching a secluded anchorage, in an early morning fog, emitting sounds not unlike The Hu.

It is said a Camargue immediately severed the bitter end, abandoned ground tackle and crab pots full of undersize females, to beat a hasty retreat, leaving a brown streak on the water.

 

[rsn48]

Theological trivia. As many know, Easter is a moon holiday. The date is set as the first Friday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Because the full moon timing varies so does the Easter timing.

Christmas is a Sun holiday, the coming of the sun. The problem with the dating of Christmas on the 25th was that the Roman calendar was three days wrong for the shortest day of the year. If we celebrated Christmas as it was originally intended, December 21 would be Christmas Eve and the 22nd Christmas day. The celebration of the coming sun, the light of the world returning.

 

[FF]

"By Dec 2 or 3 the days will start getting longer! Can summer be far behind?"


If 2021 is anything like 2020 it will be another hard year.

 

[Moby Nick]

Almost my favorite day of the year; because every day after that is longer.

 

[Cigatoo]

Almost my favorite day of the year; because every day after that is longer.

Here’s a guy with a glass that’s half full.

 

[soin2la]

Almost my favorite day of the year; because every day after that is longer.

I think Bruce K and a few others would ague with that.

 

[MurrayM]

I think Bruce K and a few others would ague with that.

My parents came back from Australia with a map of the world, where Antarctica was on top and the north pole was on the bottom, which makes sense...where is the top of a sphere like object floating (ripping along) in space?

Stoooopid northern hemispheric centrism

 

[EarlGreen]

My office at UA had a south facing window; sometimes hard to get work done.

In the morning these days, around 9 AM, the sunlight goes straight through my office horizontally, is reflected by the building behind us and comes back. For a few minutes I have full sunlight from both directions, the whole office is glowing. It is a very special moment.


(This year I work from home. But it's cloudy anyway most days.)


Today:

Sunrise: 8:48 AM

Sunset: 2:44 PM

 

[MurrayM]

In the morning these days, around 9 AM, the sunlight goes straight through my office horizontally, is reflected by the building behind us and comes back. For a few minutes I have full sunlight from both directions, the whole office is glowing. It is a very special moment.


(This year I work from home. But it's cloudy anyway most days.)


Today:

Sunrise: 8:48 AM

Sunset: 2:44 PM

Welcome aboard from the land Vikings bumped into long before Columbus ever did

Sunrise here 8:51am sunset 4:23pm