― Stewart Stafford
Have you looked for Comet Neowise? Actually, it's one of the more impressive comets I've seen since Hale-Bopp in 1995. I woke up early one morning several days ago and was surprised to see it naked-eye conveniently from my patio. I didn't feel like driving anywhere at 3:45AM, so I setup my camera and tripod and took a few 10 to 15-second exposures with high noise reduction. To be sure, I've seen better photographs of Neowise and I probably could do better using the clock drive on my Celestron C8, but these will do. Getting away from the light pollution of the city would undoubtedly help as well. You've probably seen some dazzling long-exposure photographs of Neowise online, but these shots are pretty close to what it looks like naked-eye.
For a little more zoom, this one was taken with my Tamron 60mm lens:
Apart from that, it's been a continuation of bug hunting and photography, which is my favorite summer endeavor between spring and fall bird migration.
Robbery Fly "Gnat Ogre" Holcocephala sp.
Though tiny, they're every bit as ferocious as their larger cousins!
Robbery Fly "Gnat Ogre" Holcocephala sp.
Red Milkweed Beetle Tetraopes tetrophthalmus
‘Summer’ Spring Azure Celastrina ladon neglecta
Dogbane Leaf Beetle Chrysochus auratus
Robber Fly Cerotainia albipilosa
The above robber fly is even smaller than the Gnat Ogre –– the Fleabane offers some sense of scale.
Mating Damselflies Enallagma sp.
Eastern Forktail Damselfly Ischnura verticalis
Eastern Pondhawk Erythemis simplicicollis
Brilliant Jumping Spider Phidippus clarus
Red-banded Leafhopper Graphocephala coccinea
All images © 2020 Mike McDowell