Once Every 100 Years or so...

(Elsah, IL) A view of Venus as it starts to transit across the space between the Earth and the Sun.  Venus is the larger dark circle at approximately 8:00 on the image of the Sun.  You can also see sunspots on the face of the sun.  They are the smaller dark spots visible across the face of the Sun.

Venus just crossed the face of the Sun.. that is if your vantage point is someplace on Earth.  Won't happen here in the Midwestern US again until 2117.  Thought I really should try to see it this time rather than next.

(Elsah, IL) Dr. Thomas Fuller, the man in charge of the telescope at the Principia College observatory, adjusts the focus of the telescope that was used to provide the image above.

(Elsah, IL) The Principia College observatory sits atop a high concrete and steel platform so that it has an unobstructed view of the sky.

Images were shot with Leica digital rangefinder with Leica and Voigtlander lenses.  The Leica lens was used to place up against the telescope eyepiece to capture the Sun and Venus image.  The Summicron lens dates from 1958.  The other two images were shot with a Voigtlander 12mm Ultra-Wide Heliar.  Great lens for tight spaces.

More pics at: http://www.michaelrweaver.com/p663271124

Lara Logan - Ernie & Lucha Vogel Moral Courage Speaker

(Elsah IL USA) CBS foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan stands backstage and reviews material for the audience immediately before lecturing as the Ernie and Lucha Vogel Moral Courage Speaker at Principia College.

(Elsah, IL USA) CBS foreign affairs Correspondent Lara Logan onstage during her lecture as part of the Principia College 2011-2012 speaker series.  Logan is the chief foreign affairs correspondent for CBS News, and a correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes.

Lara Logan has put herself in dangerous situations many times in order to report issues and events that shape the politics we see unfold in the middle east.  This has come at a very steep price and in February 2011, she was sexually assaulted and beaten by a mob while reporting on the Egyptian revolution in Tahrir Square.

Logan at one point addressed a question she has been repeatedly asked, "Was it worth it?"  Her answer was that if she had died, no, it wasn't worth it.  But she lived, and yes, she thought that it was probably worth it.  Then again, her husband, he would say that it wasn't worth it.

Personally, the woman I met was extremely pleasant.  She sometimes struggles as all parents do with juggling a career, a home life and children.  I give her credit for standing up and telling exactly what has been happening in places where we many times only see a sanitized view. 

Lara Logan smiling and talking in the "green room" before her lecture at Principia College. 

You can see all of the images by clicking on the link.

http://michaelweaver.zenfolio.com/p427496849