Lens-artists Challenge #30 – Unexpected

“I am in love with the moon, with the light shining out of its soul.”

Sanober Khan

BLOOD MOON

BLOOD MOON

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.

MARVELOUS MOONRISE

MARVELOUS MOONRISE

“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.

SHINING ON

SHINING ON

“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. 

 

 

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89 thoughts on “Lens-artists Challenge #30 – Unexpected”

  12. 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.

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    • 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!

      Reply ↓

      • 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!

        >

      • 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.

  15. 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!

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  20. 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

    Reply ↓

  22. 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.

    Reply ↓

  23. 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?

    Reply ↓

    • 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😊)

      Reply ↓

  30. 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.

    Reply ↓

  34. 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.

    Reply ↓

  35. 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?

    Reply ↓

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