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Lunar Nexus
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Lunar Nexus

by Andrew Morrill

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 28, 2011350 views11 comments
This image was taken this year on a trip to the San Rafael Swell near Goblin Valley. I had been shooting all day in a nearby canyon and was driving home after dark that night. As I was driving on the road I saw the full moon rise and envisioned this shot just as I drove past the point where the moon was just above the "point". I then realized that the moon would be in an even better position the next night (and a little later - so better light). I then returned the next night just before I had to head home and got this shot - and ended up being quite lucky as to the position of the clouds (a little timing and some frantic moving of the camera helped). I thought of the title as I was taking the shot - always a good sign that the title is right.

I actually took two shots - one for everything except the moon and one for the moon. The moon was in the position it's in now, but the exposure was about 2 minutes and so I had to take a second exposure to get the moon un-blurred. I then replaced the moon in ps after scanning.

The slide turned out to be one of the sharpest I've ever taken (I'll include a full size crop below) and I plan on printing this very large - so think of it in that context (40x65 @ 200 dpi) as the comp was always meant to be viewed large.

Comments/Critiques/Suggestions appreciated.

Walker Titan 5x7, Provia 100F, 81A, Fujinon 250mm, drum scan

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by Andrew Morrill on June 28, 2011 at 11:50 PM
Here is a 50% crop (100% and it's too hard to find it in the image). Assuming a monitor dpi of 100 - this is about the size of a 40"x65" print.
Registered on June 10, 2010, 51 Posts, 216 Comments
Comment posted by Scott Smorra on June 29, 2011 at 12:45 AM
This is beautiful Andrew. The composition is very nice and I like how you blended 2 images to achieve the crisp details in the moon. I am blown away by the level of detail you can achieve with your LF camera.
Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 29, 2011 at 1:32 AM
Andrew,

Nice to see a post from you. This is awesome! I love the centered placement of the moon and the composition in general. Great job with the $10 moon (or whatever a sheet of 5x7 and processing costs.) :wink: I'm sure you've proofed this out, but I'd be double checking your moon transitions in the blend before your final print. I've tried similar things and it's just not the same thing when doing this with scanned files - as I'm sure you know. But this view certainly looks fantastic.

And I know I've jumped on colors for some of your previous images, but I can say I have zero issues here. Love this one.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Guy Tal on June 29, 2011 at 8:52 AM
Simple and wonderful. I like the stark chiseled patterns in the hills and the beautiful veil of pink clouds subtly pointing towards the center of the frame. This has a very classic look of western landscape photography before the age of hyper-saturation. Makes me a little nostalgic.

Guy
Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments
Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on June 29, 2011 at 9:01 AM
This is very nice. The light and colors in the land and clouds are beautiful. The moon is an added bonus.
Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments
Comment posted by Randy Wilson on June 29, 2011 at 10:42 AM
I was thinking that a little less foreground might be good, but then I saw that it would rob the image of context and depth and do some damage to the proportions. I love the color and texture of the lined and layered earth, and of course the moon really nails down the compostion.
Registered on June 25, 2009, 7 Posts, 85 Comments
Comment posted by Pedro Bento on June 29, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Simple and beautiful. Love it :cool:
Registered on September 2, 2007, 45 Posts, 761 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on June 29, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Fine image, Andrew. The clouds are indeed helping this as is the alignment of everything else. Things look a bit magenta, but that could just be my uncalibrated laptop.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on June 29, 2011 at 1:27 PM
Pure bliss, Andrew! It just doesn't get any better than this. The light on the land and clouds are my favorite parts.
Registered on April 30, 2007, 122 Posts, 3086 Comments
Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on June 29, 2011 at 1:37 PM
Wonderful scene, Andrew. Everything looks perfect to me and I really enjoy the shot.
Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on June 29, 2011 at 5:57 PM
This is a wonderful picture, Andrew. I really enjoy looking at the large version you provided. Love those clouds too.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments