A few nights ago, just as I was about to go to bed, I looked out the window and noticed a stunning moon. The moon was big and bright and surrounded by interesting looking clouds. So I rushed and got my camera. Though by the time I had set it up on the tripod, the clouds had gone.
“Never mind,” I thought. “This is an opportunity to practice moon shots, and to see if my new lens is any good for it.”
So I stood outside on the deck, and snapped away. I got distracted when I saw some mist hanging in the valley, and snapped away at that too. Then I decided to try my hand at some star shots, and played some more. I discovered that a 30 second exposure is sufficient to prove that the earth is turning (ie, far too long to photograph stars!) and got a decent photo of what we call The Pot (which is also Orion’s belt but the northern hemisphere’s version is upside down and so not the cooking pot/saucepan that we see here).
It was a beautiful evening, and I was still in the strappy sundress I’d been wearing all day. By this time, I knew it had been a mistake to dash outside so quickly. I was starting to itch. But the clouds had returned around the moon, and I had to try that too.
Finally satisfied I headed inside, with an urgent need for medication for insect bites. It took ages to get it on and even longer to begin to feel some relief – perhaps another hour. I felt distinctly unwell.
So I’m not 100% convinced that I want to photograph the supermoon tonight. Lesson learned though. If I do venture out, I will be wearing insect repellant!
Footnote: There were no photos good enough to show you.
So much I love about this—thinking about constellations, the difficulty of shooting the moon (I don’t love that, but I know it ain’t easy), the “strappy sundress.”
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I love this little vignette into your life — the progression, the thought process. It made me smile.
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Is the northern hemisphere’s Orion upside down or the southern hemisphere’s? Haha. Now I feel the need to make sure I travel to the Southern Hemisphere someday to see for myself!
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I deliberately said the northern hemisphere is upside down because there is no right side up when it comes to the world! (I’m glad someone noticed. lol)
The tyranny of the north must be broken!
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I want to know more about the Pot. I love constellations. And I love this glimpse.
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Shooting the moon brings far different images up to me right now! I missed the super-blood-wolf-moon event because I simply couldn’t convince myself to stand outside in the arctic wind after midnight. I’m envying you your bug bites, right now, almost.
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