Tiny Stars: Weekly Photo Challenge

“I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.”

Stephenie Meyer

TINY STARS

This week, like most enthusiast photographers, I went out to photograph the “super, supermoon”. My first attempt was met with a terribly overcast sky such that I never saw the moon until it was very high in the sky. The second try, earlier this evening, was more successful. I did make a few moon shots, but my favorite of the evening was the opening shot above, which captures the last of the sun’s rays and the beautiful north star high above. For me, it’s a great illustration of how important it is to look behind you, as this scene was in the exact opposite direction of the moon.

LUNAR REFLECTION

“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

The good news with this evening’s efforts is that I did capture some moon shots that showed some nice detail of its shadows and crevasses without blowing out the color. The bad news is I was not able to capture much of a foreground so that most of my shots were a bit uninteresting. I was amazed at how quickly the moon went from huge orange globe just above the horizon to a rather yellow, more normal-sized orb. If I’d prepared a bit more I’d have brought someone along to light the foreground, or I’d have shot two exposures, one of which focused on the foreground, and then blended the two shots in post-processing. Proving once more how important it is to plan your shots in advance. Sigh.

SUPER SUPERMOON

“Yours is the light by which my spirit’s born: – you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars.”

E.E. Cummings

I’ll close with a capture of the moon in all its super, supermoon glory just after it cleared the horizon. It would have been more interesting if I’d been able to include the dunes and grasses below. (And if I’d been able to find my remote shutter switch; using self-timer is a bit cumbersome in the dark). Oh well, next time I’ll be a bit more prepared 😊. I’m happy to have tried and to have learned from the attempt. How about you, did you give it a shot?

Tags: star, supermoon, weekly photo challenge

• November 14, 2016
• Kiawah, Moon, Nature
• 79 Comments