VIEWING THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION--

Recently we published two photos of the space station as it orbits the Earth 17 times each day. Often it is visible to the naked eye.

This only happens when the station--250 miles above the Earth--is flying in early morning or early evening sunshine while it is then dark on earth. The station becomes visible to us because it is reflecting the sunlight while it is flying through the dark skies of our viewing location.

It is not visible every morning or evening because its orbit does not always pass over or near our viewing location.

To see the station you simply need to know the time of its being visible overhead and the direction of its travel.

To help us with that information, NASA provides a web site here: Click on that link and the web page will appear. If not, copy and paste the following information into your favorite search engine: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

On the top left of that page you must select your country (the US is the default listing) then click on "Go to Country." Another panel will appear where you must click on your state. That will produce another panel where you will click on a near-by city. There are over 60 cities listed for Ohio. Just pick the one closest to your viewing location. Even if the chosen city is miles away from you it will make only minor differences in your viewing information.

That last selection you make will produce a list of days and times the station will be visible to your location over the next two weeks. If it is not going to be visible to you it will tell you that too.

Obviously you will need nearly cloudless skies with good visibility at your viewing time.

Look at the column entitled "MAX ELEV (DEG)". That tells you the maximum elevation the station will reach in degrees above your horizon. The horizon is at zero degrees and directly overhead is at 90 degrees.

The bigger that number the better your viewing will be. Low elevation numbers should give you a peek but the station could be obscured by nearby hills or other obstructions to your view.

Be sure you have the correct time on your watch. The station will come into view and could cross your viewing area in a minute or so, or, take 3 to four minutes to make its pass depending on its elevation. So, if your watch is off by a few minutes you might miss your sighting. Use your "atomic" clock time or set your watch to the local radio or TV station.

When the station becomes visible to you it likely will appear as the brightest "star" in the sky and it will be moving! Stars on the other hand, appear to be standing still. The station's velocity will be very much like seeing a jet airplane passing overhead at high altitude.

I've seen the station hundreds of times and it still is exciting to ponder the fact there are usually five astronaut/scientists aboard and they will witness 17 sunrises and 17 sunsets each Earth day--minus their sleep time, of course.

OUR TEN FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 2009--

It is difficult to distill a year's worth of photos into 10 favorites. In fact, chances are very good doing this job at another time could result in different choices. Nevertheless, here they are in only somewhat random order. Choices also were made to present a balanced panel of images crossing the wide spectrum of photographic techniques. We hope you enjoy this review as much as we enjoyed the year in which they were created.

--Terry

I like to think of the above picture as an enchanting image with the sun's rays painting this rocky slice of geologic time at Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills. Lady friend Sue and I enjoyed the solitude of this moment; reflected nicely by her being a singular, human presence in the composition.

A Great Spangled Fritillary very cooperatively enjoyed breakfast on these Canada Thistles early one morning along the driveway. Much of the sizzle in this picture comes from the critter's being backlit by strong sunlight. Exposure was carefully adjusted to avoid over-exposure which under exposed the background of fairly dark pine needles, rendering them black. Sometimes it really pays to tote the camera along.

This picture was done with a macro lens likely just inches from the water droplet on the leaf. The lens was set to shoot at a distance that made a nice composition then the camera was moved very gently back and forth until super sharp focus was achieved. Note the very shallow depth of field (plane of sharp focus). This is a 100 mm digital lens, very close to the subject with a fairly wide aperture--all of which choices minimize depth of field--a useful creative tool.

This picture succeeds because it pushes the limits. I zoomed the 200 mm digital lens and took a light reading of the spot lit area of the arena. The exposure was done at 1/20th of a second at f/5.6 and an ISO of 800. I panned the camera at precisely the speed the horse was running as the shutter was released. It helped to be witnessing some exquisite horsemanship at a premier horseshow in Columbus.

Just a post-card like view of the Shenandoah Valley from high above along the Appalachian Trail. Anyone with a point and shoot camera could make nice images here. The biggest challenge is getting to the higher elevations with hiking being the principal means of locomotion.

I like caves. This one is in the LuRay Caverns of Virginia and shows how nicely the sense of light and dark can be maintained with the proper exposure without the flash. I hand-held this shot at 1/8th second, f/4.5 and ISO of 1600 by sitting on the floor and solidly supporting the camera on my upright knee--and squeezing the shutter release.

I liked the choreography of the Canada Goose flight juxtaposed over the real violence of the bird's defense of its breeding territory which was actually taking place at the moment. The shutter speed of 1/400th of a second was sufficient to stop the bird but left it's wings a blur suggesting the speed of its flight.

A wise Snowy Owl. He was more concerned about the apparition with the big "eye" staring at him (me) than the nice things his handler was telling the crowd about his habits and habitat. The photo also serves to illustrate the easiest way most photos can be improved. Get up close and crop all extraneous stuff from your composition.

The neon tube was part of a permanent display at the Columbus Museum of Art. I was enjoying its very simple light, shape and color when this fellow crudely stopped in front of me and pondered the display with a p0nderous shake of the head. I could imagine hearing the exclamation "Duh...". Me too, pal! Not the display, rather, his dose of uncivilized behavior.

I included this photo because it takes a peek at the gritty side of life. Those are the hooves of a calf trying to be born. The rope is attached to a winch which itself is secured to a barn post. I'm not sure of the intent of the farmer's phone call. Is he discussing this perplexing challenge with a veterinarian, or, does the photo reflect a certain casualness that some folks might find uncomfortable under the circumstances?

OUR ANNUAL VACATION--

Fogeyisms will be taking some time off for a leisurely visit with friends and family in Florida. Coming up Thursday will be our annual selection of our favorite photos from the past year. There may or may not be anything else published until we return. Hopefully we will have some reports on frolicking on sun-drenched beaches intermingled with musings of other sub-tropical adventures.

Then again, we may do absolutely nothing but relax on a beach somewhere down there and ponder sea shells, or other visual delicacies. Please stay tuned.

MERRY CHRISTMAS--

Please accept this image as our way of wishing you the very best during the holiday season and throughout next year. The picture was made at Kingwood Center last year and is a photo of a Christmas tree done entirely with gold decorations. The unusual photo effect is the result of zooming the lens during a slow exposure. --Terry

CHRISTMAS--
at Malabar Farm

A tour guide at Malabar Farm shows guests through the bedroom once used as the homeymoon suite by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall after their marriage there in May of 1945.

That wedding remains as one of the premier social events ever to take place in the Mansfield area.

Visitors were participating in a holiday open house one recent weekend at the former home of Pulitizer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield. Guides indicated the Bogart's would recognize the room yet today as it was decororated just as it appeared in 1945. 

TWO GEEZERS, TWO BIKES,
A GYM AND A GOAL--

There are a couple of stories loitering in today’s blog.

One involves two aging geezers who are starting to push the envelope a wee bit—and enjoying every minute of it.

You see, about 4 years ago I rode my bicycle 65 miles one day during the week I turned 65. Now, already, birthday number 70 is coming up next fall and I want to do the same thing; 70 miles of bicycling one day near my 70th birthday.

This time I will have a serious riding companion in the form of Ken Johnson of Bellville who turns 70 just a week or so behind me and who eagerly embraced sharing the ride.

We just discovered this mutual interest so we are embarking on a conditioning program in preparation for the challenge it represents--especially for me.

Ohio winters pretty much shut down comfortable bike riding from now until those first mild days of spring so our task is to not only retrain our current level of conditioning but build on it so we can tackle the endurance venture we have set for ourselves.

This brings me to the second story here. Ken has a miniature version of a fitness club of his own in his basement. And, while it contains some very spiffy exercise hardware, lots of our planned conditioning work will involve very simple exercise tools like most of us already have or can easily concoct around the house.

That’s story number 2.

The heart of Ken’s fitness gym is a multi-purpose contraption. It can exercise about everything you want exercised. From a web site of similar appliances I discovered a modern home gym could cost easily $850 or more. Lots more.

Toss in a weight bench and a set of weights, a rowing machine and, well, you get the picture.

We will gladly take advantage of Ken’s machinery as we launch our conditioning program. But, lots of exercise also will be done with home-contrived appliances which he also has in abundance.

There’s a pulley hung from a floor joist with a bar on one end and adjustable weight loads on the other, for example. There are lots of exercise contortions possible with that rig alone.

How about his simple set of steps where we can climb, or stand still and flex our antique, Achilles tendons, both till our heart’s content?

A simple rubber line with handles around a pole allows lots of exercise to happen; inexpensively.

Then, picture this: a short rod with hand grips and free turning wheels in the middle. Just get down on your knees with the wheeled gadget rolling slowly away from your outstretched arms—but don’t touch the floor with your body. Then pull yourself back up onto your knees. Think of push-ups with a wheel on a stick.

Think of pain.

When you get good at that exercise, imagine trying it with just your toes and the wheel touching the floor.

So, there you have it; a couple of geriatric adolescents launching on a mildly improbable goal for senior citizens with an eclectic mix of hardware at our disposal.

We hope you will come along for the ride. Vicariously, of course.

_______________________
Ken Johnson shows this rookie (top photo) the technique of exercising with his wheel-on-a-stick. That’s a name I imagined as I began to realize how challenging it was going to be duplicating his demonstration.

In the lower photo he is using his home gym machine to replicate sit-ups; a marvelous exercise for those troubling bulges that appear around the waistline when we are not otherwise careful.

Bicycling companion Ken Johnson of Bellville is the picture of pleasure as he glides through innumerable repetitions of stair-stepping on his exercise machine. While Ken is in excellent condition, this rookie to formal exercise is launching on a conditioning regimen aimed at the two of us completing 70 mile bike rides when we turn 70 within weeks of each other next October. Please tune in Saturday and begin the adventure with us.