icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm — 15 sec, f/4, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moonrise Over Shoudoshima
Shoudoshima, Japan
On our short trip to Shoudoshima Island at the end of the year, I took advantage of some post-sickness insomnia to try an impromptu moonrise shot from the balcony of our room. It was freezing outside (literally) and the wind was howling something fierce, but I was able to let the camera sit on the edge of a wall for a long exposure.
I'm pretty sure that the dotted lights on the horizon under the moon are on the Naruto Bridge connecting Awaji Island with Shikoku, 28 miles away.
That's Venus to the lower left of the moon.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Two Hours Later
brightening up considerably
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 500 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Another 20 Minutes Further On
sunrise over Awaji Island in the background
This makes me realize suddenly that the background land seen in this sunset I posted last year must be the Shoudoshima, so today's sunrise is a “reverse angle” of last year's sunset.
The sun quickly hid behind some clouds, but once it rose a bit, the color shifted toward a more normal orange/yellow, and there was a short span with nice sunbeams emerging from the clouds...
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 240 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/6, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 95 mm — 1/6400 sec, f/5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
While I'm at it, here's the sunset over the island, as seen from the ferry (through a dirty window) on our way there a couple of days earlier....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
The first picture is amazing!
Apple should license the “Moonrise & Sunrise over Shoudoshima” picture as the background image for their next iPad. Absolutely beautiful.
The first pic is very very good.
Cheers,
Tregix.
First photograph, especially, is absolutely beautiful. It would make a good desktop image, except that the icons would detract (though I keep them to a minimum). Lovely crepuscular rays in the next to last one.
You certainly made the best of your insomnia !
Jeffrey, I wouldn’t fight the insomnia too much when you get the chance to be so creative in the small hours! My grandmother told me sleeping well is the privilege of the young. But of course being the father of a lively son, I guess you don’t get much chance to take an afternoon nap like she used to!
Thank you for these latest pics – very enjoyable.
Meanwhile, back to the stonecarver’s garden for me!
Annie
The first photo on this post is absolutely stunning. Agree with everyone. Kudos on the shot.
Moonrise Over Shoudoshima – spectacular. AND it was already my ipad background when I read Jose Marques’s comment 🙂 Great minds think alike.
Also, a few days ago Josh (4 years) was studying a picture he had drawn which included the sun (and dinosaurs, of course!) He asked me why the sun is drawn with “those lines sticking out all over”. Your sunrise photos were GREAT in explaining that they represented sunbeams!