The Full Moon Full Cloud Eclipse... or Something Like That

The full moon and a strip of cloud bank combined to provide a "full lunar eclipse" light show this evening. I'd missed the chance to photograph a spectacular full moon rising by no more than five minutes--again--but the after-sunset sky seemed determined to make up for it.

What to do?

Well, clearly it was necessary to put down the bowls of babbit food.

Huh? Oh. Pam calls our wild bunny rabbits "babbits".

Anyway, down with the babbit food, a combo of crunchy sliced celery and crunchier sliced carrots. Out with the camera, lean over the top of the Subaru Outback to brace the wrists for human bipod duty, and click away.

Cool.

Getting the exposure right for moon photography during a marvelous blue-dusk evening prior to full dark is pretty much impossible. Oh, it's doable if you're good enough to take two photos in quick succession with different exposure settings, then edit-blend the two together in Photo Shop or some such. But I'm not at that level yet.

Even so, though, some of the snapshots don't come out bad at all. When the moon disappears smoothly and completely behind a cloud bank--or maybe just a single cloud, who's counting--it's hard to get everything wrong.

Patience, patience. It's 1:30 a.m. Been a wild day, and it's far from over yet. Time to fire up the coffee pot and also have one of those sugary treats so many of you curse as you check your girth: The biggest bowl in the house, loaded with strawberry revel ice cream (the cheap kind, from Walmart, $5.99 for a gallon-plus-a-pint). Topped with a sliced banana and enough caramel flavored high fructose corn syrup to drive a diabetic straight into Coma Land.

(*time passes*) Ah-h-h-h. Much better.

Now, back to the full moon full cloud eclipse. Truthfully, I can't remember ever seeing one quite like this. Up the bottom of the skinny cloud bank, out the top, and keep the camera going.

In closing, a good moonrise to all, and to all a good night.