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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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PHOTOGRAPHING THE MOON
I woke up to the sound of the baseboard heater heating up. Since it was still dark outside, I didn't bother to open the blinds while making breakfast and getting dressed. When I opened the door to leave, the dawn light sparkled on the heavy frost covering all the unprotected surfaces. I enjoyed a rather magical walk down the street, but as I turned the corner I was unprepared for the spectacle awaiting me. There in the western sky was a huge, full moon setting between two trees and hovering above the newly remodeled church a block away. The massive windows in the building reflected the many colors of the sunrise in the east. I was suddenly witnessing the changing of two celestial guards in the half light of early morning. I walked quickly to my office, grabbed the digital camera, and rushed back to the spot where the moon and trees and window reflections aligned so majestically. Zooming in on the scene, I snapped a photo. The camera clicked, and the flash flashed, but the photo on the display screen showed a building in darkness with a dot of light above it. I adjusted the camera from "landscape" to "night" and snapped another shot. It, too, was much too dark. What was wrong? The sky was steadily getting lighter. I could see the building and the moon perfectly well. Still, no matter what I did, I could not get the camera to record what my eyes were seeing. Soon, the moon was sinking below the roof line of the church, and my photo op was over. Walking back to the office, I felt incompetent and defeated. Only later in the day, when I closed my eyes and vividly recalled the moon above the church with the sunrise in the windows, did I realize how successful my photography session had been.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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