Nature Friend Magazine

07/06/2024

It was one month ago today when CMEs were hurled toward the sun from active region 3664. The region is crossing the sun again after having been behind the sun for several weeks. During this pass it is AR3697. This morning Adrian and I used a 3x Explorer Scientific focal extender, and photographed the region before it again disappears around the right side of the sun.

15/05/2024

The group of sunspots at the 6:00 o'clock position are the ones that caused the beautiful aurora Friday night, May 10, 2024

11/05/2024

Last night, Rockingham County, VA.

10/05/2024

Our solar eclipse poster is off to the printer for a second printing. We made some revisions to it. This design shows the corona at totality with better clarity than the first design.

Posters are for sale at naturefriendmagazine dot com.

23/03/2024

This is a superb photo of the Eastern Screech-Owl! Great capture by Mike Lentz Nature Photography.

Look closely! That Eastern Screech owl is coughing up a pellet and it's a big one!

This is a pretty popular location that many local photographers are familiar with and visit frequently. I've found that hiking up the slope up the hillside in the river valley gets you to an eye level perspective that makes the image more intimate.

Before the breeding season, males defend an area containing several cavities. As part of patrolling their territories, males spend each night in a different cavity. Female Screech Owls select a nest site from the cavities in the male’s territory. Females tend to choose cavities that have been well supplied with food by the male. They also prefer cavities in which they have successfully raised young in previous years. Nests are typically found in natural cavities, abandoned woodpecker holes, and hollow stumps and limbs.

20/01/2024

We learned this morning that ice bells have formed in Dry River. Anyone in our area who wishes for a heads up, now you have it.

These were photographed a year ago in Muddy Creek.

15/01/2024

I’ve been thanking God for rain, and then suddenly realized yesterday that clear was predicted for the night. So, Adrian and I got to enjoy photographing this.

13/01/2024

Last evening I was gone. So, son Adrian opened the observatory and got the raw files that made up this photo. I processed it for him today. This was the first astrophoto he captured the photos that made up this picture by himself.

08/01/2024

Thursday night Adrian and I got to spend time in our observatory. This is the first official photo we have taken from it.

21/12/2023

We moved two telescopes into our observatory last evening. My first official astrophoto from it was taken with my cell phone, believe it or not. I captured the standing boy nebula just south of Orion.

14/12/2023

I took this photo at midnight this past Sunday, looking out an upstairs window.

14/10/2023

Clouds and light drizzle turned into partial sun. Surprisingly we were able to get a few shots of the partial eclipse today.

16/08/2023

Last evening Adrian and I spent some time under the stars, and while we were at it, Adrian photographed the Dumbbell Nebula. I believe this was 115, 5-second exposures (625 seconds total).

09/08/2023

We looked at Cheryl’s lightning photos today, and found this. What appears to be a rotating column to us is actually an updraft according to a meteorologist.

05/08/2023

Cheryl found this nest above our driveway several weeks ago. This was a shot that was taken today.

29/07/2023

I did a panorama this evening, blending seven or eight photos into one. Highlights were being able to include a touch of rainbow as well as capturing a bolt of lightning over the distant farm.

22/07/2023

Had some fun photo opportunities recently. Merged them into one.

It appears some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are dismayed by the arrival of a waved sphinx moth at “their” flower.

09/07/2023

Red-eyed Vireo nest beside our deck.

02/07/2023

The story of this nest will be in the August issue. When I saw this photo Adrian took, I quit looking for a front cover.

01/07/2023

01/07/2023

Days 19 and 20 for these two birds. They are going to leave soon.

25/06/2023

One of these days two little hummers will leave their nest.

19/03/2023

https://dl.allaboutbirds.org/birdspotter2022-23-winners-0

Daughter Cheryl learned today her photo in this contest won third place.

The Votes are In! Here are your winners and finalists for the BirdSpotter photo contest sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited and Project FeeerWatch.

08/03/2023

We did a fun field trip with Cheryl and Adrian yesterday. We spent a few hours photographing waterfowl near the Chesapeake Bay.

24/02/2023

Comet c/2022 E3 ZTF. This is the first photo Adrian and I worked at together. I was hoping we could get started in time to still capture this comet. It has been approximately ten years since someone in our family last did astrophotography.

This photo would benefit from being reprocessed, using a better set of flats to fix the vignetting along the edges.

24/02/2023

Adrian and I are learning astrophotography together. This is the Orion Nebula and the Running Man Nebula that we photographed last week. We used a Celestron 11" EdgeHD, using a ZWO ASI 2600MC CCD camera on a hyperstar.

If you need astronomy gear, give us a shout. We are dealers for Celestron, Sky-Watcher, Meade, Explore Scientific, and more.

30/12/2022

We had ice bells form over Christmas. Here is a sneak peak at what we expect to include in the February Nature Friend Nature Friend Magazine.

22/12/2022

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07/12/2022

The Perfect Gifts for Nature Lovers!

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