Harvest Moon of the Equinox

The full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal Equinox is the yearly Harvest Moon. In theory, farmers are able to stay out in the fields and continue harvesting by the light of the moon. This month was a special Harvest Moon because it occurred on the night of the equinox, something that hasn't happened since 1991 (and won't happen again until 2029). I usually like to get the moon as big as possible (like the shot above) by using a long lens, but this month I also used a wider lens to include this pumpkin patch that was ready for harvest. I am very please with this true harvest moon shot. Click on a photo to see a larger view.

Then I changed back to the big lens to
isolate a big moon in the night sky.

Insanity is typically associated with full moons and I can understand why. I sat out in the middle of a pumpkin field until after dark just to take a picture. I admit it. I'm a lunatic.

Return to Kansas

This was my third trip to Kansas in the past twelve months. In August it was so hot and humid I hardly ventured outside. Six weeks later and everything had changed. The corn was dry and ready to harvest, and the air was cool. On my previous trip, my camera gear was so heavy and cumbersome that I decided to travel light this time. I took a Panasonic compact camera. That was it: no extra lenses or filters, or tripod. This meant no serious photography, but overall I was pleased with the pictures. Click on any photo to see a larger image. Kansas is the "Sunflower State." They grow wild along the edges of corn fields and are considered weeds by the farmers. Catching the butterflies was a serendipitous addition to this photo.

The Amelia Earhart Bridge which spans
the Missouri River in Atchison.

I was in Kansas to spend time with my aunt, and this time I was not alone. My sister Judy and I spent the week together, taking my aunt out to lunch, and hanging out in Troy, the small farming town in which my father and aunt grew up. We experienced an amazing electrical storm that put on a brilliant and scary light show. There was so much lightening it seemed like we were surrounded by strobe lights. The thunder was constant. When a power pole down the road was hit, spewed green sparks, and knocked out the power, we ran inside. No photos of this storm. This is Judy in my aunt's new apartment.

Aunt Whee's cat, Trudy

This link will take you to photos from my previous Kansas trip:
http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2010/08/theres-no-place-like-home.html

Starry, Starry Night

Within the photography club, I started a Night Photography Focus Group. We met for the first time on Wednesday and immediately planned our first night shoot for Saturday at Fremont Peak. (If you follow my blog, you may remember that back in April, I climbed to the very top of Fremont Peak with Noella. http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2010/04/ascent-od-fremonts-peak.html) No climbing or hiking on this trip. We timed our arrival to photograph the setting sun before heading up to the observatory. Normally flares are to be avoided in photos, but they enhanced this one by making the sun look like it was smashing into the horizon.Actually, a thick shroud of fog prevented us from even seeing the horizon.

The edge of the parking lot was lined with photographers, sightseers, and amateur astronomers. As I was walking away toward the observatory, I glanced back, saw these silhouettes, pulled out my camera, and took this hand-held shot.

We had to wait awhile for the sky to darken, and found that even though it was a moonless night, the lights from Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose kept the horizon brightly lit. If you click on this photo, you will see the bottom three stars of the Big Dipper.

The Big Dipper is not a constellation. It is an asterism (a pattern of stars) within the Ursa Major Constellation. Click on the photos to see the stars.

The stars of the Big Dipper are often used to point the way toward other constellations. The two stars at the bottom of the bowl point to the North Star (Polaris), which is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper. I was very pleased to get both dippers in one photo.

Fortunately, others in our group have photographed the Milky Way and shared their techniques. Capturing our own galaxy in a photograph was a stellar moment for me.This was one of the most fun shoot-outs I've been on. I have mentioned in previous blogs how much I enjoy being out after dark. Others must have felt the same because several of the group seemed loath to leave. After four hours of photographing the stars, we started playing with our red lights. (In order to preserve everyone's night vision, only red lights are allowed.) This is a 30 second exposure of Lance painting the dark.

I am second from the left.
You can see more photos from this night on my Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/