Moonlight Madness!

This time of year, there’s virtually no daylight outside of my work-day; I drive out in the dark, and by the time I pick up my mail on the way home the sun is setting.

Kinda sucks as a photographer’s life goes.

But hey, if it’s a lemon tree, we New Englanders do know what to do with it!

…Snap away in the dark.  I can handle it.  😉

Here are a few sky shots I took these past few days, bracketing my workday with a bit of finger-numbing recreation (it’s been cold  here!)

Here’s an eastward view from high Shelburne, after sunset but a bit short of moonrise; Her Highness is announcing Her entrance with a flourish of fire:

I wouldn’t have chosen the contrail if it were up to me, but it wasn’t, and in retrospect it adds an interesting geometric element to balance the descending horizon.

Funny how those things work out.

Here’s one of the moon just cracking the Earth-Sky egg:

And then, at last, Her glorious entrance into the Land of the Living:

This last shot has a different feel than the previous two; the sheer candlepower of La Luna didn’t lend itself to bringing up the colors as I did with the others.  Let me know what you think of the differences.

And lastly, no night would be complete without morning.  So here’s a morning shot looking westward from my current road job, of the waning moon chasing a firey Earth-shadow to ground over the Taconic Range which separates Massachusetts from New York:

We’re heading into the depths of the Dink and the Dank of winter, with a surfeit of dark and a dearth of daylight, so bear with me as I try to milk the night for something worth passing along to any of you who have come to expect a bit more from me.  If I ever get my act together and delve into Actual Night-time Photography, this time of year will require less apologies.  But for now, I hope this suffices.

Thanks to Ollie for these shots, mostly shot at 24mm, though I kept my compositional options open with that lens choice.