Moon & Clouds

This is a classic example of why moon shots can be so tough, and at times, frustrating. I took these shots during the last full moon. It was about 9 PM, so the sky was very dark. I could see beautiful clouds drifting in front of the moon. However, when I set my exposure for the clouds, the moon was way too bright and lost all detail. When I set my exposure for the bright moon, the clouds became black and were lost. There was really no "happy medium" exposure because the difference was too great. Solution? With camera on tripod, I took two photos in quick succession, one exposed for the clouds and the second exposed for the moon, then combined the two shots. A little like the old "double exposure" photos from film days. But I digress...

Cropped version:

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Eyes of Moon

Alternate title for this post: Fun with Photoshop! I like the simplicity of this shot. Nice desert colors in the sky, and the moon was setting over the hills near Joshua Tree. The low clouds were picking up the red sunset colors, and the moon looked like it was getting ready to roll down the hill!

I used Photoshop to saturate the colors and brighten the moon a bit.

Then I square-cropped the image and "curved" the clouds and hills around the moon.

At this point, it reminded me of an eyeball, so using a bit more imagination, Photoshop retouching and duplicated and flipped the image. Viola!  Eyes of Moon!!

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Pictures of Lilly

I used my granddaughter to highlight these beautiful skies (and reflections) from last week. We had our first good rain of the season here in S CA. Below she was carrying her giant leaf that she was totally intrigued with! I think it's still down on our dinning room table.

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Desert Rust

I don't know how these two old cars came to rest here. I do know they've been here a long time. I also know they are fun to photograph, especially under these beautiful desert skies!

Unfortunately, they have been used as target practice and are shot full of holes. I don't really get it. I mean, come on, how hard can it be to shoot an old car? Not much of a challenge from my perspective.

Be careful driving your family sedan on remote desert roads!! Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world. Thanks for stopping by!