Lens-artists Challenge #30 – Unexpected
“I am in love with the moon, with the light shining out of its soul.”
Sanober Khan
This week Ann-Christine challenges us to share something “Unexpected“. You may be thinking there is nothing at all unexpected about my opening image – everyone knew the blood moon was forecast for last week’s night sky. For me though, the capability of my Fuji X-T2 with a 55-200mm f/4 lens was totally unexpected. As I told a good friend earlier in the evening, this was to be my final test before giving up entirely on my Nikon equipment. I had very low expectations when I shot the capture above from my back porch with no tripod. I am the first to admit it does not compare with the images created by others using more sophisticated equipment and better planning. But for my purposes it did what I asked of it and more.
“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”
Khaled Hosseini
Earlier in the evening I’d joined a number of fellow photographers from our local photography club (this time with tripod) to capture the full moon’s rise. To a person there was a sense of awe as the massive moon rose above Kiawah’s marsh. Shutters clicked as oohs and aaahs were heard across the board. It was fun sharing the excitement with others equally enchanted by the beauty of nature’s big moment. Unfortunately, because the moonrise took place before the sunset, most of the moon’s shining moment was rather pale, and the lack of clouds made for a bit of a boring sky, but its incredible size was more than enough to offer everyone a thrill.
“The moon in all her immaculate purity hung in the sky.”
Shan Sa
As the evening wore on and the sun slowly sank in the opposite sky, the colors began to deepen and the full moon shone brightly, lighting the marsh with a warm, golden glow. After capturing this final image, I packed my equipment away and took a few moments to drink in the beauty of the evening. For a nature lover it simply doesn’t get much better.
Here’s to Mother Nature in all her glory – I hope you too got to enjoy the show. Thanks to Ann-Christine for her fun challenge. Remember to use the Lens-Artists tag to increase your response level, and finally, please join Amy on her ShareandConnect blog next week for Challenge #31.
I, for one, am LOVING these moon quotes as well as the photos!
Thanks Emily!
Regardless of equipment…. you capture the best!
Thanks GF!
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Beautifully caught Tina. It was my first red moon and like you I marvelled at it. Warm wishes
Hi Andrew – so funny I almost sent you a note today as I was a bit worried I’d not seen you posting. So happy to see you back!
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Thanks for the concern Tina, although I’m pleased to report that all’s well except to say that there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day 😊
With you 200% on that Andrew! Glad all’s well
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That was a big moon rising above the marsh.
It was incredible David. Mother Bature at her finest
Beautiful Tina! 🙂
Thanks Nicole
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Nice work!!!
Thanks Jane!
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Truly amazing, nature at its best
Thanks Pauline, it was indeed!
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Thanks Jo, glad you enjoyed these. It was quite a stunning event.
Fabulous! What a beautiful share, Tina 🙂 🙂
These are fabulous photos. Unfortunately, for the blood moon we were clouded over.
Thanks Amy. We were very lucky this time around. The forecast was lousy but the skies cleared just in time!
Amazingly captured, Tina. It was beautiful to watch, but here at times it was overcast, so I just enjoyed what I could see, without taking out my camera
Sometimes that’s the best way to enjoy natural phenoms Cornelia! I felt that way for the solar eclipse. No photos but an amazing experience despite the clouds.
Hi, Tina. I love the blood moon shot! I’m also interested to read about how you’re considering switching from Nikon to Fujifilm. I’ve had Canon full-frame for some years now and it’s a great system, but oh my, it’s heavy and bulky. I recently picked up a small compact Fujifilm X70 and it’s been a revolution in (lack of) weight, portability, and image quality. It’s made me think about a possible change to Fujifilm sometime in the future, although it’s hard now to think about that given my investment with Canon lenses.
Thanks Henry. Re the equipment change, I have the same issue. Been shooting Nikon for a very long time, lots of $$ in my lenses but at the end of the day if they’re too heavy for me to use the way I want to, a change has to happen. At this point it’s either invest in a new Nikon body and suffer the lens weight or move to a new platform. I chose the latter and am very pleased with the flexibility and portability of the Fuji. As good as my DSLR? No but much more useable and very, very good!
Yes, I agree. I’m happy my Fuji makes great pictures, and while I like many like RAW, I also like the appearance of Fujifilm colours in the straight-to-JPG option. Even though it takes up a minor fraction of my overall photography at present, what I sometimes worry is having the capability, trust, and options under (very) low light and no-flash conditions.
That’s one of my favorite things about the Fuji – it’s terrific in low light. Much better than my Nikon. I didn’t even purchase a flash!
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Some time ago, I had a chat with a staff member at a local camera shop, and apart from their “art of the sell”, they convinced me that Fuji’s line of mirrorless cameras includes hardware for low-light capabilities. Naturally that’s for me to find out. If I switched, I’m certain my new complement would be much lighter on the whole, but still on the bulkish side which can’t be helped.
Tina, such wonderful images. So happy to be able to enjoy the beauty of the moon and surrounding landscape through your picture!!
Thanks Sylvia!
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It looks like you were in the perfect place to get some great photos of this event!
Thanks Nora – we took the scientific approach for moonrise but the full-on-red moment was visible pretty much everywhere!
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I meant to comment much earlier today, but my tablet was acting up. I love how you themed the moon as the unexpected, Tina, and your images are so pretty. We had clouds during the eclipse, but I managed to capture the moon early the next morning!
Thanks Terri – it was a great evening and fun to share with other photographers
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Wonderful images, Tina. You must have a very steady hand. 😍
Well, a pretty steady face actually Pauline LOL. I was lying down on my porch with the camera leaning on my eye.
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That’s really clever. 🤣👍👏🏻
More lazy than clever but it seemed to work LOL. Thanks Sylvia
You’re way too modest.😅
Simply incredible…both the photos and the phenomenon of nature!
Thanks Laurel – have to give credit to the phenom much more than the photos!
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I love looking at the moon and your images are stunning.
Thanks very much MM
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Amazing, Tina. Without a tripod too!! So are you selling your Nikon now???
Gonna try. Wish me luck!!
I could imagine the shutters clicking as your described it so well – nice word visual
and the different takes on the special moon made for a nice flowing post.
It really was one of the prettiest January moons I have ever seen
Thanks Yvette – it was indeed and amazing moon. We were so fortunate to have had clear skies
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Very fortunate indeed
I have been offline a lot and so I have not seen very many moon pics at all – but I did see it that night and in the morn
Wow wow wow!!!
I was waiting patiently to see what you captured—You never disappoint T…. These are gorgeous!
You’re too kind Diane but I’ll graciously accept your lovely compliment!
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Beautiful post, Tina. Please don’t tell me you are giving up on Nikon…. I recently invested in the D850… you have been inspiration over the years.
Thanks Jane. I love the Nikon but just cannot steady it with the 70-200, my always favorite lens 😢. I’ll be watching the z series tho!
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I can understand what you mean. The lenses do get heavy. I find myself using the tripod more often… best wishes, Tina
Beautiful shots, Tina. Your rising moon landscapes are lovely. Amazing you got the blood moon reasonably clear without a tripod. It’s an amazing thing to witness, isn’t it?
Thanks Jane. Yes I was stunned to get anything at all with the latest shot. I actually took it prone on a lawn chaise and the camera was literally balanced on my face. Go figure!! (Hope you’re laughing at the mental image😊)
Haha! Sounds like it would have been a lot easier to use a tripod rather than your nose…
Beautiful shot of the red-colored moon! I’m jealous. Our usually cloudless skies were overcast that night so no photos for me.
Bummer SB, it was quite a sight
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Wow… stunning blood moon! The sky was clear,all were beautifully captured. What a thrill! 🙂
Thanks Amy – we got lucky this time around 😊
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Never give up with your lenses, Tina, for I am always surprised with joy especially the moon rising over the marsh. I love the moon in any shape of the day.
Thanks Perpetua, I’m really enjoying the Fuji. No plan to quit any time soon!!😊
Beautiful light.
Thanks IJ. It was a glorious evening
Amazing moonrise. You can ditch your Nikon now 🙂
LOL thanks Jeremy, that’s the plan 😊
Your marvelous moonrise is just that. Marvelous plus!
Thanks Dor, it was quite a sight
Love love love these photos! I, too, envy you could spend that precious time with fellow photographers. It wasn’t cold there, right? It was very cold here. It was so cold that both of our cameras quit working right before the best moment. Oh well… Still, comparing to those who didn’t see the moon at all, we felt lucky.
Have a wonderful day.
Yikes, that IS cold! It was chilly but probably 45-ish. Cold by our southern standards anyway LOL. Thanks Helen
Your Blood Moon pictures certainly came out much, much better than mine! All I got was a white, over-exposed disk …
I find that hard to believe Hien, but thanks. Hope you got to see it anywat
You captured the moon in all its amazing glory that night. The size of it alone!
It was immense!!! Such a bright clear evening. We were really lucky, thanks GF
wonderful captures. we had grey skies (as usual) so I didn’t get to see the blood moon. I’m glad you did tho. 🙂
Thanks Jim. We had a similar issue for the solar eclipse so I feel your pain! We were really lucky this time around
Amazing and wonderful – and a gorgeous shot without tripod! I can understand it was totally unexpected to work out that well. I have tried shooting that red moon handheld, but never succeeded. Surely you must have a steady hand too, Tina! And I quite envy you having fellow photographers close on such an occasion out there in the marshes – must be some feeling! You do live in a beautiful and remarkable area. A nature lover’s dream.
We are indeed really fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing natural beauty A-C. The Fuji really has great flexibility at high ISO levels. Thanks for your lovely comment
Does this mean you have left your Nikon altogether?
Pretty much. Going to try to sell it now. Won’t get much for it I’m afraid
I don’t know about the market for used cameras, but the fact that it once belonged to you ;-D might help? In Sweden I guess some sort of signature or marking would have raised the price.
Fuji seems very popular today, and it is a fantastic camera.
Ooh, thanks for showing these images, Tina….it was very cloudy here, so no sighting for me. Marvellous images, a 200mm lens on the XT2 equates to 400mm full frame, yes?
More like 350 mm but so very croppable because the file size is quite large. Thanks Sue, glad you enjoyed these. We got kind of skunked on the solar eclipse so really appreciated the clear skies this time.
Sounds good! What sort of file size?
35MB each.
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Oh, wow, so it’s full frame?
No, not full frame – it’s a crop-sensor. Here’s a great review with lots of details https://kenrockwell.com/fuji/x-t2.htm
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Oh, OK…my little Olympus is a micro four thirds, and has approx 14MP, way less!
Amazing pictures, Tina.
Lovely captures of the moon.
Thanks Rabirius. It was a beautiful sight