Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: moon

I Was Once
I Was Once — 100mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 3.2 sec
I was once new
Unseen and strong the becoming
I was once waxing
Energetically growing keen to know
I was once full
Brightly shining radiant life
And now I wane
Aged and worn fated to winter
Coda
Upon the last minute recommendation of Jonathan Carr we made our way to a new location to make photographs: Parkertown Docks. This splendid location tucked away along Parker Cove offers 360 degree views featuring salt marsh, bay, bay beach, Atlantic City, and some old pilings. Tons of opportunity here, and no doubt a new go-to spot to watch thunderstorms roll in. Crazy to think this gem has been hiding in plain sight unbeknownst to me in my 27 years living in the area. It’s always a win to shed a bit more ignorance in the face of new discovery.
It wasn’t intentional (sunset was the goal) but we hung around through blue hour for the full moon rise. It so happened to be the second full moon of October, making this a blue hour blue moon rise.
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November 1, 2020
It Starts My Mind Flowing
It Starts My Mind Flowing — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/25
The day broke clear. Northwest winds funneling crisp air across the coastal plain. One last battle in the fight between winter and spring. Unseen as it was. Sleeping late as usual the day made off with a quick start. Catch up after a long night redeeming Hyrule. I bounded about from laundry to bill pay, then started out to break my fast. Pinched between a Yankee game and a scheduled jog the clock ticking.
After a modest meal I folded some laundry and made for the park. Headphones in, feet moving in time. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot, left foot. Paced to the audible sounds of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. As Black Riders closed in on Weathertop I could feel the pain of Middle-Earth circling. With a slip of the ring and the pierce of a dagger, Angmar draws first blood. An already long journey has somehow only begun.
Chapter ends and my run is over. Breathless from worry yet rejuvenated in my own realm I took note of cirrus wisps dancing above. Shy and coy upon a blue stage. With a strange speed they moved, and I stood for a moment upon a crest to look again. And again. A cloud dance, I thought. How quaint. Yet it was here I knew sunset would prove worthy this night. For the fiery eye in the land where shadows lie may never rest nor ever die.
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April 9, 2017
Momentary Lapse
Momentary Lapse — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1600
Two moon shots in a row? If you’ve been following my work for any length of time you know moon/night photography isn’t an all too common occurrence in this house. It’s not that I don’t love me some moon, it’s just that I lack the requisite gear to make some hay in this department. Long lenses—telephotos—are not (in) my bag, baby. Yet here I am backing up Saturday’s lunar landscape with another moon sunset from Sunday; and as I am sure you’ve heard ad nauseum it was the start of supermoon central on the internets. For the next 24 hours Facebook and Instagram were inundated with giant orbs from our number one satellite. It was a lot like Majora’s Mask only less cool and with a worse soundtrack. Never one to want to miss out on the party I present you my contribution: photographed at 35mm overlooking Barnegat Bay from Barnegat Bay Beach in Barnegat, New Jersey. (Say Barnegat again, Greg. Please.)
Now if you’ll allow me to enter critique mode. Photographing handheld from the bay beach my intention was the get a front focus shot of some lime green mossy stuff strewn about the shoreline. I was shooting wide open at f/1.4 going for shallow depth of field where the middle ground and back ground faded away into smooth bokeh. Most of my shots Sunday were made with this in mind. However, I did pop off a few off frames where I focused out to infinity to bring clarity to the middle ground and back ground. Instead of stopping down to f/5.6 which increases overall sharpness while simultaneously pulling the acceptable range of focus closer to the viewer, I stayed wide open with the aperture. This is why the foreground is somewhat out of focus here. None of this is wrong, of course, and frankly the movement from out of focus and into focus creates a different kind of mood with the photograph. I am just conceding that if I went into this shoot with the goal of producing a sharp landscape, I absolutely would have used my tripod and stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8 instead of going with wide open handheld action.
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November 16, 2016
Placebo
Placebo — 35mm | f/5.6 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures
Gazing east from Cedar Run Dock Road during last night’s sunset while simultaneously treated to a 96% waxing gibbous moonrise was exactly what the doctor ordered. To far away Tranquility Base, detached from the present day reality of this earthly world, I salute you. Prior to yesterday’s sexy sky business, landscape photography wasn’t even on my radar. Conditions were crisp and cool all day with nary a cloud in the sky. Besides that I was tasked with making some afternoon family photographs—gasp!—of my friend and her parents. (Two super cute doggies in tow.) Despite my total lack of experience the shoot went well enough—I hope. Being out there, exposed outside of my comfort zone yet surviving, had an added benefit: the development of high level cirrus clouds building toward the east. The rusted gears of my mind began to turn and clank.
Leaving the shoot and driving over the LBI causeway bridge back toward the mainland I was hemming and hawing on whether to shoot and where to go. To the west the sky was mostly clear so a traditional sunset seemed out. To the east the clouds kept calling. Further down Route 72 West the exit to Route 9 South approached—reflexively right blinker went click, click, click—I suppose Dock Road it is. Driving down the isthmus and out onto the marsh an unexpected wrinkle was thrown into the fold; a big fat mostly full moon was a few inches over the eastern horizon and the plot began to thicken. Even though prime pastel cloud color was good 20 minutes away, it was a lock that the moon would sit large and in charge amid a cotton candy sky. As an added bonus the wind had died and the water was calm and reflective. For a chilly evening in November everything came up Greg with a sugar pill dose of much needed calm and pleasure.
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November 13, 2016
Moonlight Tonight
Moonlight Tonight — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 10 sec
Peering through my driver side mirror at 7:02 a.m., having just crossed the Delaware River—Turnpike Toll Bridge into Pennsylvania ,I saw what I thought would be my best shot of the day. My mirror showed the truth: sunrise was gorgeous, and there I was stuck in my car en route from my home state of New Jersey to facilitate a training session for work. The fiery sky was remarkable, grade A stuff, and I had little recourse but to chuckle at my misfortune of missing a sunrise I was actually awake for. Alas bills must be paid, and this guy must digress.
Home in time for a sunset I assumed I’d bag a good one at the usual stomping grounds. Upon arrival I immediately noticed what appeared to be a Full Moon breaching the northeastern horizon. Content to ignore our natural satellite I set up for sunset. Unfortunately sunset never came. Well, it did—it just happened to be a total letdown. What I could have sworn was an ideal cloud deck resulted in colorless vapor. I was giddy thinking the end of day would watch this morning’s glory but #nope.
Well into blue hour and hoping to salvage the shoot, I moved my tripod to the other side of the road and made for the Moon. In hindsight I’m pretty damn pleased I did. I don’t have many Moon shots—in fact I don’t think there’s a single one on this website—so it’s nice to add a nice new wrinkle to the cache. I hope you enjoy.
Related: October has been a good month for photos, and it was needed after a slow September.
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October 26, 2015