Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Always ready to fire: Sunset-moon interaction is gone in 60 seconds

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When there are large clouds on the horizon for a sunset, there frequently are these rays of sunlight that shine upward. On Tuesday night, the scene especially struck me when I saw the brightening crescent moon that seemed to be the target of those rays.


For aspiring photographers, the foremost thing I would recommend is to always have a camera on hand. I'm widely known among friends for having a backpack full of equipment by my side or in my car at work, while grocery shopping, even while swimming. I like shooting weather, and that - despite meteorologists' attempts - is utterly unpredictable, especially in Central Florida. If any disaster - natural or man-made - happens close by, I would be ready. Many of the photos on this blog are the result of being prepared for the unexpected. Considerably fewer are results of purposely photographic ventures.

One of my favorite professional photographers - other than my father, of course - is Chase Jarvis, who has completed some cool field-testing work for Nikon's D90 and is doing some now for Sandisk, a maker of media cards for digital cameras. When he doesn't have his high-powered Nikons and Hasselblads on him, though, Jarvis carries an iPhone, with which he has taken some uniquely beautiful, creative images. That inspired a book, a Web site and an iPhone application dedicated to photography with Apple's popular device. The site, which was launched today, is here.

Until I get my first iPhone, I'm sticking with a large camera bag holding two cameras - my D40 and D90 - along with various lenses, accessories and tripods. It again paid dividends Tuesday night when I was running errands. While I was heading home on U.S. 1, the setting sun's rays shot upward at an angle toward a crescent moon. Knowing it wouldn't last along the Indian River, I pulled onto Pineda Causeway, which leads to the beachside communities, and then to the side of the road as soon as I had the room to do so. Less than a minute after setting up my tripod next to the vehicles whizzing by, the scene had faded entirely. The shot is nothing spectacular, but still, it was good that I was prepared.

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