August Supermoon

One of the drawbacks of living in a northern mountainous paradise is the lack of cultural events on par with the City. (It is likely that I've mentioned this fact once...or a dozen times before!)

Tonight, I attended a Mozart-oriented concert—a welcome event—but had to leave during the intermission.

How dare I?

If you pay attention to the seasons and natural events, you've probably guessed by now.

This August full Moon happens to be the so-called Supemoon due to its proximity to the earth. The latter means that on a cloudless summer evening like tonight, these conditions create the perfect photographing opportunity for lunatics like me. And I'm always punctual, even (especially) for the Moon.

Here is the partial Moonrise sequence: from playing hide-and-seek behind the blue mountain ribbons to nuclear yellow and, finally, reigning over the entire horizon.

Baby Moon

It's been a while since I've photographed the Moon for various reasons: from cloud cover in the American Rockies to mosquitoes in the Canadian prairies. Thus, tonight's five-day-old Moon setting together with the Sun provided the perfect opportunity.

Evening Moon

It's been a while since I've posted photographs of my old friend, the Moon: after all, cloudy spring days in the mountains often obscure the view, particularly during those early moonrises, as it waxes. But, as we head toward the solstice, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to view it a couple of days in a row, sparrows chirping, mallards flying in clean geometric formations, and deliciously scented lilacs in bloom.

Evening Moon

Evidently, there are people whose jaws don't drop halfway to the floor when the sky above them looks like this. Strange people they are, I say!

Thus, I've decided to create two mental categories for those who love the Moon and those whose reaction is along the lines of, "Yeah, whatever." I already have a separate category for dog-lovers and "the other guys."

Guess my preference! :)

Above / Below

Above/below is one of my favorite features for this blog. (I should probably start tagging it.) I like giving the idea of more than one object in my line of vision—more than one aspect to what I photograph outdoors—because even a wide-angle lens cannot provide the full sense of a landscape experienced "live."

Most often, I contrast the sky above with a macro-image of the world below, as is the case this time.

Above me is the shrouded early-evening Moon:

Below me are the sunlit reeds:

Craters

It's been a while since I posted a minimalist full moon, so here is one from last week.

Now you can play "count the craters." :)

Moon over Valley

These are not my favorites, but I do like that moment when the Moon begins to resemble a giant cartoon star when you photograph it from a certain angle.

The Moon Lay Hidden

This is last night's near-full Moon viewed from the mountains before it got fully engulfed by the clouds and a day's worth of rain and even hail.

Naturally, I did the next best thing and watched the eclipse on video.