Sunset – Page 11 – Decaseconds

Berkeley Lab Super Resolution

2021-Apr-212021-Apr-21 adohertyh2 Comments

Extracting additional information from an image by “enhancing” it has long been a ridiculous trope of police procedurals; it’s with great amusement that I noticed that Photoshop’s new “Super Resolution” capability (which uses machine learning to quadruple the resolution of an image) is under an option called “Enhance”. The first subject for enhancement was this picture I took of Berkeley and San Francisco in 2011. It’s worth the click-through for the full resolution version.

(Adding to the super-resolution theme, this image also contains, in the lower-center, the Molecular Foundry and its associated center for electron microscopy.)

That Campus Glow

2021-Apr-192021-Apr-17 adohertyhLeave a comment

St. Lawrence’s campus emits white light at night, while Park Street uses orange sodium lamps.

Larry’s View

2021-Apr-142021-Apr-13 adohertyh1 Comment

The most senior faculty member in St. Lawrence University’s Department of Chemistry is preparing to retire and I selected this image to present to him. (Shhh, keep it a secret for a few more days.) He often looks out from Johnson Hall of Science, the building in the foreground, north towards the older parts of campus (like the chapel spire above the horizon.) In this image, I hopefully captured for him both where he stands and what he sees so that he can take them with him when he goes.

Small Town Clouds

2021-Mar-222021-Mar-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

Warm weather is finally returning to the North Country, and “drone weather” with it.

Storm on the Adirondack Horizon at Sunset

2021-Feb-052021-Feb-04 adohertyhLeave a comment

When an autumn day at St. Lawrence University ends with a storm above the Adirondacks, those horizon raindrops scatter warm hues back to the quadcopter camera.

Berkeley Christmas Redux

2021-Jan-292021-Jan-28 adohertyhLeave a comment

This image of Berkeley and San Francisco on Christmas Day 2016 is one of those shots so lovely that I’m not sure why I haven’t shared it already. All of the little details laid out in the hillsides and city streets of the Bay Area… How did I miss this one?

Remains of Berkeley Pier

2021-Jan-272021-Jan-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

In the era before the Bay Bridge and BART tunnel, the ferry between the East Bay and San Francisco departed from the end of a long pier. (The pier used to be even longer—the Berkeley Marina extended into the water around it.) The ferry ended service in 1937, after the bridge opened, but remained a popular location for fishing until it deteriorated to its current unsafe state. I’m kind of fascinated to see its skeleton jutting out into the Bay, a linear form amid rolling marine layer clouds.

Rain Chases the Sunset

2021-Jan-222021-Jan-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

One of my favorite shots of 2020 is this quadcopter-captured image of a thunderstorm on the horizon chasing the setting sun, with the village of Canton’s public works in the foreground.

Along the River in Old Town

2021-Jan-082021-Jan-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

This expanse of dramatic clouds, Petrin Hill, and the Vltava River was across the street from our hotel in Prague. While always a gorgeous view, most evenings brought rain instead of this kind of skyscape. I was lucky to find this scene on the final night of the trip.

Smoke in the Distance

2021-Jan-042021-Jan-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

Citizens of the North Country spent much of their spring quarantines in the woods; the campfire smoke from just beyond Lampson Falls attests to the family spending the night below.

New Year: Clouds Over Petřín

2021-Jan-01 adohertyhLeave a comment

My hope for the New Year is more opportunities to travel to places like Prague and capture views like these.

Vltava Bird Pattern

2020-Dec-232020-Dec-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

Along Prague’s Vltava River, this pattern of one-bird-per-piling appears to be very strict throughout the day. At sunset, however, the pattern reaches its most dramatic. I guess everyone wants a view.

Setting Sun at the Farm

2020-Dec-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

Living in the North Country means a very northern feature to the seasons: wild swings in the amount of daylight. Even a month before the solstice, the sun has nearly vanished by 4:00 PM.

Sodium Emission vs. Rayleigh Scattering

2020-Oct-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

We’re not far from the ninth anniversary of the founding of Decaseconds, and I came upon this arresting image of Berkeley Marina, the Marin Headlands, and the Golden Gate Bridge (never before published here) while searching for just the right anniversary shot. I’m fascinated by the way the orange emission of sodium vapor lamps lighting Berkeley (I’m sure now all swapped for white LEDs) matches the Rayleigh-scattered oranges of the winter sunset. The same wavelengths of light, coming from completely different mechanisms.

Chicago Silhuoette

2020-Sep-142021-Oct-15 adohertyhLeave a comment

An early-evening flight into Chicago puts the setting sun behind the skyline along Lake Michigan, reflecting silhouettes from the placid surface.