Rick Olson

_0Z88459-Edit My gorgeous bride, at Gibbs Gardens

Gorgeous day with my beautiful bride! After this visit to Gibbs, we hit Dukes Creek Falls and Helton Creek Falls. Colors are past peak, but still great in a few places.

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Tremont last weekend, cellphone image.

Smokies for Fall Colors Mostly, these images are from the Middle Prong Little River, (from pulloffs along Upper Tremont Road), or from the Lynn Camp Prong, along the Middle Prong Trail. There are a few, as well, from Cades ...

Mary joined me and a couple dozen friends from 2 camera clubs for a field trip to the Smokies last weekend, where we enjoyed some pretty good fall color. Townsend was our base for trips into Cades Cove and the Tremont area. Most of these images are from Middle Prong.
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Smokies for Fall Colors Mostly, these images are from the Middle Prong Little River, (from pulloffs along Upper Tremont Road), or from the Lynn Camp Prong, along the Middle Prong Trail. There are a few, as well, from Cades ...

Mary and I shared the weekend with friends from my 2 camera clubs in the Smokies. Endless beauty up there.

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No limit to the vanity, the selfishness, the callous disregard for the nation's people. I'm sure his billionaire friends will be impressed. So am I, but maybe in a different way.

Astrophotography My efforts at capturing elements of the night sky and outer space.

This is my collection, so far, of astral photographs. (Except for a few Milky Way shots that aren't yet shared to Flickr. I have to find those and add them to this album.) I love doing astrophotography, but the cost and commitment escalate quickly...
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Trying to photograph the Pleides thru clouds...

NO KINGS - EAST COBB, Marietta, GA · No Kings In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings. We certainly don't put up with them in EAST COBB. We showed our community that on June 14th. Let's do it again Sat Oct 18 - even BIGGER this time! Our...

Want to join me for this No Kings event? www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

The Milky Way, straight overhead last night from north GA. The diagonal smudge in the upper right area is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, about a trillion stars some 2.5 million lightyears away.

The comet was disappointing, but it was a perfect night anyway for some astral work at Nottely Dam - comfortable and the seeing was awesome!

_0Z86261-Edit-3 Carter's Lake, 2 hours worth of star trails made from 40 3-minute exposures. For the foreground, I liked this one, showing the boat photo-bombing my composition! Image reversed left-to-right.

I recently had a great night with friends from 2 camera clubs doing astrophotography. It's taken me that long to finish this star trails shot - created using 40 3-minute exposures for a 2 hour total. I liked the photobombing boat, so used that frame as foreground. Image reversed.
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The monarchs are in flight at Gibbs Gardens!

NO KINGS - EAST COBB, Marietta, GA · No Kings In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings. We certainly don't put up with them in EAST COBB. We showed our community that on June 14th. Let's do it again Sat Oct 18 - even BIGGER this time! Our...

I'm attending No Kings's event, “NO KINGS - EAST COBB, Marietta, GA” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

Lovely trip to Gibbs Gardens with my sweet bride today. Fall wildflowers abound: cosmos, coreopsis and zinnias especially. And accordingly, lots of monarchs, sulphurs, fritillaries and other flying beauties have arrived. Here, a black swallowtail heads for the perfect bloom.

Tussock moth caterpillar. Look but don't touch!

This pretty lady is just about plump enough to start her annual journey across the Gulf of Mexico. But for the moment, she's protecting (hoarding!) a few more calories just beneath her perch.

A Fox fool militarizing our zombie democracy. I'm sadder by the day.

About 15 friends from CPS and NGPC joined me Friday night for our annual Milky Way / star trails workshop Friday night. Light clouds early on, it cleared out nicely later. Love this location! (Carter's Lake.)

Parallelocats

Gorgeous night at Carter's Lake.

Moonrise! Time to head home

Hoping for a decent image of the Andromeda Galaxy tonight! A bit hazy, but maybe it'll work

Mary's cosmos are nearly as tall as I am, an easy target for my cellphone camera - and as I was framing a shot, this guy politely photobombed!

Another Iceland image, this one a cellphone shot thru a van's window. Stark landscapes draw me in like iron to a magnet.

Remembering Iceland: every day, hundreds of visitors approach the chilling mist from this powerful waterfall, Skogafoss.

Hofskirkja Church is almost as creepy as this B&W rendering suggests.

And I found myself "reflecting" on ancient ice at Spinafellsjokull glacier.

From Feb 2024, the sea stacks at Vikurfjara Black Sands Beach, Vik, Iceland. Taming those waves to this degree required a 20 second exposure.

Tonight's moon, waxing gibbous at 67%. I love the detail that shows at this phase. I grabbed the camera because I liked the look at blue hour, but the B&W conversion is better.

Nikon Z8 handheld, 180-600 @ 500mm, 1/500, F / 6.3, ISO 800.

Astral Images from Carter's Lake, August 2025 These images were gathered from 2 nights in late August, and from both the "Day Use" area on the north shore - which includes the "astronomy field", where the star trails shot was ...

Sunset and astral images from 2 nights at Carter's Lake.
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