Ann

@stellarpics.net

2196 Followers 556 Following

Retired computer engineer. Now an enthusiastic photography hobbyist that enjoys imaging wildlife, birding, astrophotography and travel. All photographs are my own unless reposted. No DMs

Resplendent Quetzal at nesting cavity with a bug feeding young in the nest.
A tiny, fuzzy wild turkey chick (poult) stands facing the camera with its downy feathers puffed out and tiny wings slightly flared, giving it an adorably large, round appearance.
A small, duck-sized female Sungrebe swims on calm water. It has a striking blue/black cap, bright white stripes down its neck, and vibrant orangish-brown cheeks. Its stout bill is pointed, and its fanned tail rests on the water's surface.
Northern Jacana vaguely chicken-like with a slender black neck, rust colored body with a bright yellow cap on its head treads delicately over group of lily pads in a marsh. The bird's long, spindly toes splay wide across the green floating vegetation to distribute its weight, creating the illusion that it is walking on water.
A Great Potoo sits perfectly still and upright on a lichen-covered tree branch during the day. Its mottled, pale gray and brown plumage perfectly camouflages it to look like tree bark. Its body is elongated with its neck stretched, head tilted upward, and beak closed, making it resemble a broken dead branch
A Long-billed Hermit hummingbird perches on a thin green stem. It has a long, sharply down-curved black bill, a bronze-green back, and a bold black-and-white stripe running across its face. Its long tail has striking white outer streamers that are blurred in the picture as the bird shakes off water from a bath.
Vibrant, grass-green overall, which helps them camouflage in the rainforest canopy. A large, colorful bill with a yellow upper mandible (maxilla) and a black lower mandible (mandible). Throat patch on this subspecies is bright iridescent blue.
An African leopard with a rosette-patterned coat and long whiskers, pauses in it walk through the grass in Maasai Mara National Reserve.
A male Hairy Woodpecker with a small red patch on its head clings vertically to a tree trunk. The bird has black and white plumage, and a long bill. The bird is looking over its shoulder at a feeder showing the white and black markings on the face and head.
A bright, rosy-red male Pine Grosbeak sitting on a pine branch during snow fall. The male has a vibrant raspberry-red head and chest, grayish flanks, and dark wings with two distinct white wing bars. The bird is shown perched on a snow covered pine branch.
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch with the most restricted range in Colorado and northern New Mexico. Body is milk-chocolate brown with pink highlights in the wings, tail, belly, and indistinct grayish-brown crown.
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch at feeder
Thor's Helmet Nebula (NGC 2359), a cosmic cloud of gas and dust shaped like a winged helmet, glowing with blue and red/pink emissions. RGB or stars. Equipment: RC 6 with ZWO ASI1600mm. Bi-color image with Ha and Oiii data. Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Seti Astro Pro, and Photoshop
A Common Hoopoe (African subspecies) perched on a branch. The bird has cinnamon-colored plumage, a long down-curved bill, distinctive zebra-striped wings and a tall erect "crown" of feathers with black tips.
A bright open star cluster, known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, featuring several prominent blue stars surrounded by faint, wispy blue reflection nebulosity.
A false-color image of the Seagull Nebula using the SHO palette, where sulfur is mapped to red, hydrogen to green, and oxygen to blue. The "head" of the seagull (NGC 2327) appears as a bright, dense golden-yellow cloud at the top. Its massive "wings," spanning 250 light-years, stretch across the frame in a blend of amber and gold. The center of the nebula glows with turquoise hues where oxygen is most concentrated.
Streaks of stars arching across the night sky, over Ngorongoro Crater National Park. The North star Polaris is low on the horizon and not visible behind a mountain ridge.
Cheetah stretches its front legs forward, with its back arched, on a grassy plain. The image highlights the cats lean, muscular body and spotted coat.
The IC 1848 Soul Nebula, a star-forming region, is shown in a false-color SHO (Sulfur, Hydrogen, Oxygen) narrowband image, with a vibrant red/orange region surrounding a green and blue inner area, highlighting ionized gas clouds. Camera was ASI1600mm and the scope was WO z73. Captured 10 minute subs of Ha, SII, and OIII. Total stack was 7.4 hrs. Post processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Photoshop.
Small kingfisher perched on a branch. Back is to the camera showing its bright blue upperparts, rufous underparts, and long orange bill.
The Heart Nebula (IC 1805), a star-forming emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. Image shows the nebula in a false color palette of burnt oranges, green, and blue. Image was captured using a Nikon D750 astro modified camera. 8.8 hrs of data captured using L-Synergy filter combines with 7.7 hrs of L-eXtreme data.
Bands of green, red and purple light cover the starry sky with a meteor shooting through the center of the image
Bright red streaks of aurora borealis covering a starry sky
Pride of lions moving away up a hill
Herd of elephants, young and old, walk across the Serengeti plain towards the camera to join their family gathered under a tree.
Reflection nebula in the shape of a gecko shown with the lizard "head" facing down on the left and the "tail" turning up on the right. The gecko's body is a yellow-brown molecular cloud, illuminated from within by newly formed, bright stars. The nebula overlaps with the larger, red Sh2-126 emission nebula which it seems to wrap around.
A saddle-billed stork wading through a wetland towards the camera with water streaming off the bill. Its long black legs and red "knees" are visible as it lifts one leg out of the water. The bird has iridescent black plumage on its head, neck, and wings, and a white body. Its unique striking feature is its red and black bill with a bright yellow saddle-shaped patch at the top of the bill.
Comet A6 Lemmon showing bright green coma and separation in the dust tail and a large ion tail which moves off the screen. Captured at dusk on Oct. 21. Total of 1 hour of data at 30 second exposures.
Comet against a field of stars. Its glowing emerald green coma is in lower left of the frame. The trailing tail of gas is visible moving up to the right of the frame. Captured with Nikon D5300a using William Optics z73: ISO 800, 30 sec, f/5.9, 430mm (equivalent 645mm).
Comet against a field of stars. Its glowing emerald green coma is in lower left of the frame. The trailing tail of gas is visible moving up to the right of the frame.
Secretarybird shown walking with long strides as it hunts. It has a hooked, gray beak, red face, and dark, quill-like feathers in a crest on its neck. Body is grey with black feathers on the legs ending at knees. Its tail has two long central feathers that trail behind.
Secretarybird is shown walking with long strides. It has a hooked, gray beak, red face, and dark, quill-like feathers in a crest on its neck. Its tail has two long central feathers that trail behind its gray and black body.
A close-up of a Little Bee-eater showing its vibrant green back and wing feathers, brilliant yellow throat and belly, and a striking blue/black eye stripe and collar. The bird is perched on a small branch and has a dragonfly clutched in its beak. Captured in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Gray Crowned-Crane with a slate-gray body and rufous and white tail feathers standing in a wetland. It has a striking crown of stiff, golden-yellow feathers, white cheeks, a small red patch above the cheeks, and a scarlet throat wattle.
Lion drags the remains of its Cape Buffalo kill across the plain and now into a gully.
A vibrant image of the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), a colorful planetary nebula formed of glowing red hydrogen and blue oxygen. Two bright lobes resembling a dumbbell or hourglass shape extend from the center. Red hydrogen outlines the top and bottom of the circular shape and extends into the center forming an X. Object is shown against a backdrop of scattered stars.
An image of emission, reflection and dark nebulae. Centered on the NGC 6559 nebula, also known as the Chinese Dragon or Loreta Nebula. Emission nebula is red/pink intertwined with bluish patches of reflection nebula and dark dust lanes known as Barnard 303. It is part of a larger star-forming region in the Sagittarius constellation.
A camouflaged Greater Short-horned Lizard blending into the rocky soil, its flattened, gray-brown body and short horns barely visible.
A Rufous Hummingbird with a long, slender bill, perched on a branch. The hummingbird has a coppery orange back and belly. Gorget is iridescent red in sunlight but in this image is looks green since the bird is in the shade.
Wide field view of Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. One of the closest star-forming regions to Earth. The scene features a mix of glowing red emission nebulae and shimmering blue reflection nebulae, interspersed with dark, dense dust clouds. The region is a dense field of young stars illuminating the surrounding gas and dust, and dark filaments of cosmic material obscuring background stars.
A round pink/red/yellow cloud of cosmic gas and dust, with a bright, glowing edge, set against a backdrop of scattered stars and fainter nebulosity. The nebula is a site of active star formation, revealing young stars hidden within its dense clouds of gas and dust. Equipment details: Nikon D750a, William Optics z61 360mm at f/5.9. Exposure ISO 1600 / 300 sec. Total exp for stack 4.1 hrs.
Small reddish owl with orange flame stripe on wings. Bird is perched on an aspen branch and looking back over its shoulder at the camera. The eyes of the owl are solid black.
Nebula is shaped as a horsehead with blue reflection nebula across the nose and eyes of the horse. Dark interstellar clouds make up the bottom and neck of the horse. Equipment details: Nikon D750a, William Optics z61 360mm at f/5.9. Exposure ISO 1600 / 300 sec. Total exp for stack 6.2 hrs.
Image shows stars forming large circles around the north star. Pine trees are in the foreground.
Wide field view of the stars in the northern sky. The timelapse shows the star rotating right to left. Forground has large pine trees. And for a short period the sky shows some red and pinks and columns of blue/green for the aurora in the lower center.