the Corn Moon
On the evening of 1st September 2020, my sister, brother and I went to the beach and met with family friends to photograph the full moon. We all set up our tripods waiting for the moon to rise at dusk. The sky was clear. The tide was out. No one was around. It was any moment now we would see the moon rise
I was going to time-lapse or video the moon rising, however, it was so fast rising above the horizon that I was not ready to hit the shutter button! oh well, maybe next time I’ll try it. It was all a sudden panic to take a shot, that I stood back and enjoyed the moon formation through my own eyes. It was a mesmerising pink glow above the horizon. It was very dreamy seeing the reveal smoothly unfold the circle from the top to the bottom. From this point on the night sky was drawing in and the tide had turned. The contrasting colours of deep blue and orange created a very magical sense of emotion.
I used my camera remote to keep my camera steady during the long exposures, this was a very handy device.
Deep into taking the perfect shot of the moon reflecting on the water, the tide was actually surrounding me like an island. Taking off my socks and shoes we walked through the sea river, trying to be careful I cut my toe on a rock which I hadn’t noticed until my sister saw blood eek, should have been more prepared to get wet! Note, next time wear wellies ;) My brother and sister did get their shoes muddy so planned their funerals and wishes on the way home in the car before our mum saw the state of our shoes, luckily they were easy to wash.
I found it difficult to stop the moon glaring so much and looking like the sun in photos, due to how bright it was! I used this to my advantage as I found the reflection of the moon on the water created intriguing abstract shapes.
A slower shutter speed blurred the motion of the waves and created this very soothing milky water. You can see the difference in some of the photos below where the same shots are compared.
Rockpooling
Under the full moon
A night-time swim seemed inviting but the cold held us back. Had a lot of fun running in front of the camera, creating surreal creatures being blurred into the ocean.
I will for sure be doing more night time photography!