eyes to the sky

Picture perfect weather has been hard to predict this Fall, it's spotty at best. I had to reschedule a recent portrait session no less then three times. Final decision is always the clients. I am a firm believer that "photos reflect the weather" and adds to the story. I can shoot in any weather, and can't figure out why no one wants photos taken in the rain?? Lol! 

The mysterious night sky has always made my soul wander. I love the unique vastness, and yet rarely spend time soaking it up or shooting at night. It's all about timing, location and not sleeping. All challenging things for this girl. 

I have an educational dark sky photo outing coming up, and the lack of night shooting finds me struggling in the dark. I need to practice!! I was so bummed when we were socked in with thick clouds on October 13th. No visible Full Moon for us.

Imagine my surprise when skies cleared by morning, and the Full Moon was setting just beyond our tree line! My favorite shot looked like a giant dandelion in the sky.

Moon Set 10/14/19 at 6:51 AM

Yesterday, Brad was on his way to the barn to let the horses out. I was sipping coffee, trying to wake my groggy head up. I had just dismantled my tripod/camera and put everything away (literally) in preparation for an overnight guest, when he came bustling back in the door "Quick, hurry come outside, you gotta see this weird circle around the moon..." a man after my heart!!!

I "ran" outside to look, gasped and went back inside as quick as my sleepy body could manage, to reassemble my camera. I was in total panic mode!! Scrambling. The sky waits for absolutely no one. I forgot more things then I remembered, and had to shuffle in/out, several more times. In the dark. I said a few choice words. Eventually the circle faded, and I thought I blew this unique opportunity. Thankfully, I didn't. 

Moon Halo 10/18/19 at 5:42 AM

I had no idea what we saw, and thought perhaps it was a Moonbow. I've never seen one. The camera picked up a little color on the edge of the circle. I learned moonbows appear opposite the moon, and what we saw was a Moon Halo. 

"Moon halos occur when millions of tiny ice crystals in thin clouds high up in the Earth's atmosphere split and reflect the sun's light bouncing off the Moon. The phenomenon is quite rare, as the ice crystals have to positioned exactly right in relation to where you are looking up in order for the halo to appear" 

Not exactly dark sky shooting, but Mother Nature is on her own schedule and practice is practice. I love learning (and experiencing) new things, morning, noon and night!!!