For weeks I’ve been on about the famous Perigee Moon. I was going to do this right. I would have a glorious image for Torch Lake Views. Alas, all my best-laid plans came to nought. Naught?
Nuthin’.
I miscalculated in every possible way, and ended up with this to show for it. Perfect for Halloween. For May, not so much.
And that was the best of a bad lot. I blame it on the big black cloud that poured over the drumlins as I was attempting a little artism. I tried different locations. I pulled off the road—way off the road—and shut off the lights. I waited. Occasionally a car appeared, its headlights washing over me, the borrowed little camera, the Cowboy up in the rear window. Miss Sadie was down on the floor pretending she didn’t know us. Then the lights came on in a nearby house, a dog barked . . . the Duo barked back. I slunk away.
Wanna see my etchings? No, I didn’t really think so. But here they are anyway. If you click on any of the thumbnails you’ll be doomed to a slideshow. Stand warned.
Fortunately, as you might expect, Ken Scott did better. He posted a time-lapse of Super Moon rising over the West Bay. It is very cool, and the moon seems to float up and away like a big balloon, but my favorite part was that he was distracted by ducklings. I am fond of distractions.
- Babs posted a great moonrise over Torch Lake on Facebook and Katherine put up another from the north end of the lake. I don’t know how to link a TLV post to a photo on a FB wall. I only know how to do it in the other direction. But you can probably find both photos if you are a FB fan.
Torch Lake Views 
P.j. grath
May 7, 2012
I kind of like that big top photo. You beat me, Gerry. I didn’t even go outdoors to look.
Gerry
May 7, 2012
I’m glad you like it. I’ll post it again for Halloween. I’ll bet you stayed indoors and read something challenging while I was haring about the countryside alarming innocent dogs.
Martha
May 7, 2012
The moon and barn is really very good. Get looking at some photographs of the early masters, the Master Masters, and you will see that photography is not a “sport” as some are saying now, but an art. Get some “Oh Yea?” attitude. This is lovely.
Gerry
May 7, 2012
Thanks for the encouragement Martha. I would think that shot was not bad except that I can’t actually see it. Sigh.
I’m inclined to think that most forms of expression can be turned to art or utility or chuckleheaded entertainment of all kinds. Mostly I’m content to do a respectable job of documenting things Around Here, but every now and then I do like to try a little artism.
Yeah!
Eldon McPherson
May 7, 2012
Great pics Gerry!
Gerry
May 7, 2012
Why thank you, Eldon. You have an appreciation for the silvery old buildings of Antrim County.
shoreacres
May 7, 2012
My favorite is “perigee moon caught in tree”. Big, fat moons are nice, but like sunsets and sunrises, they profit by the addition of a little something else.
I just discovered my camera has automatic settings other than just “automatic”. Like, for landscapes and nighttime. Who know? Not me. I was going to try the nighttime setting for the moon, but unfortunately, we only had clouds.
Gerry
May 7, 2012
I’m glad you liked that one. Context is everything.
I’m still sorting out the settings on the borrowed little camera, but I think I took the roadside images with the night setting. I, um, had the little blind camera with me too, but had it on “movie” by mistake. All I got out of that was a black screen with the sound of a couple of cars going by and me swearing. It was a frustrating evening.
sybiln
May 7, 2012
I love the barn shot Gerry.
Gerry
May 7, 2012
Thank you Sybil. I’m beginning to feel better about the whole thing.
Nye
May 8, 2012
The barn shot looks spooky, I like it. You are more adventurous than me, the most I would do is to go to my backyard and photograph the moon.
Gerry
May 8, 2012
Thank you Nye. The shot was taken in a friend’s barnyard, which is a lot like my own backyard. Also I had the Duo for company.
Giiid
May 8, 2012
The first picture with the barn, which I like very much, looks like a cover photo to a spooky novel – or a film poster. It is really good. You just need the story, ( an easy job for you, I believe) and you will be a competitor to all these new vampire stories, which are so popular now days. And probably rich, too. An entrance to a spooky high income.
I enjoyed the ducklings too, especially the short moment when the camera move as to see if the moon is still there.
Gerry
May 8, 2012
I like the way you think. If life gives me spooky, I should make a novel! Right about now I would like the distraction of writing fiction. Especially lucrative fiction.
Weren’t the ducklings something though? I can just see Ken going back and forth on the beach, following the ducklings, checking on his time-lapse setup, checking to see where the moon had gotten to. It was great.
Joss
May 8, 2012
Oh my, those ducks had their hands full! I tried to count all the ducklings but it was impossible. I wonder if they all belonged to those parents of if they were babysitting for another couple. I love your photos too, especially the last two blurry ones. Very Turneresque, I think. I can imagine the scene: there’s no stealth when you have a dog with you. They don’t understand discretion at all.
Gerry
May 8, 2012
Another duckling fan! And you liked the photos, bless your heart. It’s good I didn’t try to capture the moon from a duckling beach. I would have been occupied with the dogs instead of watching the moon rise up, up . . . into an inky cloud.
tootlepedal
May 8, 2012
I know the feeling. I even got up at 4 a.m. and it still wasn’t available.
Gerry
May 8, 2012
Perhaps we were supposed to make an appointment? Ah well. We’ll always have the heron.
Dawn
May 8, 2012
It was cloudy here. 😦 Love the barn shot. And the field. And was that a big square cloud in those last two?
Gerry
May 8, 2012
I’m glad you liked that first shot. Yes indeed, that was a great big old squared-off cloud in the “etchings”. You can’t see it in those images, but it tapered off at one end and had a smaller cloud formation right under it. Looked like the Starship Ominous.
kanniduba
May 9, 2012
My mother would say, “E for Effort!” She always was one to believe that the very best effort was as good, if not better than, the best success…seems we learn a little bit more from a failure than a success. However, I do not consider these photos a failure in the least! You have captured a very eerie mood in these…maybe not what you were going for, but artistic nonetheless. 🙂
Heck, you’re a big step ahead of me! We took the kids on a moon hunt…stopped by the ice cream shop for fortification, and drove out to a beautiful spot for the rising. I took a billion photos, but have yet to look at them! No tripod though, and a bouncing car due to a five year old who doesn’t know the meaning of “be still” so I’m not at all optimistic about my captures. We shall see! 🙂
Gerry
May 9, 2012
So much of my llife is not what I was going for . . . but nonetheless a thing of beauty in its own cockamamie way.