Tag Archives: May

Another Early Morning

Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

When I awoke this morning at 4:50am I knew I was in for another morning on the beach.  Sucks, don’t it? 😉  I was greeted by some distant lightning that I wasn’t able to capture adequately, but did get a few more pools reflecting the morning light.  A little different from yesterday, but that’s why we go more than once!  No promises for tomorrow, but I do have a streak going now. 🙂

Today marks the third anniversary of our retirement.  I think we’ve spent our time well and look forward to many more years.  We celebrated last night at one of our favorite local restaurants and look forward to a few more days on the beach.

Something Other Than Fences

Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

We’ve been at the beach for a week but I hadn’t managed to drag my sorry self out of bed for sunrise – until this morning.  I was well rewarded.  I’m kind of picky about when I’m willing to get up – tides, weather and sunrise time play a role.  I looked at the weather forecast before heading to bed last night and decided it would likely be a good chance for photos.  We’ve got some clouds rolling in today with a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and overnight.  Tomorrow might be a good morning too, we’ll have to see if I can motivate myself two mornings in a row. 😉

Moonrise

Moonrise through the trees

I like to photograph the moon on the night before the “full” moon because there is still enough light in the sky, and on the foreground if you have a foreground, to illuminate the landscape and provide some detail.  Sometimes, like Tuesday night, the rising moon is actually more full than it will be on Wednesday night.  Of course the part that gets all the press is the so-called “Supermoon.” (because now we have to name everything) which “officially” happened this morning, but the moon wasn’t visible here at that time.

According to The Photographer’s Ephemeris, the moon was at 99.65% at moonrise last night and will be at 99.49% at moonrise tonight.  What does that get you?  Add a couple of bucks and it gets you a cup of coffee.

Photographing the moon rising over the ocean can be kind of boring and usually works better with an interesting foreground.  We have some nice trees in front of our rental condo here in Hilton Head, SC.  So I was able to have my camera on the balcony while we were having dinner, and managed to take a few shots between bites and sips. 😉

Moonrise through the trees

Postcard From Flagstaff, Arizona

The Lawrence Lowell Telescope, which was used to discover the planet Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona

We were able to get tickets for a daytime walking tour of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.  Highlights of our visit included looking at the sun through a solar telescope and visiting the building that houses the “Pluto Discovery Telescope.”  I think I want to be an astronomer when I grow up. 🙂

Interesting story about the boxing glove.  It was put there by a maintenance guy who kept hitting his head on the end of the counterweight.