Moonrise at Fox Hunter's Paradise

I love a crescent moon. 

Back home the evening crescents over the Beartooth Mountains in a rich blue sky were something to sit and be amazed by.  Watching a moon rise or set is a wonderful experience, it appears as if the moon is slowly making its way up or down... photographing the moon is a different story, you don't really get a feel for how quickly it moves until you are trying to compose it in your frame.

In my earlier days of photography and a smartphone with no apps, if I were to photograph a moonrise, it would most likely be by chance that I was out and about already shooting. 

Nowadays everything(well, almost) is planned.  I know exactly when the sun and moon are rising and setting, I have a solid idea of where they will rise during different times of the year, and I plan around this accordingly. 

This particular trip was one that the gf probably didn't like.  The moon was set to rise at about 3:30am(give or take a few minutes depending on whether there is a mountain in your way).  Which meant getting up at 2:45am.
 I only live about 10 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Parkway is my current photography focus so I went to a place called Fox Hunter's Paradise.  It's a busy place during the day with motorhomes and motorcycles, but tonight I didn't see a soul.

I tried at first to use my Pentax K20d with it's 135mm 2.8 lens, but that cameras dynamic range and limited usable ISO quickly had me using my Canon 5d ii with the Sigma 50mm.

And I think it turned out just fine:)

The planet Venus accompanies the moon on her rise into the sky...

Panorama of Fox Hunter's Paradise

What makes the Blue Ridge Parkway awesome, is that there aren't any stops. Any intersecting highways are avoided by bridges over the parkway(or the parkway over the highway)

Here is one of the bridges.  This highway connects Galax, VA with NC.

Two images used here, one to focus on the bridge, the other on the stars.

I'd better get some sleep:)  Thanks for stopping by...

Frontyard Stars...

 

After I get home on Monday and Friday nights(I have to travel to cburg on those days) I like to look up at the stars for a while.  Lately with the clear skies I have been able to enjoy the nice band of stars that make up the Milky Way. 

 

Not a bad view if I do say so myself:)

 

During the day the view is a little different, just below the treeline in the image is our neighbors property.  It is inhabited by about 15 old cars, a swan statue, and a goat tied to a chain that gets moved around(to mow the lawn presumably).

 

 

 

12k ISO @ 1.8 - Sigma 50mm

Cool Colors, Cooler Car...

It ain't easy being me...  I mean... I get to go on little photo outings in probably the coolest car ever.  It has Air Conditioning, working defrosters, freshly changed wipers blades, no cup holders(who has time?) and a sweet sexy bra that covers up a ding in the front.... you guessed it(as you have probably noticed me driving around in my sweet ride).... its a 1997(almost antique!) Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 4dr v6!  This baby has got slick new Walmart tires keeping her tied to the road as I race through sweet curves and dodge little roadside animals at high speeds(sometimes even over 40mph).

But I think the best part about it is that there is no center console.  This means two very important things.  1. If you find yourself driving to Wisconsin or Montana or Virginia or Utah, and feeling tired, you can tip the seat back, point your legs to the passenger floor board and take a super comfy nap.  2.  If you are with your girlfriend coming back from some ritzy high classed date, Applebee's, for example, you can move the armrest up and she can sit in the middle right next to you.... and with the optional tape deck/mp3 adapter cord, you can play your favorite romance Metallica tunes while you cruise....  Yep...   I'd say life is good:)



It's like the sun follows this car anywhere:)



Wide shot of Rocky Knob taken from on top of the Oldsmobile @ 24mm



A 50mm perspective of some nice rays this morning.

The Crooked Road...

There is a little place near Woodlawn, VA called Crooked Creek Fish Management Area.  I drive by this area every time I go to work in Christiansburg, VA.

Whenever I am looking for a place to expore, I always look at Google maps and pay attention to the green areas(public lands, national forests, parks, etc).  Today I did a little exploring for both photography and fishing opportunities.  While I think the area leaves a little bit to be desired photography wise, the drive through the dense foggy forest was quite relaxing:)

Once in a Red Moon...

Ok so I don't have any cool racing photos to show you... but I can say I was in one heck of a hurry after trying to go through Hillsville VA on the opening day of the Flea Market.  Even at 6am the bustle of the town and people setting up booths were really slowing things down.  
After making it out of Hillsville, and onto an open two lane highway, things were going well and I was on time to make it to Rocky Knob to catch the sun breaking the horizon. 
The fog was thick, thick enough to make it so my reaction time was longer than the distance I could see at the speed I was going(basically if a deer popped out it's 'goodbye')

About 3 miles from the top of the knob, I noticed the moon very graciously setting over nice rows of trees and fog.  I stopped the car and started taking some shots handheld with the Pentax K20d and an old Sears 135mm 2.8.  The crop factor of this camera body and the length and superb sharpness of this old lens make for a nice combo when shooting telephoto landscapes.  To get the composition below, I ended up sprinting down the parkway to get into a better position. I am glad I spent the time to stop and shoot this moonset, because the lens of the Sears 135mm struggles with flare when shooting into the sun, so my results were going to be better in a lower dynamic range/no flare situation.

The cool part about this is that, when I composed the moon photo, I actually couldn't make out what was in the foreground fog... turns out that an old run down building sits there(lucky me:)

 

 

Have a great and safe weekend!!

 

 

Living Slow...

I live a mile-and-a-half from a not very busy highway in Southwest Virginia.  Basically, turn left after Galax towards Pipers Gap, and go until your Verizon Wireless phone stops working, and it's on your left just past the 'two dogs'(listen for my rooster's mangy crow) Life around here can be as slow as you want it to be, it really is something else(something awesome)

I will take my camera and a little Yorkie down the road, and take photos of flowers, cow pastures, bugs, dogs, turtles... anything that will stay around long enough to get photographed. 

The other morning I was taking a photo of a pasture covered in fog when a couple of the more well known locals came walking about,  the 'two dogs'.  You see the 'two dogs are kind of celebrities on our road.  So much so that if you were to get directions on how to get to our house, you might hear something like "once you see the two dogs, it's on your left after two more houses".

You see, the 'two dogs'(I don't actually know thier names) like to lay in the street and bask in the sunshine, while greeting anyone that comes by.  Whenever I go running, the dogs will come meet me and run with me to the end of the road and back:) 

After a great church service this morning(about 'Margins in Life'), I know I need to make my life just a little bit more like the 'two dogs'....  Take it easy, go for walks, lay out in the sun, and be nice to everybody:) 



Don't let her sad face deceive you, her tail is a waggin'




The Sigma provides nice sharp focus



The mornings get foggy more often as the season starts to change:)

Hope you all had a great Sunday:) 



I love Spiders (Part 2)

I opted to set up a flash behind my subject here.  I like how all the water drops catch light and make a really nice line throughout the image.  If you look closely, you can see little starbursts on the points of light(notably the larger drop right infront of the spider on the first image).  The aperture was closed down to f14 for these images.  A small aperture is usually a nessecity for macro photography, as a razor thin depth of field is very hard to work with.

Click the images to view a larger version.

Thanks for Looking:)

 Thanks for looking:)