Supermoon

The Supermoon of 19th March, 2011:  Supermoons occur when the moon is unusually close to the earth and as a result appears 14% bigger and shines 30% brighter.  The last time this happened was nearly 20 years ago in March 1993.

I’m thrilled.  Not only was the weather with me for this special event, I have ticked off an item from my Photography Bucket List – to get a shot of the moon that I was at least half-way happy with.  This is where I say a big thank you to Brian at FS Photography for being generous in sharing his expertise.  I think I’m now half way to understanding what I’m doing with night-time shots!

Photo watermarked using

Feeling … delicate

Maybe it’s from a lot of poor sleep, fighting off another cold. Maybe it’s my Cancerian/ruled by the moon thing of feeling particularly sensitive close to a full moon.   (It’s a biggie at the end of this week –  the moon is unusually close to the earth so watch for very high tides…and teary, emotional Cancerians). Maybe it’s both of those, coupled with my usual empathy for anyone suffering. From Friday last week I emotionally plummeted (well, no surprises there then).

I stress however, I am not depressed – just … feeling delicate and feeling, to a large extent, the need to be alone with my thoughts..  I’m being made aware every time I turn on the news of just how lucky I am.  Whilst others have lost everything, my ‘big news’ is the arrival of a new lens.  Wow.  But it made me feel happy and  in a child-like state of enthusiasm I put it on the camera body and started snapping ‘Miss Boo’  beside me, without checking any ISOs, f.stops, apertures or any of the other paraphernalia that makes for a technically ‘good’ photo.   

What I got was blurry and all the rest of it but you know what?  I realised that this captured today.  It’s a moment in time, a moment when I felt happy and Miss Boo was happy and relaxed too, and my personal world was safe and…just right.   Given the last few years, that felt particularly good.  So that’s what made me think of writing here:

It doesn’t matter that my photos are out of focus – when I look at this I’ll enjoy the memory of the here and now. 

So I’m posting this silly post- with the photographic message that even ‘bad’ shots may be worth holding on to, and the rather more important reminder that although the here and now may not be perfect in your world, find the good and hold on to it.

Perseid Meteor Shower

Just a quick note for fellow amateur skywatchers like me.  Tonight is the best night for seeing the Perseid meteor shower.  The shower is debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle and the earth passes through this trail of debris every year, the best nights for viewing in the northern hemisphere always occurring somewhere around 8th to 12th August.

When we moved away from town and out into the countryside it struck me how little of the night sky many of us humans see because of light pollution.  Without street lighting, on moonless nights the darkness can be almost inky black out here and it’s great for sky gazing.  On our first Summer at this house we sat out in the garden on some old reclining Summer chairs around the night of the 12th, children on our laps and all wrapped in warm blankets.  It was fantastic fun to watch the skies and see who could spot the meteors, although it wasn’t hard because this light show is a spectacular one on a good night, with several bolts of light visible in every minute.

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I’m still not back in my usual spot with the computer after the arrival of the carpets guys.  Time here is therefore limited but I hope things will be back to normal this weekend and I’ll be able to devote some proper time to catching up with everyone.