šHappy Holidays everyone! āļø We spent yesterday practicing use of snow anchors, belaying and rope-team traversal on snow with our almost 3yr-old twins. They were excited to use their climbing harnesses, exclaiming āWeāre pattached!ā (thatās the one word they still mis-pronounce and we never correct them!). We were at 6,500ft (2.000m) elevation and it wasContinue reading “Alpining with Toddlers”
Category Archives: Photo
Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii
Hanauma Bay is a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring and located along the southeast coast of the Island of OŹ»ahu in the Hawaiian Islands. By the 1990s, over-tourism was a major issue at the Bay causing deterioration of the coral reefs and the ecosystem around them. Over the last 25 years conservation effortsContinue reading “Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii”
Dreamy Sunrise over San Francisco Bay
I was driving into San Francisco early morning. Fall had just started and it was probably the first rainy/cloudy day this season – in fact it even rained later that day. It was quite fascinating to see the surreal display of light on water, mixed with the container ships making their way to and fromContinue reading “Dreamy Sunrise over San Francisco Bay”
Super Blue Moon rising over Lake Michigan, Chicago
I got this picture from on-board a boat on Lake Michigan. This was the closest the moon will be to the earth in a while. The next time the moon will come this close will be in 2037! I’m not entirely sure what kind of optical illusion(s) caused it to look like a mushroom cloud:Continue reading “Super Blue Moon rising over Lake Michigan, Chicago”
People swimming inside an energy reactor: Stable Diffusion AI to
I had tried a similar prompt to evaluate Dall-E earlier. So wanted to see how Stable Diffusion worked for it. The difference here is that all these images were created locally on my machine (not in the cloud). It’s getting easier and easier to run advanced AI models with limited technical knowledge thanks to workContinue reading “People swimming inside an energy reactor: Stable Diffusion AI to”
Petra, a city cut out from rocks
PetraĀ (Arabic:Ā Ł±ŁŁŲØŁŲŖŁŲ±ŁŲ§Ų”ā,Ā romanized:Ā Al-BatrÄŹ¾;Ā Ancient Greek:Ā Ī ĪĻĻĪ±, “Stone”), originally known to its inhabitants inĀ Nabataean AramaicĀ as Ģ¢š¢š¢š¢š¢Ā rqmwRaqÄmÅ,[3][4]Ā is a historical and archaeological city in southernĀ Jordan. Petra lies aroundĀ Jabal Al-MadbahĀ in aĀ basinĀ surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of theĀ ArabahĀ valley that runs from theĀ Dead Seato theĀ Gulf of Aqaba.[5]Ā The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000Ā BC. We set the cameraContinue reading “Petra, a city cut out from rocks”
Shooting Neowise with a f2.8/400mm, probably the last ones this season
Yesterday was the faintest I have seen it. I guess seasonās over!
Comet Neowise at Night
Can you believe we didnāt even know this comet existed until less than 4 months ago? And now we wonāt see it again for 6700 years! C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or Comet NEOWISE is a retrograde comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field InfraredContinue reading “Comet Neowise at Night”
Neighborhood Walk during Sheltering in Place
Everyone in California right now is sheltering in place. We have been asked to minimize travel, work from home and not leave home unless absolutely necessary. No driving to places for an evening walk etc. What’s allowed is to go downstairs for a quick walk in the neighborhood. Luckily, we live close to this spotContinue reading “Neighborhood Walk during Sheltering in Place”
The Russian Woodpecker in Chernobyl
I was recently in Ukraine and I decided to visit Chernobyl. I did not know anything about this giant antenna system, the āRussian Woodpeckerā until I got here. And itās incredible. In 1976 the world heard for the first time the eerie woodpecker-like repetitive pulse coming from these transmitters in present day Ukraine. Conspiracy theoriesContinue reading “The Russian Woodpecker in Chernobyl”