Full Moon After Snow

After 24 hours of mayhem caused by power outages and fried circuitry and no heat - let's call it the Niko Effect - I made a break for it around 4:00 and took a drive up-island. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when I realized the rising of the full moon was imminent - in clear skies with plenty of ambient light, conditions I've been on the lookout for - but I headed eastward, and home, just in case. This is the reward for my efforts. Better late than never.

Thursday Morning, Waiting for the Snow

By the time I walked down the stairs and grabbed my camera and tripod and walked back up the stairs and set it up in front of my kitchen window the actual fire had subsided, but the remnants were worth the effort. My morning view, give or take the ever-changing sky and seasons, 365 days/year.

I love a snow day.





Adding at 1PM:

January Doldrums

With the holidays passed, all that can be said now is, "Welcome to January."
Bleak midwinter? January doldrums?
All is quiet here - a state I once dreaded but now savor.
Quiet, with an underlying pulse; life in the slow lane.





A lone quahogger forages the shore line of Sengekontacket.


Flocks of grackles dominate the January bird scene.

Four-wheeling with Adam

My son called and said, "Want to take a ride on the beach?" Being Sunday, a day that I set aside to do whatever I want, or nothing, and after having put in a fulfilling morning at Sunday school and the old folks home, and ready to throw in the towel for the day,  I said, "Sure, pick me up." I was even smart enough to grab my camera - the long lens, just in case - maybe we'll see a snowy owl - the tripod, and a couple of other go-to lenses. 



Footsteps of hand-holding lovers punctuate the sand.


It seemed we could see forever. We even saw Nantucket, a rare sight, only visible during super low tides and certain light, exactly like today's tide and long sideways light.





My chauffeur and tour guide


Adam saw it first, off to the left, perched next to the pond. It was patient enough to allow me to set up the tripod and get closer than I thought I might. I loved seeing its eyes fixed on me.


Okay, close enough. Buh-bye.

Ice Moon

The landing on The Boulevard. Old stomping grounds from long ago. January thaw. Low tide at Anthiers with an abundance of clams to be had - "three or four to a hole." Too dark for the kind of moon shot I was after, should have been there the day before but this one works, in another way.






The moors and marshes of Anthiers with the barrier beach and a lone shellfisherman in the distance



January's ice moon

First Snow 2017 and a Drive Up-island

A drive up-island with Becky yesterday afternoon yielded these gems (enhanced, of course, by the company of my dear friend as well as a spontaneous visit around the woodstove at Fran's house).


January woods


All that remains of the original Herring Creek Farm barn and out-buildings


Edgartown's Great Plains


Last year's sunflowers - tired and bent, but full of life; bearing seeds for next year's crop.


Menemsha shack, destined to be inherited by bittersweet vines


It's still Christmas until at least Epiphany, maybe longer in this outpost


Sunset reflection


Reds and blues stand out amidst the gray and white, with the red-white-and-blue flying nearby


Menemsha mermaid


Across the creek on Lobsterville's shore

November Supermoon, 2016

I just barely made it to today's Supermoon event down at the lighthouse (touted as historic, and the largest-appearing moon since 1948 - who could resist?); almost missing the main reason I recently spent a small fortune on my new monster lens. That's what I get for trying to cram too many things into one afternoon (note to self: realistically, you can only do one thing at a time, dummy).

It all turned out for the best, however. If I had had time to arrive earlier and assemble with the crowd down beneath the lighthouse, I would have missed the largeness of the moon; my 600mm lens being way too long to fit the lighthouse and the moon into one frame, necessitating my having to back off on the zoom, and what I would have ended up with (and did, when I finally found my way over to the lighthouse after getting my emergency and impromptu shot from the causeway) would not have been much different than many of my other moon/lighthouse shots in the past. Distance and landscape and context were my friends in this case.

This is not exactly what I expected, or had planned on, but it will suffice as a learning experience.

Now, what time does this thing set?