Blue Moon

When a month is graced with two full moons, the second one is called a blue moon...the once in a blue moon blue moon. The blue moon cycle is 2.72 years, making it a special, if not rare or unexpected occasion. The last blue moon month was May 2007 and the next will occur in August 2012.

So, it's particularly cool that we had not only a 100% full moon for New Years Eve moving into 2010, but it was also a Blue Moon. For those of us who have spiritual or ritualistic leanings, this was "meaningful" in whatever way our heart or mind took us to it. I like to leave occurences like this filled with meaningful mystery. It appeals to my sense of wonder at the convergence of nature and coincidence (co-incidence,) Nothing being a coincidence. Oracles.On a big scale, like full blue moons on New Year's Eve, and on the small scale, like the way it works in our day to day lives....if we pay attention to it. More and more I'm noticing the way moments and experiences seem to have a lovely connectedness or flow to them. The outcome of watching life on earth more as an ever mysterious, wondrous dance, is allowing me to feel freer within my skin and heart. Breathing easy. In and out...out and in.

On a practical note, this photo was taken on the night of 1.1.2010. There was a cloud cover here on NYE. I photographed the rising moon just outside my front door, looking over the fence to my left. With the naked eye, the ring was slightly visible, but leaving the shutter open for about 30 sec. gathered it into it's present form in the image. I did a second frame at a much shorter exposure to define the moon's shape, and layered into the final picture.

Last Photo of the Year

It's New Year's Eve and I was hanging out in my digital "dark room" as usual, but thinking about what movie to watch a bit later with some vodka concoction...yum, when my friend Eric called to tell me I had to go look at the moon, how beautiful it was with the whatever planet below to the side, and if he had a tripod, he'd photograph it probably surrounded by trees, and would I pleeeeeze go out and shoot it. He's a good friend, and I have a heavy coat, so here is what turned out to be my last photograph of 2008.
I'm glad he called.

Happy New Year. Let's make it wonderful!

FULL MOON SHOOT IN OCTOBER

My friend Jean who lives out in the boonies told me how cool his pasture looks when the moon light is spilling everywhere, and I should come out to shoot during some full moon time. So I went this month. On the way out there, I had to stop when I noticed the clouds were swooping so dramatically around in the sky. As usually happens, I couldn't quickly find a road or driveway to pull over into that gave me a full view of the sky and wouldn't get me killed by passing cars. The twilight faded more than I hoped when I finally found a spot, but it still was worth the hassle, I think.

My friend was right about the moonlight on the pasture, and said the view from the barn was good; he and his friends sit up there, have a few beers and watch the moon rise sometimes. (The other side of the barn was set up to watch the sun set, by the way.) Anyway, after noticing the scene in front of me while he got absorbed in the moonlight, I asked him to just stay there and stop breathing when I said,"Now." I'll be damned, his torso is still a little soft focus. I still haven't figured out how to pull this off, but I like how it turned out having a figure in the composition.

While stumbling around the barn with only a small flashlight on the way to the doors, I noticed, well, more like almost fell into, a hand made boat that the owner of the property was storing there....I love when you find stuff you never in your life would think to bring to a shoot. It's that serendipity that the universe loves to toss into the mix and you can decide whether or not to go with it. Of course, sometimes what crosses your path is just something to step over and walk on by, but I loved the idea of a boat coming into the composition to add a bit of mystery.

"A few days after that night, Jean emailed me:

About half an hour after you left, the nightly barred owl chorus began with an intensity befitting the full moon. As if on cue the coyotes (apparently the teenagers from the spring litter)joined in for one of the most delightful and bizarre choruses I've ever had the hair on my neck stand up to."