Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum

When you walk into the main entrance you find yourself on a balcony looking out

on a hanger filled with aeronautical history.  In the distance, in the next hanger

sits the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).  I had been to the Smithsonian

Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum before but the arrival of the Discovery

gave me a great excuse to come back for another visit.

On July 13, 1995,  I watched Discovery launch(STS-70) from the press mound at KSC.
It was a great experience I will never forget.

On that mission she deployed a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) which is pictured
above her in the picture below.

As a Florida resident I watched dozens of shuttle launches from a distance, many from
my driveway which is about 120 miles from Kennedy Space Center.
From that distance or even on TV the shuttles looked powerful, even elegant.
Up close it's a much different story, it's hard to believe that Discovery flew at
17,000 miles per hour.  I am very happy that the Smithsonian did not clean Discovery
before putting her on display.  She is filthy.  The signs of an abusive re-entry are visible
all over the orbiter.  On many of the heat tiles you can see linear marks showing
the direction of re-entry.  It's an amazing specimen everyone should see in person.

I found this curious item in a display case next to Discovery.
It's an Apollo timer.  Fans of this blog and my Youtube channel know where this
is headed, that would make a nice GoPro panning unit.

The "Hazy" is a great museum with much to see.  Below are a few snapshots of
a few of my favorite planes and some history making aircraft.
Best thing, it's free. Second best thing, there is empty floor and roof space
which means this museum will be growing.  There is a restoration hanger with several
planes being restored as I write this post.
So, if you visit our nations capital make the drive out to northern Virginia and see
one of the best air and space museums in the country.

Canon Rebel T4i First Time-Lapse

I shot my first proper time-lapse with my new Canon T4i.
I used my EF 40mm STM lens on the cloud shots.
My normal intervalometer does not work with the T4i so I ordered an RS-60E3
from Amazon under the name Neewer, which it does not say on it.
All it does say is "shoot"
Hum????  Well, it does work, but you have to find some Chinese import branding
interesting to say the least.
The cloud section was shot at 1 frame every 5 seconds, 100ISO f8 @1/500.
The night moon shot (at the end) was shot at ISO1600 f5.6 @15 seconds.

Canon EF 40mm STM Pancake Lens

This post is really for the gearheads and camera nuts but there are a few nice

still photos for a bit of a getaway. 

  Canon just came out with an interesting new lens that is tiny,

 the EF 40mm 2.8 STM.  Every serious Canon user will want one of these,

it is sharp and smooth and will easily fit in your bag.  Many will want it

for video use because it has a much quieter smoother stepper motor.

Click here to see a quick video test of the T4i auto focus system using the 40mm.

Why pancake? Humm? Looks more like a small hockey puck to me. 

Sample Photos

 

Merry Birthday America

All photos were shot with a Canon Rebel T4i with an EFS 17-55 2.8.

Westfield Brandon Town Center.

.

Canon Rebel T4i First Look

I have a slight addiction to cameras.  This time I convinced myself that my

lovely wife needed her own light weight DSLR.  The Canon T4i fits that bill,

and I hope it will make a great travel camera , smaller and lighter then my

other DSLRs.  I bought it at North Tampa Photography a few weeks ago,

so far so good.  It's a solid tough little camera, light weight and relatively easy to use.

If  you have an earlier Rebel you will have no problems, after years of using

a 20, 40 and 7D I found some of the buttons and menus challenging but

I figured most of it out, still learning it really.

I don't do "reviews" or give "recommendations" everyone is different and

has different needs and expectations.  That said, here are some of my first

videos and a sample of stills, a small low light ISO sampling at the bottom.

If you want a more detailed look, check out my friend Chad's blog over at

Chad Soriano PhotoBlog he has more stills and videos.

Video Samples

Still Samples

night sky ASA 100

night sky ASA 1600

night sky ASA 12800