Tag Archives: dublin

Dogs in Coats

wpid9991-C59F3187.jpgNot a serious topic today. We were indoors on a rainy day. We overlook an area where plenty of people exercise their dogs (what a great euphemism!). Two little dogs showed up and they were obviously ready for the rain. Not great shots since they were through the windows but they made me laugh and hopefully will do them same for you.

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Our Local Ducks

wpid9681-AU0E1106.jpgThe development we live in has a pool. While this is not open year round, the area around it is always available. However, not too many people are there out of season so someone else has moved in. A pair of mallard ducks has taken up residency. Mum first spotted them when she was staying with us. We can see them from the top floor if we look but they are often out of sight from lower down. With the weather getting warmer and the pool likely to be more popular, I figured it might not be too long before they decided it was time to move on.

wpid9679-AU0E1099.jpgA few minutes was all it took to get some shots of them. They were a little wary of me so I didn’t want to spend too long disturbing them. However, the pool is not big so, as long as they would move out of the shadows a couple of times, I could get a shot and leave them in peace. I certainly didn’t want to get too close and thought I wouldn’t even bother them but they were quite alert to my being there so I made the whole thing a quick in and out job.

Moon

wpid8446-C59F1813.jpgIt only seems appropriate that I should follow a sun posting with one about the moon.  Having lived for the last ten years in a place that faced east, I was used to seeing the moon appear and then progress across the sky.  Now I live somewhere that faces west so, when I see the moon, it is already on its way down.  Having the hills to the west of us means there is even less time to catch it.

I have shot the full moon (or very close to full) a few times before.  One evening I was beginning to think about turning in when I saw the moon was dropping down and it was substantially in shadow.  I thought it looked very interesting and, since the time of the movement is about an hour later each day, if I didn’t shoot it then, the following day would be a bit later, the moon would be a bit fuller and who knows whether the sky would be clear anyway.  I headed downstairs to grab some gear and set up some shots from outside the garage.

The sky is not the clearest and least affected by distortion where we are but it isn’t too bad.  I got a few shots and then ramped up the ISO a bit to make sure of getting something with a higher shutter speed.  For those of you that haven’t tried shooting the moon, it moves surprisingly quickly and the use of a long lens emphasizes this even more.  Therefore, you need quite a high shutter speed to make sure it isn’t blurred.  Fortunately, although it is dark where you are, the moon is in full sunlight so there is a decent amount of illumination to help you out.

I got a few shots, and then headed back indoors to bed.  Sometimes you just have to grab the moment.  As a related item, I also got some daytime shots as the moon got closer to full recently.

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