The Bloody Moon

Before I post my pathetic pic of the bloody blood moon, let me explain.

I'd almost forgotten completely about the event!  Shocking, I know.  Well, it is if you know me.  I love stuff in the sky.  The moon, stars, planets, thunderstorms.  Things like that are seriously amazing.  For me to miss an event up there is pretty rare.  When at last I learned of the event, it was late.  At first, I thought I'd already missed it.  Then I thought maybe I'd try to take pics with my phone.  hahahaha!  You really can't take a decent pic of the moon with a phone, I don't think.  Okay, well, not with my phone at least!  So where was my Nikon when I needed it~~

As it happened, my camera was in use by the eldest daughter.  Yes, she has her own--for our children, a good camera is practically standard issue.  But this time, she needed mine for a project.  Mine has a remote control, which seemed to be useful for her purposes.  And so, knowing my camera was likely in use and probably containing a memory card full of project stuff, I resigned myself to just let it go this time.  Maybe there'd be another blood moon.  I decided to go to bed.

But, you know me, I couldn't sleep.  My eyes stared up at dark shapes on the ceiling.  I peeked out the window and saw the beginning of the eclipse.  I waited a bit, my face hovering over my pillow, then checked again.  Half the moon was in shadow.  And then, there was only a sliver of white sparkling light, the rest of the moon shaded a deep orangey-reddish hue.  I couldn't stand it!  I jumped up, went to the daughter's room and snatched my camera off the tripod.  Not thinking to get the tripod, which was likely tangled up in wires and fabric anyway.  But I got the camera and proceeded to find my memory card, which was stowed away in my camera bag, which was in my closet, in the darkness!  Then to find a decent lens!  This went on and on.  Until at last, I had something suitable to shoot the moon with.    

Finally!  I rushed outside, into the cold night.  The cold, creepy, eerily silent night.  Where were my pants?!  Nevermind that.  The moon.  I could see it through a frame of tree branches, a cinematic scene.  Is that music playing?  I snapped off a few shots, that I wasn't satisfied with, when the memory card claimed to be "FULL".  You must be joking. (^.~)  My eyes were bleary, maybe it was a mistake.

I tried deleting stuff.  Still, the card claimed fullness.  Egad.  Clearly I wasn't prepared for this.  Next time, I'll be ready.  ha!  It wasn't until much later that I learned the camera was set to take RAW images.  Images that take up all the space in the world.  The black hole of images, sucking up memory card space, unnecessarily, in my opinion.  I mean, normally, I don't need to shoot RAW, but there it was.  And so, this is all I could come up with of the bloody blood moon...

  

    

  

   

Shooting the Moon

Yep, it's the moon.

I've got probably hundreds of moon photos stored somewhere on laptops and memory cards.  They all look pretty much alike.  Ha!  And yet, I still keep shooting the moon.

It isn't that I expect it to change much over the years.  Who knows?  What if it did???  Now there's  a thought!  (^.-)

Still, it's like home.  It's comforting to see it hanging there in the sky.

I need a better lens to take moon pics.  Something that will get a bit closer.

This particular pic was taken with my Nikon D80.  The lens, 85mm prime.  The f-stop I set to f/8, in hopes of getting the image a tiny bit sharper.  Since I didn't use a tripod, I didn't want to get the aperture too small.  I set the exposure time to  1/60 sec, again because I didn't bring a tripod.  Next time, maybe.  And finally, the ISO at 200.

It's not the best pic o' the moon, but it looks like... the moon.  (O.o)

Mr. Superior

Saturday, May 5, 2012, the moon in its supreme, super-ness appeared.

I'd almost forgotten, I admit.  And this is not a likely thing for me to do.  Forget a celestial event, that is.  The sky, after all, is a haven.  An escape from the wicked, chaotic part of life.  Where I cast my gaze for hours, searching for wee specks of light hidden in the ambient glow of city light.

If I think too much of it, the night, the sky, the stars, my heart aches and my eyes will moisten.  It's time for a visit to the open places.  The countryside, where few go, where the peace of the natural is.  Where, in the night, there are sounds unlike any you'll hear by day.  The place where the sky is full of the stuff of the universe.  And a dazzling universe it is.  A humbling space that can not help but put awe in us.

Yes, I nearly missed the big moon.  Perhaps, I'd been avoiding it.  Because there was little time to savor its presence?    

Still, the talk of, let's just say, "Mr. Superior", crept into conversations on the social networks.  In quips.  And then photos of it poured in.  Not wanting to miss out, I hastily grabbed my camera, not concerned with the lens attached to it, and bounded out the back door for a peek.  The sky was hazy.  Even so, there it was.  A great glowing orb hanging softly in the aether.

At this, I could stare for hours.

I know what is lacking.  It's the wondrous conversations I've had before, with those equally fascinated with what lies beyond our sphere.  Those who would sit on blankets for an entire night, just to glimpse a meteor shower's fireball.  And once one had been seen streaking from horizon to horizon, burning so brightly you could hear its sizzle, still wait for yet another even better fireball, till the sun broke the eastern horizon.  

It can't be recaptured, that feeling.  Though I've tried.

I'll keep trying.