October 2022 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 The Rabbit Showed Up Again

A few months out of this year the monthly full moon was hidden by clouds and rain.

Last night we got to see the lunar event and the rabbit was sitting upright, as well!

Just in case there wouldn't be any lunar events visible that night, I had a plan.

Early the morning before the full moon, I could try to catch the moon setting.

And, just in case I don't get around to posting again this month, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

August Full Moon Over Okinawa

 Last Night of Obon

For those unfamiliar with local customs, Okinawa, Japan has a three-day holiday called Obon.

It is believed that the spirits of the deceased visit their family during this time.

The light of the full moon guides them back to the heavens.

 The weather had us worried because clouds and rain periodically ruined the view.

At 10 minutes past 8 PM the shutter was snapped on the scene.

The April 2022 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 It Wasn't Easy

Living on an island the weather can be tricky.  Knowing this, I make plans for moon shots.

Like, climbing onto the roof of my house hours ahead of moonrise.

The camera and tripod are pointed  East in the general direction of the anticipated full moon.

The moon was supposed to rise shortly after 5:30 but, I knew it may take an hour to be visible.

There were thick clouds on the horizon. It would be nice to catch moonrise over the ocean.

But, I knew it would be a waste of time, walking down to sea level.  My roof would be better.

Standing on the roof, I kept looking off to the east for some gold-colored light in the sky.

It seemed as if the moon would never make an appearance. 

Eat lots of coffee candies, talk to the dog, zip up the jacket, stare off into the sky.

It must have been in the low 60's Farenheight. When it's windy that's freezing in Okinawa.

At 7:34 PM for a few seconds, the moon shined through the clouds.

A quick snap of the camera shutter and it was gone again. Miserable night!

Everything was tightened securely and, I covered the camera lens.

Downstairs, I told the wife the camera could stay on the roof overnight. 

There wouldn't be any decent full moon photos today. GROAN

About an Hour Later

Downstairs I played some Solitaire on the computer and checked email and SNS sites.

YAWN, when it's dark outside the sleep monster crawls up on my shoulders.

First, I went to the kitchen and looked outside to see if any moon had shown up.

Hallelujah!

There it was, a big bright moon with hardly any clouds around it!

Quickly, I prepared one photo for posting on Instagram and Facebook then hurried off to bed.

One good photo of the moon with the Rabbit facing upwards was all I needed.

Y'all know, I don't believe in the Easter Bunny. But, just in case.....

The Full Moon Finally Showed Its Face

 Last Night's Lunacy

Capturing my first Full Moon images for the year 2022 was a bit of a challenge.

Knowing the moon would be at 100% on Friday night, I prepared early.

Standing on the roof of my house, the tripod and camera were ready an hour before moonrise.

It was cloudy and windy. Black clouds moved quickly across the sky.

Here's a Favorite Image

Close to 100 times the shutter button was pushed and held for 3 shot series.

Normally, I would use the camera timer but, tonight there wouldn't be any use.

Clouds would blow across the moon's surface and block the light.

Half of the images taken were thrown away, I only saved some of the cloudy ones for you.

Google Photos Helped Create This Animation

There are three days each month, where full moon photography may be worthwhile.

So far, this year the weather and my physical condition, haven't been cooperative.

Last night was a blessing and, I'll leave moon-chasing to someone else for tonight.

Let's hope this end-of-winter-moon brings us a warm spring.

And an improved world situation, as well!

Last Full Moon of the Year 2021

 When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie

 Fairly busy with end-of-the-month and year chores, This will be a short blog.

This photo was taken at 6:29 PM from the roof of my house tonight DEC 19, 2021.

Tomorrow morning there won't be time in my schedule for shooting the moon setting.

This rising moon reminded me of an old tune, I had to do a search to find for you.

PLEASE ENJOY!

This Dean Martin Video

A November Worth Forgetting

 Good Riddance NOV 2021

One of those months I missed out on half of and don't want to remember the other half.

One of the best parts was the change in weather.  The heat and humidity of summer departed.

It got so chilly outdoors I actually wore socks on a few of my morning walks.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

This event with the moon was advertised as something last seen hundreds of years ago.

So moon gazers were alerted and told when and where to be positioned in Japan for viewing.

About a week prior, a wicked chest cold snuck up on me.  I'd have to fix myself.

Not that I don't trust Japan's doctors.  I just hate going to hospitals and clinics.

Especially, since that Coronavirus thing came along, I don't wanna be around sick people.

To avoid getting a PCR test (where they shove a stick up your nose) I stayed at home.

Chest colds usually go away in about a week. So, I drank lots of water and rested.

This cold didn't seem to be going away but, I wasn't interested in seeing any doctors.

So, I went and talked to the lady in the drug store.  She recommended some cold medicine.

By this time it was the 19th of the month. The partial lunar eclipse would be tonight.

Google Translate would tell me all about this Japanese medicine.

It told me what the dosage was and mentioned it may cause drowsiness.

Don't operate any machinery.  Uh-Oh my camera is like machinery. 

With the big lens, tripod, and gimbal holding the camera, the contraption weighs about 15 KG.

So the first dose of medicine, I just took a little sip.  Maybe, half of a normal dose.

Instead of walking to some faraway location, I climbed up on the roof of my house.

Probably an hour and a half before moonrise I was on the roof waiting.

Once the camera is set up, I usually do some stretching and exercises.  But not tonight.

When you're coughing up globs of stuff the size of softballs, it's best to take it easy.

When out on a moon shoot I never sit down.  Tonight I sat down on the stairway, waiting.

It was cold and windy on that rooftop.  It even looked like it might start raining.

A golden-colored sliver of moonshine appeared. Fast-moving clouds sometimes blocked the view.

At 6:39 PM this photo was taken.  A few more shots were captured and, it was time to go home.

Almost an hour passed and the tripod was folded, when this scene appeared.

Quickly, I got set up again and captured the full moon, partially covered by clouds.

The following morning at 5:37 my clearest photo of the NOV 2021 Full Moon was taken.

Note: As the moon sets the rabbit turns upside down.

Back to Cold Medicine

That stuff really works.  The reason you shouldn't operate machinery:

IT KNOCKS YOU OUT!

Depending on which translation service you use, you will get different interpretations.

Like, "It contains herbal ingredients" or "codeine" or "other prescription drugs."

Some of the Japanese OTC Cold Medicines (when abused) cause serious problems.

Taking those three bottles (sips) over a period of two weeks cured me.

But, some folks who use drugs for thrills, end up differently.

Now We Have Omicron

Another thing that came along during this miserable month was Omicron.

The world hasn't quite yet decided IF WE SHOULD PANIC.

Hopefully, we won't go through extended periods of coronavirus restrictions.

Not sure about you but, I think this November was one worth forgetting!

OCT 2021 Full Moon Appeared Over Okinawa

 Breaking News

It didn't peek through the clouds on schedule. The full moon was supposed to happen last night.

However, the big orange ball appeared in the sky briefly, at 7:01 PM.

Standing on the roof of my house, I got a quick shot before clouds covered it again. Amen.

Coronavirus Couldn't Stop the Harvest Moon!

 5 Quick Photos

There's plenty to complain about these days, mostly politics and disease.

It's not good, sitting around the house moaning and groaning.  So, I get out and shoot the moon.

September 20 at 7 PM the moon was 97% full and bright golden in color.

The next morning I arise at 3 AM to check on the setting moon.

Several coffees later, I'm headed out the door.  That's the setting moon behind the house.

The photo was taken at 4:55 AM and I'm going down towards the beach.

It's 5:57 AM on the 21st of September when this photo was composed.

Standing on the seawall at Kin Port, I'm facing Ishikawa, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan.

The evening of the 21st it seemed like the moon would never appear.

Clouds rolled in and blocked out any chance of star or moon gazing.

Actually, I gave up and went to bed.

Shortly before 11 PM, something told me to look out the back door.

The moon was peeking through the clouds, high in the sky above my house.

It was 11:05 PM when this photograph was taken. Back to bed, the old guy went.

At 6:15 on September 22, 2021, another big, bright, golden moon could be seen.

Notice: The rabbit in the moon, turned upside down!

That's all I've got to complain about.

August 2021 Comes to an End

 The Blog Has Been Waiting

We've been extremely busy in Okinawa doing things like Social Distancing er, People Avoidance.

Coronavirus has the whole world doing things a little bit differently. Will it ever end?

Most mornings I'm out of the house with the cameras way before sunrise. 

The idea is to get some nature photos, upper body exercise, and 10,000 steps done prior to noon.

The sun can be brutal on this island during the summer months.  It'll tan your hide.

Fridays I get to leave town and do some traveling. 

For those who haven't seen me in a while, here's a peek at my foot.

The lighting (in the sky) was horrible at this attraction so, I pointed my lens towards the ground.

This is a place, I call, the Big Bird Tower in Hedo.

A discovery made, at the parking area below the Big Bird, was this Okinawa Tree Lizard.

For the past four Fridays, I've been back shooting this lizard and some companion critters.

A Parting Shot

The weather towards the end of the month had me a bit worried. Would we see the full moon?

It was the weekend of Obon. Okinawan spirits return to their family homes.

On the final evening, they return to the heavens, under the light of the full moon.

The sky was cloudy. It was windy. From the roof of my house a quick snap of the shutter.

Minutes later there was no moon to be seen. End of August Report 

May 2021 Supermoon Over Okinawa

 Cloudy Skies Didn't Stop the Moon from Showing

They just made it a bit challenging for photographers and moon viewers.

Here are 4 photos depicting this month's Full Moon, an eclipse, and the Supermoon setting.

It was 8:39 PM on May 26th when this eclipse photo was taken.

It would be 9:59 PM before an almost cloudless image of the moon could be captured.

At 4:56 AM on May 27th the moon shined brightly setting over Kin Bay.

At 5:29 AM a parting shot was taken of the moon before it disappeared again.

Supermoon APR 2021 Over Okinawa

 Some Call It a Pink Moon

It wasn't exactly pink but, we're glad it made an appearance.

To catch the moon rising over the ocean, we spent a few hours on the east coast of the island.

Heavy clouds interfered with that plan but gave the rising moon some decorative colors.

It was 7:22 PM when this scene was captured.

More dense weather rolled in and the decision was made to leave the wind and beach behind.

Back Home the Moon Made Another Appearance

On the roof of my house, this scene was composed at 8:54 PM.

Too tired to process the day's photos, this old man went to bed.

The plan was to wake up early and hike to somewhere the moon could be seen setting.

The Morning After

By the time I reached the destination where the moon could be captured setting I groaned.

A thick wall of clouds, off to the west, made it impossible to see the setting moon.

All of a sudden I looked towards the Kin powerplant and there it was.

No longer a Full Moon but, a smokestack covered the part that was missing!

End of story.

JAN 2021 Full Moon Setting Plus

A Bird and Some Blossoms as a Bonus 

Clouds and cold weather kept the recent full moon inaccessible for the past few nights.

Waking up at 3 AM gave me a chance to capture the moon setting this morning.

It was bright, setting in the western sky and I climbed up on the roof with the camera and tripod.

Before an image could be composed, dark black clouds rolled onto the scene.

Leaving everything set up for another try, I went down to the kitchen for a coffee break.

It would be after 6 AM before a (somewhat) clear shot could be made. AT 6:16, here you go!

Before Sunrise - A Hike with Backpack and Cameras

It was windy and cold with temperatures in the low teens Celcius. It felt like Alaska.

There weren't many farmers in their fields and few birds were in the skies.

By 9 AM the sun was warming things but, it was still windy. Time to head for home.

At 9:05 this Blue Rock Thrush appeared in a tree alongside the road.

It would be the only bird shot taken today.

Some Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) Encountered Enroute

Had the blue skies and sunshine held up, we may have seen some more birds.

Japanese White Eyes (Mejiro) love these flowers and hang out in the branches.

Clouds blocked the sun and no birds were to be seen in the Cherry Tree.

So, the camera was positioned where a white tiled roof served as the background.

Leaving this scene, the sun peeked through the clouds briefly.

At 9:32 AM a quick maneuver of the tripod and camera captured this scene.

May your January be as exciting (or more so) than mine! 

THE END

Wordless Wednesday: We Missed NOV Full Moon but Not in 2017

 

Halloween 2020 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 Second Full Moon This Month - A Blue Moon

Learn more at Time and Date

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 560 MM with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 784 MM

Exposure: f/11 1/200 ISO 400

Date and Time: OCT 31 2020 6:33 PM

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

OCT 1 2020: The First Full Moon Over Okinawa

 

Another Full Moon Will Appear on Halloween

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Sigma 50-500 with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 700 MM

Date and Time: OCT 1 2020 7:04 PM

Location: Kin Town Okinawa Japan

August 2020 Full Moon Over Okinawa, Japan

Photos of JUL 2020 Full Moon Over Okinawa

Just Two Quick Snaps

July 5, 2020, 7:57 PM

July 5, 2020, 7:58 PM

Supermoon MAY 2020 Sorta Modified

Weather Didn't Cooperate

Cloudy skies, wind, and some freakish humidity ruined this month's moon shots.

Here's a photo I managed to create on the 7th of May 2020, the date of the full moon.

The photo was taken shortly after 3 AM as the moon was setting in the west.

For viewers, who know about the "Rabbit in the Moon" the image has been rotated.

For some reason, the rabbit turns upside down as the moon sets in the morning.

End of the Supermoon and Twisted Rabbit Story.

April 2020 Supermoon and the Morning After

April 8th at 7:25 PM

April 9th at 5:37 AM

Morning After Full Moon MAR 2020

The Full Moon Avoided Us on Okinawa

Most of the time, over the past three days and nights, clouds and rain covered the sky.

Up at 4 AM each morning, I peeked out the back door, to see if, I could catch moon-set.

The weather channel was guessing a 95% chance of rain beginning at 5 AM.

Daybreak was coming and it looked like I might get a chance to walk the dog.

Checking the weather channel again suddenly, there was a 0% chance of rain.

Walking down to the beach, I caught the moon going down with clouds on the horizon.

End of Full Moon Story