Declaring the Glory
Canon 5D Mark ll, 70-200 2.8L, 4.0 aperture, 1/8 shutter, 400 ISO,and a tripod.
The moon has been amazingly beautiful these last two nights. Last night we saw her as we were out walking, ascending slowly up through the trees. I couldn’t believe how stunning she was, larger than usual and completely orange. I also couldn’t believe I left my camera at home. I knew that by the time I got home, she would be high in the sky, much smaller and less colorful. It felt like a race. Me against the moon. Me running for my camera, and she racing to get higher and higher in the sky. She won, of course. Chris told me not to fret, that she would most certainly be back the next night. Somewhere he had learned that beautiful moons make such appearances at least two nights in a row. I don’t know where he comes up with these random facts, but I rested in this one. ” Maybe tomorrow” I whispered to the moon as I went inside.
Tonight I prepared for her appearance as I took all my gear with me on my way to my Monday night dance meeting. But, when I came out of the church, the sky was overcast. My heart sank. Where was my moon? I gave up and went grocery shopping with Katie. When we came out of the store at nearly 10:00 p.m, there she was, peeking at me over the dark clouds. “There she is!” I exclaimed. Katie said God waited and brought her out just for me. Could that be true? When we got to the house, Katie went inside and I asked Chris if he wanted to go with me as I tried to capture the moon. He slipped on a jacket and off we went to the best spot I could find on our country road.
She was not as large or orange as the night before, but she was indeed beautiful, with traces of oranges, yellows and blues lining the clouds around her. I pressed the shutter softly and hoped I could capture her, with the clouds drifting slowly across her face. The whippoorwill sang and Chris and and I rested in the moment.
The glory was once again being declared. I am so grateful I was there to see and hear it.
Psalm 19: 1-4 ~ “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
2 Comments
Beautiful, Mary Anne!! I did see your facebook status asking how to get good shots of the moon, and as I read your blog where you said you pressed the shutter softly, it reminded me of one tip I know. 🙂 I have taken pictures of the lunar eclipse as well as the “super moon” and my best tip I can give you is to set your “timer” for 2 seconds so that when you press the shutter, you have to time to move away from it and don’t get any camera shake at all. 🙂 God bless!!
Awesome. I have tried to shoot the moon with no luck except during the day at like 5pm. But I will try this again as it is still low. Glad you were able to get this great capture.