I treated myself to an early morning and was rewarded with a pretty nice pre-sunrise sky. I credit Monte and his early morning excursions for the motivation to drag myself out of bed at 5:45. It was worth it! I also was able to get a nice cup of coffee in the lobby on my way back to our room. Double nice!
Wow! on the image. I personally think the mornings are the best time of the day and have for many years. It does take motivation to get out there. However, there are those mornings when all I want it the coffee and my wool blanket around me in my recliner. This really looks nice enlarged. Could be one to print.
I also love mornings but have gotten lazy. I committed to getting up this morning and it was worth it. Currently sitting in a beach chair at a “chilly” 75 degrees. Planning to catch the rising almost-full moon over the water this evening. Hopefully it stays clear. 😉
So, I had an alarm set for 5:30 this morning. The forecast was for clear skies and the moon would set fairly far to the north near golden hour. But… when i got up, the moon was hazy. By the time I got downstairs and dressed, it was cloud-covered and was obviously going to stay that way. So, I went back got bed.
Do I still get Monte credits?
Good intentions and good judgement count for a lot, Jeff. So yes, you get credit for discretion. 😉 I should have a good view for moonrise this evening, and I can photograph and have my cocktail at the same time!
Your “cocktail while photographing” thought (which you made happen, it appears) reminds me of a photograph I made in a very, very dark barn somewhere in Tuscany. This was back when I was pretty much exclusively shooting with the view camera and I’d calculated a 90 minute exposure (factoring in something we no longer have to worry about in the digital realm – reciprocity failure). I knew the camera would be safe, so I opened the shutter, got in the car and drove into town, went to a bar, had a glass of wine and returned just about at the right time to close the shutter.
That’s a great story and something I’d say our digital cameras deprive us of! I have no idea how long of an exposure a modern camera can do, but I’d be surprised if it was more than a few minutes.
Interestingly, last night as I was set up to photograph the moon, a guy walked by on the wall in front of me, but before passing asked me if I was making a timelapse. A surprising question from someone who didn’t appear to be a photographer.
And yes, I did successfully pull off the ‘cocktail while photographing’ feat. I didn’t need it but actually have a cup holder for my tripod. Holds my coffee in the morning, too! 😉
Tom. I was in St. Augustine yesterday too… only I was there to get my COVID shot. St. Augustine is the county seat of St. Johns County which is where I live (about 20 miles north of the beach).
I like your photo and the nice color gradient in the sky (also in your moon sky).
I agree that those early morning expeditions are hard to do but often worth of effort.
Hi John. I was pretty certain you live in the Jacksonville area…should have looked you up before we came to the area. Downtown St. Augustine is a tourist mess (we visited today), but we’re out at the beach where things are a little quieter.