F8 - The My Final Photo Newsletter

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Full of it

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Full of it

Chasing the perfect moment

Gary Gardiner
Mar 6
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Full of it

newsletter.garygardiner.com

I’ve been chasing what I think would make a great photograph. Been chasing it for many years and have yet to get it. I’ve been close, really close, several times. Last night’s full moon reminded me of my quest. My failed quest.

Francis McNamara runs his combine through a field of corn on the Yarnell Farm under the rising moon. My Final Photo for Oct. 14, 2016.

I’ve worked to make a photo of a combine harvesting a crop on a full moon with the moon’s detailed sphere lined up directly over the lighted cab as the combine moves toward me. The moon has to be large in the frame which means the combine needs to be further away and at the top of a small hill to compress the distance between the moon and combine.

That doesn’t seem too hard does it? The photo is only possible during harvest season on the one day a month with a full moon with a clear sky and a well-lit combine rising over a hill moving east to west just as the moon rises above the horizon.

The photo above is the closest I’ve come at the Yarnell Farm. It’s a good photo. Debateable. It’s not exactly what I want.

I’ll keep trying.

I’ve many photos of the moon on clear nights when there isn’t a harvest. Here are a few.

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PhotoCamp Daily

  • When I’m writing in my daily journal I use a fountain pen. I have several. Different sizes, textures, colors, and weights. I typically choose the pen that matches my mindset for what I’m about to write. I understand they are just tools but each one completes my day. It’s the same with cameras?

  • I’ve never met David Guttenfelder, another former Associated Press photographer. I know him by his photographs and his reputation. It’s good to know he’s found stability both for himself and his family. Even though he still makes photos of conflict zones and is in Ukraine. Google him.

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