Moonset on the West Coast… an early-bird quest
The Oregon Coast is known for its breath-taking sunsets.
But… what about moonsets?
A recent camping trip to the beach during the full moon phase provided a great opportunity for seeking an answer to this question.
The first morning, moonset was scheduled to occur at 6:o3 am. I set the alarm, and walked to the beach with hopes of spotting my first moonset into the Pacific Ocean.
But luck was not with me… off-shore fog obscured the setting moon. The only visible light upon the horizon shone aboard a crab boat as early-bird fishermen set crab rings for the day’s catch.
The next morning, moonset was still scheduled for a dark early morning time- 6:30. I arrived at the coastline well ahead of the timetable.
That was a good thing.
The full moon was beginning its descent into a blanket of fog…
Just like the day before, moonset at the ocean’s edge remained a mysterious circumstance.
This week’s challenge: “Early Bird”
I’d still prefer a Sheep Station!
Jane, it is just another Aussie saying. An example might be a game of social tennis, when one player is taking it too seriously, someone will make the comment “You’d think he had the sheep station resting on it” Light bulb moment – in USA, it would probably be a ‘cattle ranch’, of course. 😉 I agree with everything else on the subject of tweaking 🙂
Ken-
Actually, I think “enhancement” becomes part of a form of photographic etiquette in this digitalized era when used to clarify a photo’s message… not to hide truths or persuade through trickery. Your example of straightening up a scene, or cropping to take out superfluous subject matter helps the viewer to achieve a clear meaning from the photo. Just as we edit our written messages for mechanics and spelling… Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. can help us to achieve the same kind of editing for clarity and sound composition with our photography. So yes… I tweaked… but didn’t change the meaning!
BTW- I think it would be fun to win a sheep station…. I’ve not heard that phrase before 🙂 What does this really mean?!
-Jane
Thank you, Lola Jane. I agree with your thought that moonset photos are less common. May because to see them against a darkened sky happens at some pretty weird hours of the day!
Thank you, Norma. I don’t think the moonset during darkness is as common at the beach as sunsets… so being an early bird was definitely for an interesting pursuit. 😉
That is an added bonus… both for me and my Black Labrador Retriever- Kirby. He likes the solitude because it means some off-leash running time along the shore!!!
I’m sure the solitude made up for the fact that the moon was not as clearly visible as you had hoped, Jane?
That’s a pretty collection. Definitely an “early bird” picture.
It is not very common to see moonsets photos…so despite less than ideal conditions, your early bird efforts still produced interesting photos. I do love all that blue, and especially the first photo, Jane. 🙂
Short answer, Jane, is I don’t know. Way back in the early days of my blog (and before we met :)), I wrote what now “What is a Photograph”. It now seems a bit naive. http://wp.me/p3ebui-bV to save you searching. Bottom line is that I see all these great photos posted each week, and I think I am starting to sense when they have been tweaked. The important thing is that we are having fun, and not in it to win a sheep station 😉
Thank you, Ali. What made the moment even more wonderful was meeting one other early-bird camper on the second day who was also up in search of the moonset! Fun to share the anticipation 🙂
Ken, does this count for tweaking color? Adjust for highlights, whites, clarity. With a little refining on contrast.
I’m still learning the ins and outs of manual shots; so that needs to be taken into account as well! The sky was in shades of navy blue prior to sunrise… so I don’t think this is too far off.
Damn, Nature can be so frustrating! I am intrigued, Jane. Is that ‘natural colour’ as shot, or tweaked for more blue?
Beautiful blue colour. Great shot and no doubt a wonderful moment too.