Rob Masters

This evening, thanks in the main to the City of Kalamunda, Alicia Smith​​​, Pamela Smith​​​, Roslyn Smith​​​, Stephen Gunnell​, Maureen Gell​, (unexpectedly) Michael Thompson​​​, and I all had the chance to take part in a record attempt. The object was to hold the largest astronomy lesson in the world, at least 30 minutes long The previous record was held by Taipei, with 836 people. We managed to beat that, with just over 1160! There were telescopes everywhere! And spotting scopes, and binoculars. And press, and officials from Guinness. Another thing that was great to see was the diversity of people and ages. It really was an all-ages event! The lesson was fun, the skies perfectly clear, and the crowd was great. There were marshalls make sure everyone was taking part, and pointing out things for the less experienced. And we had a ball. We are now so looking forward to the Astrofest!

A little bit of defocused fun down at the beach.

Sandstone WPP 2015 - Week 09 - Textures Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk09-Textures Detail of a sandstone wall at Scarborough Beach. SooC.

"In or Out?" WPP 2015 - Week 06 - Shadows Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk06-Shadows Inspired by M.C. Escher

The view from inside the Phenomoflex at the Perth Fringe World Festival 2015. The Phenomoflex, by Mike Gray, is an installation that projects the outside view onto the inside of a translucent sphere.  A very cool variation on the camera obscura concept.  http://www.mikegrayphoto.net/newoz/newoz_23.html

IFOs Blackhawks on a night training flight over the suburbs of Perth. This is after phase one reprocessing for part of a photo essay I'm assembling for a science fiction convention art show. The remarkable thing, to my mind, is that I was able to take this shot at all with consumer-grade equipment!

Anyone with gluten, wheat, and/or dairy issues should know about this. If you are in Perth, that is! Originally shared by Alicia Smith http://www.glutenfreeinwa.com.au/ gluten free expo coming up next month. http://www.glutenfreeinwa.com.au

Not too shabby for a single exposure, using my camera bag as a tripod, in the middle of a suburban beach. 10sec exposure at ISO3200, NX300, f5.0, 18-55mm kit lens.

Second of a few retrospective looks at Swancons past. Swancon38 - 2013.

First of a few retrospective looks at Swancons past. Swancon39 - 2014.

If you care about where your food comes from and the risks associated with the various sources, you should consider this campaign. Originally shared by Alicia Smith If you're in Australia and would like to know where your food comes from, you might be interested in this campaign. http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http%3a%2f%2fchoice.good.do%2fCoOL%2fwrite-to-barnaby-joyce%2f&utm_campaign=CoOL-to-petition-signers-230215 http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/&utm_campaign=CoOL-to-petition-signers-230215

Mudlarks (or Magpie Larks, or peewits, or Murray Magpies, or in the local Noongar language Dilabit) are normally slender and graceful birds.  This one is none of the above (except for the 'bird' bit).

The Great White Bird WPP 2015 - Week 08 - Simplicity / Minimalism Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk08-SimplicityMinimalism A perfect Perth summer sky, and a pristine airliner provided the ideal opportunity for this week's theme.

If you are available at 6:30pm-9:30pm on Saturday Feb 28, and want a quick introduction to astronomy, or just want to help with the record attempt, register and come along! Originally shared by Alicia Smith http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Events/2015/February/World-Record-Attempt-Largest-Astronomy-Lesson-2015   We're going, how about you? You will need to sign up on the page. http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Events/2015/February/World-Record-Attempt-Largest-Astronomy-Lesson-2015