How you can photograph the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight?

By in Photography

How you can photograph the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight?

Capturing meteor showers with a camera demands patience and technique. Tailored for DSLR or mirrorless cameras, these tips also apply to some point-and-shoot cameras with manual controls.

Meteor showers, occurring regularly, are named after stars or constellations close to their apparent origin. Ensure clear weather and avoid bright Moon or clouds.

Dimming the camera’s LCD screen helps eyes adjust to darkness and prevents image flooding. Meteor showers peak after the new moon, providing a moonlight-free sky.

AMAZING meteor shower captured on video

Photography requires long exposures, and even steady hands can’t eliminate all shaking. Tripods, even lightweight, help, and sandbags add stability. Propping a camera securely without a tripod is an option.

Wide-angle lenses increase sky coverage, enhancing meteor capture chances. A tripod reduces camera shake, and self-timers or shutter release cables avoid button-induced shaking.

Autofocus struggles at night, so set focus to infinity and fine-tune using test images. Repeat adjustments until satisfied. Zoomable electronic viewfinders may help.

Meteor showers radiate from specific sky points, following the 500 Rule helps avoid star trails. Divide 500 by the lens length in millimeters for the maximum exposure time before trails appear.

Set shutter priority based on the maximum exposure time and adjust aperture and ISO manually for improvement. Changing one setting at a time enhances understanding.

These tips, coupled with a touch of luck, can reward photographers with stunning meteor shower images using their DSLR, mirrorless, or manual point-and-shoot cameras.

When is the Leonid Meteor Shower peak?

The Leonid Meteor Shower is currently active, running from November 3 to December 2, 2023, with its peak on November 18, offering around 15 shooting stars per hour.

Unlike some meteor showers limited to specific regions, the Leonids can be viewed starting at midnight local time from virtually anywhere.

NASA recommends lying flat on your back with your feet towards the east and looking up to observe the shower. Alternatively, heading to a dark-sky location like a National Forest enhances the experience, providing a darker backdrop for the shooting stars.

2023 Modern Gift Ideas From Senior Editor Gregory Han

By in Design

2023 Modern Gift Ideas From Senior Editor Gregory Han

Despite my longtime role here amongst my esteemed Design Milk colleagues as our site’s resident technology lover, my personal wants have increasingly leaned toward the utilitarian. In the past year my wife and I bought our first home, and we wrote out first book together, and in turn, it always seems like my wishlist looks more like a shopping list for a contractor or the supplies list of a hiking enthusiast rather than a design lover. Even so, there are more than a few gift items my design-loving heart longs to welcome into my life, a few of them shared below…

I still love the Dixon-designed Jack that I purchased a lifetime ago in celebration of a move and promotion, and I’ve continued to admire his current efforts, like this chemist-inspired borosilicate vessel that lands within the nexus of my interests in science, design, and display. It ain’t easy being green, but displaying any plant or floral cutting with this vase will easily add a dimension of the graphic to complement the natural.

Multi-tier pagoda shaped desk lamp on desk, dimly illuminated.

Architecturally-inspired lighting can veer into the realm of kitsch, but Hangzhou-based designer Mario Tsai’s multi-tiered, die-cast aluminum lamps and lights inspired by the pagoda are a study in understated elegance. The light it glows with is more atmospheric than room illuminating, but as someone with a low-grade obsession with lighting, I’d welcome this modular height design in any of its 5-20 layer iterations to light the way.

Living room setting with lots of wall art, with large ice cream cone shaped planter with rubber tree planted in it.

In another lifetime, I worked as a toy and products designer, and decorated our tiny studio apartment at that time in appropriate colorful, playful fashion. I might have grown up just a little bit since then, but a part of me will always harbor a lasting love for objects that tap into our inner child, free from that horribly boring thing we call “taste.” If someone calls this cheesy, I’ll just throw out the, “It’s inspired by Claes Oldenburg!” card, then offer them a scoop of my favorite ice cream to placate their misplaced judgment.

Large screen print of yellow graphical floral arrangement

Los Angeles designer/artist Sebastian Curi seems to subscribe to the belief you either “go big or go home!” Many of his silkscreen prints capture the captivating gestures of the hand in various poses, but I’ve recently fallen for his dual Daytime/Nighttime oversized 40″ x 55″ prints. At this scale they’d add some colorful graphical oomph that will never wilt like their IRL counterparts.

Side by side photos of a low modern wooden 3-legged stool with a small hook on the back

Willy Hu first appeared on my radar via his work for LA-based Sugar Lab, “the world’s first true digital bakery,” soon followed by my drooling attention toward the delectable efforts he and his partner Lexie Park create under the food + design moniker, Eat Nünchi. Hu’s latest endeavor in partnership with Jimmy Chung takes a more organic-modern approach, a series of stools launched and sold via Instagram evoking what my eyes perceive as traditional lacquered Korean Joseon dynasty spirit through the prism of Southern California modernism. I’ve already placed a down payment for one of UJU Studio’s ebonized stool designs with a sculpted knob, an early gift to myself.

Two modern clocks with a semi-translucent clock face with red dot and arms

I doubt I’m alone when I say the passing of time feels hazy at best. And what better way to represent the nebulous presence of time’s passing than this translucent glass wall clock designed by Makoto Koizumi for Japanese clock band, Lemnos. Or in the words of the designer: “We sometimes find the presence of a clock unpleasant. And sometimes the existence of time is also unpleasant. So a slightly ambiguous sign of time is just fine.” Amen.

Artist Jeffrey Sincich’s embroidery art captures that comforting human element associated with the hand-painted signage that I still remember dotting the streets of San Francisco. Seeing them elicits a bittersweet realization the artistry and craft of hand-painted signage is fading from our collective memory. Maybe that’s why I want this welcome mat-sized rug featuring one half of this site’s namesake. I wouldn’t dare step on this rug, believing it deserves a place on my wall to admire like the sign that inspired it.

Detail of an aluminum vented iPhone case with the same metallic design as Apple Mac Pro desktop, showing its small aromatherapy section.

As an iPhone never-nude, I’ve always encased my devices, just in case. Typically it’s been leather, more recently with Apple’s new FineWoven material (despite some reports saying otherwise, I’ve found the micro-twill durable and easy to clean). The new iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max might be sheathed in sections of titanium along the edges, but that doesn’t mean I want to expose those areas to scratches and dents, nor my oily paws. Thus, I’m tempted to try one of these ventilated aluminum alloy cases sporting the cheese grater design that any Apple Mac Pro desktop enthusiast would recognize. If you’re wondering what’s up with the “Aromatherapy” part of the case’s name, apparently there’s a perforated section designed for a drop of perfume or an essential oil. How scentual.

Person wearing long sleeves and a wristwatch sharpening a knife using HORL 2 magnetic sharpener

This is one of those gifts primarily practical in nature, but so well designed, it emphasizes how the best gifts are ones you’ll use and love on a daily basis. As someone who likes to keep his kitchen knives sharp, but doesn’t necessarily love the amount of time required to do so, this magnetic sharpener is a clever means to keep blades at their best without all of the multi-step care required of a whetstone. It’s just expensive enough to be a really nice gift, one that would be extra nice paired with a Damascus gyuto.

Green background art illustration print of the Richard Neutra VDL House

For many years we lived in a modest apartment overlooking the back corner of Richard Neutra’s VDL House, aka the Van der Leeuw House. The iconic residence is still imprinted as the epitome of the mid-century ethos, offering what I consider an elegant and modern way to live. With bedrooms as intimately private as the home’s shared living spaces are voluminous in possibilities, I’ll always remember the sensation of compression and expansion thoughtfully laid out at a modest residential scale, alongside the romantic spill of sunlight that would angle into the corners of the home with the sunset. I wouldn’t mind any of Studio Sander Patelski’s series of architectural inspired prints, but this one would be appreciated with all those special memories.

Follow along so you don’t miss any of our 2023 Gift Guides this year!

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Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Wandering Central Washington: Writing and photography are ways to appreciate the positive

By in Photography

Wandering Central Washington: Writing and photography are ways to appreciate the positive
image

It feels like a year has passed in the blink of an eye, but somehow, we’ve reached November 2023. I was first introduced in the Yakima Herald-Republic in November 2022, which means this month marks one year of my column, “Wandering Central Washington.”

I’m very grateful for this opportunity to come full circle with my childhood dreams of pursuing photojournalism while also utilizing my conservation background. Being able to communicate and share information and stories with you has been one of the great honors of my life.

Over the last year I’ve found myself actively seeking out different perspectives and tidbits that I can share with our community. I approach even the simplest act, such as going for a walk, with a new perspective. I’ve noticed that I’m much more aware and inquisitive to things around me – such as staring at the changing leaves outside my window and imagining what the inside of a leaf looks like as chlorophyll breaks down. Having the ability to share these thoughts and musings with my community has made me more positive and outgoing. It’s given me purpose and I believe it’s changed the way I approach most days, even the not-so-great ones.

There’s value in writing and taking photos – even if it’s just for your own diary, a shared journal or a blog. The benefits of writing are far reaching.

According to Psychology Today, regular writing is beneficial for mental health as well as personal growth. Writing is known to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and can even be used as a form of stress management. While these statements may be more geared towards keeping a personal diary, I personally believe that these benefits can be achieved even with creative writing or photography.

Psychology Today goes on to describe the increase in creativity, improved memory and self-awareness as a result of regular writing. The act of writing can stir up unique ideas and insights, and writing down experiences and particular details can aid in memory function and serve as a reminder of the meaningful moments in your life.

Forbes detailed an entire article on the benefits of embracing photography as a hobby. Prior to the smartphone, photography was much less accessible. It was an expensive, time-consuming craft that required specialized equipment, especially if you wanted to develop your own film. Today, I find that one of the few benefits to owning a phone is having a camera in my pocket that is comparable to a low-end professional camera.

The article reinforces a few of my core practices. Taking photos every day and capturing small moments of happiness with not only family and friends, but also inconsequential moments of beauty throughout the day keeps me engaged and immortalizes the good times. Rather than fixating on the negative, I’m actively using photography to try to train myself to notice, capture and reflect on the positive aspects of life.

While you most likely don’t write for a newspaper, you can still write for yourself and perhaps even for others too. Organizing a low-effort photography or journal club that meets once a month can spur you to write stories, share experiences and seek out special moments within ordinary days.

Having a community to share thoughts, feelings and interesting observations with is a great way to encourage yourself to seek out new information. Have you ever driven down the road and watched the clouds float by and pondered over how they exist? I find that having a reason to write forces me to think of new prompts and research the meaning behind many everyday occurrences that I take for granted.

I hope that you find this as inspiration to pick up a pen and paper, a camera, or clack away at a keyboard to document some of your thoughts and experiences. Remember, you don’t have to be a professional or an expert to enjoy or benefit from a hobby.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you Yakima Valley for tagging along on all of my musings, rants, and thoughts, no matter how big or small, for the last year. As autumn turns into winter it’s my sincerest hope that you can get outside and muse about your own wanderings.

Holiday Gift Books: Photography

By in Photography

Holiday Gift Books: Photography

“Lee Miller: Photographs” presents more than 100 of the photographer’s best images; an essay by her son, the photographer Antony Penrose; and another essay by the actress Kate Winslet, who will play Miller in an upcoming movie. Miller had careers as an enormously successful fashion model, a studio photographer, a collaborator with Man Ray, a fashion photographer and a World War II combat photographer. In Paris after World War I she knew the avant-garde Surrealists; their habit of unlikely juxtapositions informed much of her photography. Surrealism worked well in fashion, and surprisingly also in documenting the dislocations of war—even in her harrowing images of the dead and dying in newly liberated concentration camps. Herself a beauty, she created images that command attention.

None of the 95 pictures in Stephen Shore’s “Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape” has a title. Instead, they are designated by the GPS coordinates of where they were taken: The crisp color photos were captured from a drone. In one essay, Richard B. Woodward writes that “these are photographs about the particulars of the physical world.” It is mostly an attractive world of farms, highways, mountains, lakes and rivers, and places of habitation and industry. The fine details exemplify, as Mr. Shore describes it, his “experiencing the everyday with attention.”

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Delta curates Faces of Travel experience with “Inspired Journeys” digital art pop-up activation

By in Art World News

Delta curates Faces of Travel experience with “Inspired Journeys” digital art pop-up activation

Delta’s commitment to increase representation in the travel industry and authentically showcase diverse travelers experiencing the world in extraordinary ways “popped up” last week in Los Angeles. Our “Inspired Journeys” digital art installation took place at Westfield Century City, an open-air entertainment plaza, and at the ADCOLOR conference, the premier diversity gathering for professionals of all levels across creative industries. 

As an extension of our Faces of Travel initiative, Delta invited employees and members of the Los Angeles community to share accounts of memorable travel experiences, which were brought to life in real-time via digital sketch by seven commissioned emerging artists with diverse backgrounds. Among the selection of talented artists was Delta employee Andersen Cupid, Designer – Window Seat.

As an extension of our Faces of Travel initiative, Delta invited employees and members of the Los Angeles community to share accounts of memorable travel experiences, which were brought to life in real-time via digital sketch by seven commissioned emerging artists with diverse backgrounds. Among the selection of talented artists were Delta employees Andersen Cupid, Designer – Window Seat and Cedric Smith, Lead Supply Attendant – TechOps. 

A group hangs out on a boat in Kalk Bay, South Africa

Video

While Delta has intentionally increased representation within its own marketing assets, Faces of Travel is a program that continues Delta’s long-term commitment to increase representation that the larger travel culture can tap into: from social media to tourism ads, and everything in between, while pushing against stereotypes that have been created and upheld.

“The Inspired Journeys experience has generated such meaningful impact that is two-fold,” said Andersen. “For our artists, it’s created an opportunity to share their craft with a new audience, and for the community, it showed them that Delta sees value in capturing their stories and experiences while traveling. The art we created was a fresh take on storytelling and showcased our different perspective on some of the participants most memorable moments – we’ve seen tears and shared laughs through this experience.” 

For Cedric, the Inspired Journeys experience was a literal expression of Delta’s ethos to connect and reflect the world we serve.  

“Internalizing the stories of our guests and translating their memories into art has allowed me to be part of their experiences – it’s like traveling to places I’ve never been,” said Cedric. “We can have such powerful conversations through art and create pieces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but reflect the most unique parts of us.” 

As an extension of our Faces of Travel initiative, Delta invited employees and members of the Los Angeles community to share accounts of memorable travel experiences, which were brought to life in real-time via digital sketch by seven commissioned emerging artists with diverse backgrounds. Among the selection of talented artists was Delta employee Cedric Smith, Lead Supply Attendant – TechOps.

From summer weddings in Lake Como, to annual family ski trips in the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Delta created over 200 digital illustrations for members of the Los Angeles community and attendees of the 2023 ADCOLOR conference. 

A sketch of London done as part of Delta's Inspired Journeys digital art installation.

To further reinforce Delta’s ongoing commitment to show and promote greater diversity and inclusivity in the travel industry, Delta created a Cultural Moments Travel Guide Series. The guides were created in collaboration with organizations and creators in diverse communities and our partner LATAM to share travel recommendations through an inclusive and welcoming lens. The travel guide series was awarded the 8th Annual Shorty Impact Awards, in the social movement category – honoring the most creative and effective campaigns in support of cultural moments and/or social activism.  

“Delta’s commitment to amplify the stories and faces of diverse travelers is more than an initiative,” Ashley Sherman, General Manager – ESG Marketing. “Travelers from every part of the world and every walk of life have always been part of Delta’s story and our success. Faces of Travel reinforces our commitment to all travelers who have helped shape Delta’s culture and that of the travel industry.”  

Visit the Faces of Travel homepage to learn more about Delta’s commitment to increase diverse representation within the travel industry. 

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