Week 15: Moon Photography and Still Life Photography

He has risen!  He has risen indeed!  Easter has been an interesting day and it has been an interesting week to say the least.

This morning I was woke up by a huge clap of thunder.   It even woke our little one up, who isn't phased by thunder.  She looked at me, then curled up next to meet and went back to sleep.  But I got up, with Sophie in tow, to check the weather out and we had some severe storms around us.  Alerts going off everywhere, from Severe Thunder Storm Warnings to a Tornado Warning.  With the rotation around Whitehouse I texted a friend of mine I knew would be up to find out what it was like out there.  We got some wind here and heavy rain but thankfully nothing else.  I let Ginger sleep and just made sure we were safe.  With the sickly green that comes with tornadoes, I just monitored my apps (I have a pretty good radar app) and watched everything go.  Now, of course, it is Sunny and beautiful outside.  Welcome to Texas where if you are tired of the weather, wait 5 minutes. 

So thankfully I am still working.  We did get a bit of news though that our pay was being cut down temporarily.  Everyone's was from what I understand.  Mostly because we are owed money that has not come in yet and work is not as brisk as it usually is.  Not to worry, it will bounce back before long when the quarantine is over, but with all the people out of work I find myself blessed for having a job still.  And Ginger and I have planned for emergencies.  Didn't think it would be a pandemic mind you, but God is still God and has always taken care of us and will continue to take care of us.  And we have people around us praying for us and ready to help should we ever need it.  So for the time being I am going out into the wild each day with my essential job. 

I have, however, had a wonderful week in taking pictures.  This picture was very popular among our friends and family on Facebook:

So this is how this shot was done.  It is actually 2 shots

 This was the first shot.  When you expose the camera for the tree it is going to make the moon look like a glowing globe.

 This was the second shot.  This is at 600mm which is pretty good for just a camera without a telescope.  The picture below is the above picture blown up.

 So then the next trick is to put the moon with detail into the picture with the glowing globe.  When you do that you get the shot I took.  It takes some Photoshopping to get the moon to fit in the white globe, but it reminds me of the picture where I had the moon hovering in my hands and was my first published picture.  So to get the moon picture I used a Sigma 150-600mm lens and I had a perfect shot from my living room window so I took the screen off and shot away.   I had everyone telling me we had a full moon coming that night and people were texting me, are you shooting the moon?  Why yes, yes I am.

So going with that I was in the studio yesterday and decided to play around with some green apple....

And since we are playing around I decided to change the background

Both were fun to do.  Both used a 3 light setup and I used my new lens.  This lens is, well, it is a dream to use.  That I can use it in the studio with my still life pictures is just fun.  No new pours this week (I did varnish a special one this week I am about to send off)  but not to worry, Ginger decided to do something like that herself:

Ginger, making my favorite pie, decided to do some blue and green swirls.  This thing is a work of art!  And it is our Easter Pie.  Correction, looks like it will be my Easter Pie!  My mouth is watering thinking about it right now. 

So with the virus I come home when I can for lunch so Ginger is not just talking to Sophie all day!  Actually she goes out and gets lunch and comes back and runs errands when her parents need anything.  This is what I see when I get home:

Makes my heart swell every time I see them looking for Daddy.  Sophie even knows the sounds of our cars and will bark at either of us when the other is pulling in.  I am truly blessed with these two!

So I started this blog with a picture of Sophie in my studio.  She loves it in their and she was just relaxing this morning after the storms.  The theme this week for my 52 week challenge was peace and quiet and this was my interpretation:

The last picture is using a filter called Bleach Bypass, which is one of my favorite filters.  So photography has helped keep me sane this week, and I am trying to get some paints that Ginger can use to create her own pours!  Wouldn't that be something! 

Well keep us in your prayers.  Ginger and I are still healthy and safe.  Ginger goes through moments of stir craziness being cooped up but she is handling it as best as she can.   Today has been nice and relaxing after the storm.  A zoom meeting with Ginger's family from Greece, to Rome Georgia, to Dallas Texas to Tyler Texas!  It was a lot of fun!  And the nap, the nap was great.  Hope everyone is staying safe and see ya'll next week!

Baa