Happy Friday, folks!
About a month ago, I had a not so original (but brilliant, of course) idea to photograph the moon each night as I saw it from my backyard. However, my son was sick and in the hospital and blah blah blah, so I pretty much failed at my new moon project. I know I could try again this month but I have a slight problem… I cannot see the moon every night from my backyard! Therefore, I got frustrated and have not been photographing every night like I claimed I would, but, I have been observing the sky. Anyways, two nights ago I was compelled to photograph the moon again because it was so beautifully full and aesthetically creepy. By the way, I need suggestions for a moderately priced flash… Here, I utilized my wimpy flash, that came on the camera, in order to capture the same view I was seeing because I was not satisfied with how my photographs were turning out. The last photograph of the moon (shown below at the tail end of this post) was shot with no flash and, although I find the image appealing, I was more drawn to the ones taken with a flash. Obviously, I know nothing about flashes, but at least I’m finally getting out there and experimenting! 🙂
The very next day, around one o’clock in the afternoon, I stepped outside and caught sight of the sun. The sun was shining so intensely (I could feel it transforming winter into spring) with a ring of pinks, oranges and purples surrounding its form. It reminded me of the moon view I had shot the night before and, so, I grabbed my camera. I found this task to be increasingly more difficult than photographing the moon. I placed a hood on my lens (after first attempting without one) and tried my best to capture what I saw. However, I felt like I was going blind. I read in my manual you aren’t supposed to point your lens directly at the sun for this reason, but I had to do it. I wore sunglasses and was careful not to stare too long. After shooting 400 images of the same subject (from the same view), these were the only photographs that turned out. I realize that this is all part of the photographic process, but it just makes me wonder how people capture great images of the sun. Perhaps, the ones I’ve seen are only of sunsets… I’ll have to do some research. In the meantime, I will leave you with these juxtapositions of the sun and moon. I love the contrasting views these photographs provide of these two balls of light.
I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend full of smiles and joy. And, if anyone has any tips on how to photograph the sun without going blind, feel free to comment 🙂
Yesterday’s Afternoon Sun Resembling My Previous Night’s New Moon View. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
Creepy-Cool, Full Moon View. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
A Rainbow-Light Sphere and a Dark Silhouette. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
The Moon, a Wimpy Flash and a Tiny Lens Flare. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
Soft Sun-Lighting. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
Closing in on the Full Moon. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
Sun So Bright It Was Blinding. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
The Moon as Shot Without a Flash. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.
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PEACE, LOVE until my next bloggy-blog post, dear fellow blog readin’ friends! 🙂
Watching The Photo Reels Go Round And Round... 
I like it.
What the flash would accomplish is to light up the surrounding trees, for instance to give the shot some depth perception. If it does anything else in these instances, I will be glad to be informed. What it doesn’t do is help make the moon any clearer.
I like what you’ve done with these photos. I have one moon shot on my photo blog, f-stop fantasy. Check it out and see what you think. It’s taken through the early morning fog.
Yeah I’m not sure a flash would do much either for photographing at night… makes the light source look so artificial. I guess I am just asking the flash question in general and unrelated to this post… for shooting indoors. I hardly ever use a flash but am just curious because I want to experiment with one. Anyways, thanks so much for your comment and I love your moon photo! Beautiful sighting of it!
Oh I like these Polly! Especially the first one. A bit haunting and moody but so elegant.
Thank you so much! You hit the mood right on the dot… haunting and moody but elegant… exactly what I was viewing that night 🙂 Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Spooky and gorgeous.
Thanks! 🙂
Sorry to hear about your son. 😦
Would a filter solve the sun-is-too-bright problem? I’ve been looking into a neutral density filter for a similar reason. I think it’s supposed to drastically reduce the amount of light that reaches your lens, so it’s good for waterfalls or anything where you want a nice slow shutter in broad daylight, but I don’t know about direct sun photos. Seems like the same principle would apply, though.
I don’t know about preventing blindness, though!
I hesitate to call your photos “pretty,” since you were clearly going for “creepy,” but I’m really diggin’ the interplay of the clouds and the branches. 🙂
I actually used a filter for this photo… not sure it helped. I also had a hood on my lens. Who knows… maybe it was just too bright. I’m glad you enjoyed the pretty creepiness within these photos… I like that. I’ve also been told they are haunting and elegant; similar juxtaposition. Anyways, thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
I love these pictures, Polly – especially the top one, the 3rd down, and the one above the bottom picture – very beautiful shots! Adrian
Thanks so much, Adrian! I’m glad you enjoyed them. This flower was so tiny! Some function on my camera was off but it ended up making for great photographs of a simple subject. Thanks so much for your comment!