To Lose The Moon

Introduction

I think the title of this piece implies a sad event (even the image I generated for this is quite sad), but it has nothing to do with sadness, but rather about potential photographs and other things in our lives where we have to act immediately, or we lose things. I will tell you why.

This article is mainly about photography, although that does spill over into everyday life, like watching and taking part in live events.

The music is by Johann Debussy, who is not related to Claude Debussy, but he has recorded some of his pieces.

How I Lost The Moon

This morning, I opened my curtains and across the road saw a gorgeous, clear moon perched on the roof of a house across the road. I didn't have my phone as I had been filming "Not Our Cat", who had demanded treats, then sat disdainfully at my presentation, walked away and left the treats for the birds.

When I opened my front door, the moon had gone (I assume behind the house), and that is how I lost the moon.

I have written before about how, when you see something and you want to capture it, you have to do it immediately or else it is gone forever.

This is an old moon shot that I did catch with my phone.

When you see rainbows, animals and many other things, you have to capture them immediately.

Some things, like hills, fields, and buildings, can often be captured when you feel like it, but I do sometimes regret shots that I have missed.

When I am working, I can see a house across the way with two chimneys, and often I see a plane taking off from Newcastle airport flying between the two chimneys, but I have never been quick enough to capture that scene. Here is a hang-glider in Whitby with a seagull on Captain Cook's head.

Although there are many pictures that I have failed to capture, there are many that I have managed to capture, and that makes me very happy.

Today I probably take 95% of my photographs with my phone, a Google Pixel 6XL, although I have a Panasonic Lumix with 16x Optical zoom, which I use for a lot of my distance shots, which cost me £35 for a reconditioned model about three years ago.

The camera is not usually the best choice for catching "in the moment" shots, but it more than does its job when I do use it.

Often, I see flights of birds in various places, and they sometimes make for great photography (in my opinion) and below are a few that I have managed to capture with my phone. The ones I have captured with my camera are far fewer because of the time it takes to get the camera out of my pockets; the phone is far faster to use.

I could not have captured them on my camera unless I had it out for taking a picture of something else, but the quality of the lens and software on phones these days means that it is almost impossible to take a bad photograph. It may not be perfect, but it will not be very far off.

The final picture is something I could have taken with a camera, but it was taken on my phone on a moving train. I know that twenty years ago, that would have probably been a blurry picture; today, it is more than acceptable.

Conclusion

Thank you so much for giving me your time, and hope you have enjoyed some of the pictures I have shared with you. Sorry, I lost the moon this morning, though.

This morning I found the Moon again