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Indiana Fever vs. Tulsa Shock


2014.06.26

I'm still editing photos from a high school friend's wedding, so those will probably go up this weekend. Before that, two bits of news: The first session of summer classes is over, and I got A's in both of them; and I covered my first Indiana Fever game for the Star.

The Fever lost to the Tulsa Shock, 107-102, but it was an exciting game, stretching into overtime. It matched well with the other exciting development of the day, as U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young ruled that Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It's a big deal, given that earlier this year, the legislature was debating whether to send a ban codified as a constitutional amendment to voters. The Star, of course, was all over it, covering the licenses granted and ceremonies performed in the Marion County clerk's office shortly after noon.

All in all, a big day.

Shock center Courtney Paris hits Fever forward Erlana Larkins in the face during the Indiana Fever\'s 107-102 overtime loss to the Tulsa Shock at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
Shock center Courtney Paris hits Fever forward Erlana Larkins in the face during the Indiana Fever's 107-102 overtime loss to the Tulsa Shock at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.

Continued...

This was (the rest of) May.


2014.06.05

I had a record ten assignments for the Star this past month. Some of those assignments have already been posted, but here are a few that happened after the Tegan & Sara concert. They include a preview party for the Broad Ripple Art Fair, The Wanted concert (and all the fans!) at the Egyptian Room, the Sectional 13 softball championship game, and maybe the most surreal photo assignment I've ever had, a very intense Rock Paper Scissors tournament at White Rabbit Cabaret. Enjoy the photos!

Tomorrow starts the first weekend of wedding photos this season, as I will be covering the marriage rites of a good high school friend in West Lafayette. If my past wedding work is any indication, it should be a lot of fun.

Franklin runner Shelby Taylor makes her way back to second base before the tag by New Palestine shortstop Adie Lorsung during the Sectional 13 softball championship game at Franklin Community High School, Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
Franklin runner Shelby Taylor makes her way back to second base before the tag by New Palestine shortstop Adie Lorsung during the Sectional 13 softball championship game at Franklin Community High School, Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

Continued...

CA-me-lo-PAR-da-lids meteor shower


2014.05.26

The Camelopardalids meteor shower, a new shower born of a comet that will pass by Earth on the 29th, was expected to be either awesome or a bit of a dud. In my viewing it was a dud, at least as far as the meteors were concerned. I did catch more meteors with my camera than I ever had before, but given that I was taking photos of meteors for a full hour on Saturday morning, it wasn't that impressive. I'll have to do this again during the Perseids in August. Those should be grand; they always are.

Below, I have several composite shots from the shindig, in which I took 186 15-second exposures between 2:32 a.m. and 3:27 a.m. from my house on the outskirts of Indianapolis. In all the photos, you can find the Big Dipper near or in the middle of the frame, its two stars at the end of the ladle pointing toward Polaris, the North Star and the tip of the Little Dipper.

The first is a mix of three exposures showing off three (probable) meteors on one set of stars (the meteors are circled in the second photo). Then there are the three original meteor-containing photos. Two of the meteors (just below Polaris) appear as dots instead of streaks; I'm guessing that's because the streak part of it wasn't bright enough to trip any pixels, while the ending burst was bright enough. The final meteor (near the tree line) did leave a streak.

The sixth picture isn't a meteor at all; it's the body of a rocket called Cosmos 2263, launched by Russia in September 1993. I captured it in 11 exposures, and when I first saw it I thought it could have been the International Space Station, which I've captured before. Alas, if I had stayed out for ten more minutes, I would have caught it.

The seventh photo is the crown jewel of the evening. Using some Photoshop CS6 magic, I combined all 186 photos, and I got long star trails. Quite deservedly, it's my new desktop background.

One more thing: Today is Memorial Day. It's set aside to remember veterans lost both in and out of wars, but it's also a good time to remember all people we loved, but who left us too soon. In the spirit of that, I recommend to you a poignant story from the Story Collider science podcast: Sara Seager: A New Search for Life. I rediscovered it today, and it shares at least two good messages that might help you deal with grief and, just maybe, help you live a fulfilling life.

One hundred eighty-six photos make up this composite image of the night sky over Indianapolis in the early morning of May 25, 2014. Three Camelopardalids meteors are shown, as well as the path of an old Russian rocket.
One hundred eighty-six photos make up this composite image of the night sky over Indianapolis in the early morning of May 25, 2014. Three Camelopardalids meteors are shown, as well as the path of an old Russian rocket.

Continued...
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