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This is Page 1 of 3 - the best of January 2018!
posted: January 31st, 2018
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This page actually begins with December 25th, the day that Kazuya and I got new cameras for Christmas.  Then we jump to the next day and some shots of birds, and then December 28th and the rise of a beautiful orange sun.  After that we go to New Year's Eve, January 31st, and the annual fireworks display at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks (UAF).  After that we jump to January 6th and a walk up the road from our house to enjoy the sun.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin December 25th and 26th
  The first image in this row is a 2-shot panorama. These were the first two photos which I took with my new Canon SX-730 HS Camera. Both of us received the same new cameras for Christmas, so these were the first two shots I took with mine. Now we both have cameras with 40x optical zoom - an upgrade for Kazuya and a lateral move for me, but this camera is much smaller than my old one and I can put it in my rain jacket pocket when conditions are poor. I like it very much and Kazuya also likes his very much. The next two shots in this row show Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator) in our platform feeder.
Dec25_1_2_AutoPano_TestingNewCameraRC
Dec25_1_2_AutoPano
_TestingNewCameraRC
Dec26_5_PineGrosbeakRC
Dec26_5_
PineGrosbeakRC
Dec26th_011_PineGrosbeakRC
Dec26th_011_
PineGrosbeakRC

End December 25th and 26th, Begin December 28th
  Now it's December 28th and we had a great orange sunrise to test out our new cameras on. The colors came out very good and we are happy. These three photos were all taken from our front porch.
Dec28_1_OrangeSunFromPorchRC
Dec28_1_Orange
SunFromPorchRC
Dec28_2_OrangeSunFromPorchRC
Dec28_2_Orange
SunFromPorchRC
Dec28_3_OrangeSunFromPorchRC
Dec28_3_Orange
SunFromPorchRC

  Here are three more orange sunrise photos taken at various zoom factors.
Dec28_4_OrangeSunFromPorchRC
Dec28_4_Orange
SunFromPorchRC
Dec28th_018_SunshineRC
Dec28th_018_
SunshineRC
Dec28th_009_SunshineRC
Dec28th_009_
SunshineRC

End December 28th, Begin December 31st
  On New Year's Eve some local businesses put on a gorgeous fireworks display. They shoot them off from the highest point in town, which happens to be up at the University of Alaska West Ridge. We have gone there to see this amazing display for the past two years.
Dec31_06_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_06_New
YearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_08_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_08_New
YearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_10_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_10_New
YearsEveFireworksRC

  This additional test of our new cameras also pleased us! After the fireworks a bunch of us and our friends went to one friend's house to eat, drink and be merry and see in the new year! We had a great time and stayed there until about 1:00 AM on January 1st, 2018.
Dec31_11_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_11_New
YearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_22_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_22_New
YearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_30_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_30_New
YearsEveFireworksRC

  Here are the final two fireworks photos. By the way, if you've been wondering about the white light at the right of every one of these shots - it is the moon!
Dec31_34_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_34_New
YearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_53_NewYearsEveFireworksRC
Dec31_53_New
YearsEveFireworksRC

End December 31st, Begin January 6th
  Now it's January 6th and we invite you to take a walk from our house with us. We'll be going up the road for maybe three-quarters of a mile and shooting photos all along the way. Right now we are walking up the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The first image is looking down the pipeline and is a 2-landscape shot panorama (one shot above the other, not to the side). The second and third photos show frost crystals on top of the snow. This has occurred because there has not been any new snow in two or three weeks.
Jan6_04_05_ReposPano_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_04_05_ReposPano
_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6th_001_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_001_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_004_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_004_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC

  Here is one more shot of frost crystals on the top of the snow. The second and third shots show the Alaska Range near Delta Junction, about 100 miles away.
Jan6th_005_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_005_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6_14_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_14_A
WalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_15_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_15_A
WalkFromHome_SnowRC

  The first image in this row shows a close-up shot of a small plant with the frost crystals on it. The inset shows the way the ice crystals have "grown". The second shot shows the Alaska Range and the outlined area shows the next photo. The third shot, of course, shows the outlined area of the center shot.
Jan6th_027Small_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_027Small_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_034_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_034_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_033_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_033_Steele
CreekRd_SnowScenaryRC

  This is where we always end our walk up the road from home. The first shot was taken at 2:10 PM, which is only about an hour and 20 minutes after Solar Noon - the sun is not yet getting very high in the sky for us. The second shot is zoomed in somewhat and the third shot is zoomed in a lot.
Jan6th_054_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_054_SteeleCreek
Rd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_055_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_055_SteeleCreek
Rd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6_19_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_19_AWalk
FromHome_SnowRC

  The first shot here is another which is zoomed in a great deal. In the far background you can see that there is a Fata Morgana mirage. The second shot in this row is also zoomed in.
Jan6_20_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_20_AWalk
FromHome_SnowRC
Jan6th_056_SteeleCreekRd_SnowScenaryRC
Jan6th_056_SteeleCreek
Rd_SnowScenaryRC

  These two shots were both taken looking more to the west in this open field. In the second shot you can see two cross-country skiers.
Jan6_23_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_23_AWalk
FromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_25_AWalkFromHome_SnowRC
Jan6_25_AWalk
FromHome_SnowRC

End January 6th, End Page 1
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