How beautiful, the moon!

I stepped outside this morning to this.

How beautiful!

Moonscape

Moonscape

The Sun Sets While the Moon Rises

We moved our daughter last night. I shared with a friend that the anticipation of this event was harder than the reality. When finished unloading the totes and boxes into her suite, we said our goodbyes. Before we drove away we watched as she walked down the path, like she was walking out of one chapter and into this new chapter of her life. And it was okay.

Life is like that. Things have to end before new ones begin, and sometimes they end and begin at the same time. As we drove back to the city, we saw the moon rise on one side of us as the sun set on the other, at the same time. This change is much like that. The sun is setting on my daughter's childhood, living with mom and dad, dependent, at the same time that light rises on her future.

 I shot this image at a speed of 1/100 while my aperture was set at f/10. My ISO was at my preferred setting of 100. I chose a greater depth of field for this landscape shot because I wanted as much as of this scene as possible to be in focus. I could do this because the light I was shooting into was so bright, even though it was setting. Composing this shot was fun. With every foot or even inch I moved, the picture changed while the sun set a little lower. I chose to have the sun just off center for interest's sake, flanked by the tree and the park bench. Making sure not to split the image in half I opted for more sky instead of foreground, as that really was more important for the shot.

I could not use the same depth of field for this shot as I did for the sunset. There was not nearly the same amount of light as the sun was pretty well finished with the day though it still hung over the horizon a touch (on the other side of the road from this scene). I opened the aperture much wider to f/4.5 and used a speed of 1/100. For the moon shots I bumped up my ISO to 400 to help keep the exposure at an acceptable level for the subject.

Just a Sliver

Gentle Moon

At one point, I was a purist, never dipping into layers or photo editing except for the bare minimum required when shooting in RAW. I have since found layers and increased editing to be advantageous in rounding out the experience of some of my photographs.

Using layers in image processing can add interest and emotion to your images. Here, I've used a texture overlay to add to the softness, presenting to you more fully how I experienced the moon that morning. It was so lovely, so soft and dreamy too. Watching it in the sky, all was calm. Apart from the layer, this did not present itself satisfactorily to me.

By the Light of the Moon

Shoot the Moon

The moon, it is lovely this morning.

I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed out onto my snow topped patio. All was quiet except for the crunch beneath my feet. I noticed how mild it was. Still in my pj's and bathrobe, I was quite comfortable. How unusual for January in the prairies.

I mounted my camera to my tripod and set my shutter to fire fairly quickly. Contrary to my impulse for shooting in the dark, I did not open my aperture as wide as it could go. The moon is bright, no need. Use this opportunity to gain speed. The moon does not stand still.

Each time I shoot the moon, my images seem unique to the night or morning they are taken.  Sometimes the shots turn out well and other times not so well. Each shoot is valuable. Each shoot teaches.

Learning

There is so much more to this life and living than I know. There are many things I will never understand while I live on this earth but heaven forbid I quit trying, quit learning.

Sometimes something will happen to immediately stretch my thinking. Sometimes it is a conversation with a friend, sometimes a comment on one of my posts, sometimes it is a truth in the Bible that shines light on my life in a way it had not before. Sometimes it is the act of photography.

Taking a photo of the moon this morning reminded me of my smallness and creation's grand scale. It enlarged my capacity, even if only for a short while, to imagine how much more there is to know, to learn, and made me hungry to grow.

Spotlight - Moon

The moon reflected the morning's sun so beautifully today. The light was exceptional, casting a teal hue to the sky and brushing the moon with golden pink.

Spotlight - Moon

Each Time I shoot it...

I am amazed at its beauty, size and "other-worldness"...what a beautiful sight to behold.