Friday, January 22, 2010

New Years Day, 2010!

January 1, 2010
Happy New Year! I can't think of a better way to start out a New Year (as well as a New Decade) than with a moonrise over tabular icebergs deep in the Weddell Sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here the moon is still low on the horizon, giving that beautiful orange glow. The time? 11:33PM on January 1, 2010.

This full moon photograph is actually taken one full day past the actual full. As it turns out the full moon of December 31, 2009 was a true "Blue" moon, the second full moon in the month of December. We will not have another Blue moon until August of 2012. The next time a Blue moon falls on New Year's Eve will be the year 2028 and I hope to be around to photograph it. With all of the changes happening so rapidly in digital photography, I wonder just how I will be making photographs 19 years from now!

In the meantime this has been one of the best moonrise experiences I have ever had the privilege to photograph. A special thanks goes to Preston Carnahan, the second officer of the National Geographic Explorer who allowed me to position the ship to best align the moon with the icebergs of my choice. It only happens once in a Blue moon, and I was there with my camera to capture the magic. I hope the images convey the majesty of the moment!
To see more of my photography please go to http://www.wildlifeimages.net/