"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon who could not be happy?" —Oscar Wilde
There will be two supermoons in August, bookending this month of last-minute vacations and school shopping. Truthfully, I usually just photograph the moon from my back patio. It has to rise pretty high over the trees before I can capture it. I typically use my tripod. It’s not fancy but it does hold the camera steady.
But you know they say that people act in unusual ways during a full moon and I had a little lunar fever and decided to try to catch the moon as it rose. And I surely don’t need my tripod, I’ll just use the monopod.
“Shoot for the moon; you might get there.” —Buzz Aldrin
So I drove, with no specific destination in mind. I knew I needed to be able to see the Southeast horizon. So I drove up Highway 165, looking for farmland. I saw several farmed acres, but they were surrounded by trees. I took a turn at one place thinking it might lead me through some farmland. Wrong. It was like driving through a cave with the trees reaching across and blocking out all light.
I finally came out on the other side of Bastrop and drove near the outskirts of Mer Rouge. There I turned around in a driveway and stopped to take this photo of the sunset. Not far from here there is a house up on a hill and I really wanted to park up on that hill, but I really did not want to get shot or meet the local PD.
So I waited at the end of the road that led to the hill. I watched for the emerging moon over a cornfield. I took a few pictures with my iPhone, which do not do it justice, but do demonstrate the colors.
As I noted, the monopod did not perform as well as I wanted it to and the pictures are not as crisp as I would like them to be. But I enjoyed the outing and will share them anyway. When I take pictures of the moon at the end of the month, I’ll have a better setup.
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. -Psalm 104:19
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”―J.R.R. Tolkien
Thanks for spending a few moments with me and the moon. I hope you got to witness the brightness of this cycle. If not, keep an eye to the skies. It’s amazing what God set into motion!
Now I will share a few posts I have saved. They are not particularly new, but they are particularly interesting. To me. If you like any post you read on Substack, always hit the heart. It’s an encouragement.
Let Us Now Praise Humble Bookmarks.
Six Things (I found the 5th thing very interesting).
It was a full moon and, shining on all the snow, it made everything almost as bright as day -- only the shadows were rather confusing. - C. S. Lewis
The moon was beautiful early this morning on my walk and I mourned the fact that the iphone couldn't do it justice. Thank you for your wonderful pics that show the moon in such detail.
Thanks, John, for sharing and the beautiful pictures of the rising full moon. I live near Denver and often love to drive at night to the darkest place and watch the moon rise. Seeing the full moon rise is a sacramental experience of my deepest desire in life - to be like the moon and reflect the light of Christ as the moon reflects the light of the Sun.