Lunar - mania
Recently while on a work trip, I wake up one morning and do my usual thing of going through my phone’s newsfeed, and there is article titled: “How to photograph the blue supermoon” with a photo underneath, I did a double-take, and like: “I recognise that photo!” Lo and behold, I click through and it’s my photo, from years ago. A photo I’m still very happy with seeing. And I remember this was a time and getting a photo of the moon with the sky tower was quite rare, which required planning, the right gear, and the conditions to play ball. 

Stunning scene with the moon rising; on a work trip with no camera

This was unexpected and expected at the same time!

It was the week of the blue supermoon, but I’m travelling for work and although it is beautifully clear where I am, but I was not able to get out anywhere to get a good vantage point of it. I went out for my morning run, saw the moon setting over Hagley Park. It was a fantastic sight, there is always that tingling feeling - like wow - that moon is so awesome, and then damn - I should be out somewhere shooting. I need my camera, I wish I didn't have to be at work and I need to capture this moment! Of course I could not satisfy any of the above, but the sight of that moon - I was still able to capture with my mind and enjoy the satisfaction of that. 

A yacht sails by, but this is not my subject, can you spot it?

This was my usual thinking all those years back, when I would be planning every month, where should I get out to capture the moon. It is still a monthly cycle, but I would just go for a walk down the road and capture it. 

Crescent moon hugged by a couple of pines - Riverhead Forest has become a fav to capture the moon.


Even more recently when a lunar eclipse was coming up. I really wanted to get out photograph it, it’s been a few years, looking back at the eclipse I captured was in 2021. Alas but the cloud and a foot injury had the final say on that. Maybe I will talk about the foot in a blog - but it has put health and well-being a lot at the top of my mind now. And maybe with getting older, the body breaking down more often. All this when I really wanted keep myself more mobile especially with my gear, in another post I talked about. But either ways the eclipse escaped me.

A blood moon, few years ago

As I was saying before, I still love going out seeing the moon, usually this occurs out in the forest when I’m out for a hike or a run. Even if it’s not  quite a full moon, just watching it over the pines, it’s just magic. And for some reason it reminds me of “Moonrise over Hernandez”, one of the most famous photos by Ansel Adams. It is my moonrise over the pines moment!

Capturing the moon over landscape always gives me "Moonrise over Hernandez vibes

Moonrise over the city

The best moment for me was when I was named highly commended at the NZ Astro awards, it was a photo taken from home, no big planning, just capturing a pretty awesome moment. And an awesome moment is just watching the moon sometimes - this was one of those moments, watching and capturing the moon. That photo is a very special moment.

Moon bridge

I feel sometimes it is an expectation - expectations I put on myself - “this is what I used to do…” . One expectation I don't have is that of social media, being dormant from most platforms for a long time now, I have no idea what people are shooting. Though that is both a positive and a negative. There is no expectation but I'm also not able to view and support what others are saying. I go deep into my views of social media in one of my previous post, so I won’t elaborate on that further.

Just having a walk around home

Most missions are like this; you go out to shoot the moon....and clouds!

So what is my point, what am I trying to say. What's that saying if a tree fell in the forest and nobody saw it, did it even fall? Well I actually apply that situation in real life when I go out exploring at Riverhead Forest and I see a new tree which has fallen or felled - it certainly did happen, and I saw it! Not everybody has to see the tree falling or evidence that it has fallen, just long as you do! 

One of my bucket list shots, which took me years to get

Did I actually pull this off?!

Fishing for the moon

In the same way I still love watching the moon, I still love photographing the moon whenever I can - not all of the time I have my camera with me, not all the time I’m out specifically photographing, and in no way am I always sharing what I’m doing, but as long as I know I am, I’m happy.

That feeling, when it comes off!

Crescent moon in the golden and blue hour at Te Henga - one of my favourite places

Another pinch yourself moment, how cool was it to capture this!

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