Thursday, August 10, 2017

Competing Priorities

Late afternoon/early evening moonrises are kind of special occurrences. That's especially true when the moon is full. Not sure how many times that happens each year, but probably not very often. Last Sunday (8/6/17) the full moon was scheduled to rise at about 7:15 PM in the east (111 degrees to be exact). That's late enough in the day that the moon should be visible in the sky, but still enough light around to make the landscape visible. The photo below was actually taken on Saturday (not-quite-full moon). I like the way the moon appears to be balanced between the telephone wires.

On Sunday after dinner, we jumped in the car and headed out to Joshua Tree National Park to watch the moon rise and hopefully get some decent photos.
 The moon makes its first appearance. Sunday, 7:20 PM, single exposure shot.

Different angle and zooming in...

Zooming in even more. I like the Joshua Tree silhouette. It was after this shot that I looked west to check out the sunset.

Queen Valley Road, Joshua Tree National Park
Safe to say I was struggling with competing priorities... a big full moon rising in the east and a beautiful sunset developing in the west!!



As the sun set behind the hills, the entire sky went pink...

And then orange. The moon put on a good show, but I think the sunset won the majority of my attention!!
 
Linking with Skywatch Friday.
Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world.
Thanks for stopping by!!

37 comments:

  1. All that beauty and it was free ~ and filled with serenity ~ love the rising of the moon and the setting of the sun ~ Gorgeous photography ~ thanks, ^_^

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  2. Now that kind of desert drama I would definitely sign up for! Moon rising with such an ethereal beauty & the sun setting with magnificent glamour! Superb captures!

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  3. Love the moon shots, but the sunset certainly won the show that day.

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  4. Lovely pictures! Happy weekend!

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  5. I think so too which shows how amazing they are. You keep outdoing yourself. Bet you were really pleased when you saw your shots full scale. The second zoom with the moon looks like there are deer milling around the tree (it's more trees). I've never gotten a moon shot like that.

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  6. Yes, despite her beauty the moon was a bit pale! :)

    Fabulous pictures... as usual!

    Greetings

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  7. Gorgeous shots of the moon. Showcasing her in all her beauty!

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  8. Gorgeous sunset shots and lovely moon shots.

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  9. Like the moon shots; so woderful!

    Best, Maje

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  10. I should say more then decent.

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  11. Hello, beautiful shots of the moon. I love the tree/moon shot. The sunset is just stunning. Gorgeous orange sky and lovely scenery. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

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  12. awwwwwwwwwwww

    so many gorgeous shots to inspire my weekend

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  13. Two photo opportunities at the same time! East and West both beautiful!

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  14. I think the Sunset won too, much more spectacular

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  15. Oh man, decisions, decisions. Moonrise, Sunset? You did justice to them both.

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  16. Stunning sunset photos and definitely more spectacular. Choices can be hard but you did great!

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  17. All wonderful, as usual---- I can't look at the sunset shots without thinking of cowboy art from the desert in the early 50's.

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  18. Gosh that was a choice where you couldn't go wrong no matter which way you turned! What beautiful evening pictures .... both ways! Wow.

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  19. I love the fourth photo of the moon under the Joshua tree branch, but that sunset...wow! Beautiful photos of the moon and the sunset!

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  20. Wow such a big moon - beautiful! Two bloggers came with 2 other photographers to see the moon rise, close to where I live, but it was to cloudy - when they finally saw it, it was a 30 % rise/ Do you have a good (and simple!!) tutorial for moon shots? We see the moon often here. Have a great weekend!

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  21. Wow! Beautiful sunset! You take great photos! Have a beautiful weekend!

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  22. Great captures.. what a fantastic sunset!

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  23. Beautiful. We're going to have a very special sun-moon combination in just over a week!

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  24. Just glorious. Love your photos.

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  25. Wow, I popped over here after seeing your comment on my blog post yesterday (thanks for visiting) and your photos all win hands down The rising moon behind the Joshua Tree (is that spiky tree the Joshua Tree?) and then the sun setting behind the tree. Awesome, breathtaking stuff. thanks for sharing. Have a great day. Jo

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  26. You got some great photos of the skyline, love the moon in them.

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  27. I´m glad your piority ended with the sun. It´s a gorgeous sunset. Something I rarely see where I live. :)

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  28. I think my favourite photo is the one where the sunset is shining through the trees over the road- nice photos :-)

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  29. a big full moon rising in the east and a beautiful sunset developing in the west! how spoiled you are! :-) and here we are, almost whole summer in rain and greyness. gorgeous photos.I think my favourite is the third one.

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  31. Breathtaking pictures! My favourite is that one with the road and the huge Sun. :-)

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