On Friday, I stayed up late after all.
Late enough to observe the Moon over the lake making the valley's lights that much brighter.
Just like I wanted.
"What are you doing on the balcony?"
"Watching the Moon."
"Photographing?"
"No, just watching."
The winds were so strong pushing the clouds so rapidly that this created an optical illusion of the Moon traveling through the sky, while at the same time remaining stationary.
I reluctantly went to get the camera.
Sometimes, you have to wait an entire season for the perfect opportunity.
One came up last night.
Several factors had to coalesce: to capture the teaser image below, it had to be sufficiently, but not excessively cloudy, it had to snow generously, I had to be out of town and in the mountains, and the Moon had to be bright enough, i.e., full.
The only thing missing was my tripod, but I did alright.
Tonight's full Wolf Moon was the smallest one of the year. And it lived up to its name, if you consider the fact that it acted more like a trickster fox, hiding behind thick cloud cover the entire time.
I will catch you tomorrow.
On my way home on this icy December evening, I noticed that the rapidly moving clouds occasionally parted just enough to reveal the almost-full Moon.
Five minutes later, I was back outside--with a tripod--freezing my fingers, despite the fact that these conditions make night shooting notoriously challenging. At the same time, cloud mutations can create different and, at times, phantasmagorical effects.
...causing "shadows" on the surface (via bulb exposure):
...resembling an eclipse:
...or simply appearing like the classic Moon, all within minutes:
Last night, I was admittedly envious (only a bit!) of just about everyone on my social networks, flaunting--verbally--their amazing-full-Moon view.
Living in the mountains, thick cloud cover and unpredictable weather is, well, expected! This is what happened yesterday, and the Moon was so coy as to peek from the clouds, then disappear as soon as I set up my tripod.
But this evening, it decided to give me a break. It must've known that I was packing for a trip, and so we made a date for a brief shoot just after 8 pm.
The Beginning:
The Dreamy-Pisces view:
The Urban Knockout:
The Full Glory:
Not bad for a half hour of posing, huh?
Last night I made an ever-so-slight complaint that the Moon was not artistically obscured by the clouds so as to make photography more worthwhile.
Tonight, I got this:
Clearly, there is a lesson to be learned here, and that lesson is that I should whine my way to things I want more often!
Being facetious, yes.
Having proven to me that if it can affect tides, then it can certainly look mysterious and alluring beneath the veil of clouds, the Moon eventually made its way up and lit the valley.
Tonight's lunar viewing was accompanied by Oolong tea (there is that double "o" again!) and a soundtrack created by those who are also quite fond of the Moon.
This month's full moon, the Thunder Moon, is here! To us, it appears almost as large as last month's Supermoon.
Now, where's my witch's broom...
;)