I had a dentist appointment and left home in the dark, which in mid-December at this latitude lasts until 8:30 a.m. or so. Saw the full moon from my driveway and ran back into the house for my camera and one lens, the 70-200 mm VR, no tripod. Travelling light.
Man it was cold! And the moon, so stark against the dark sky when I left, gradually softened as it sank toward the horizon, almost dissolving into the layered atmosphere, hauntingly beautiful above the clean, snowy fields. The hour-twenty-minute drive took two hours because I had to keep stopping. This was the final moon shot, as the first sun rays touched the distant hilltops.
Directly below the moon, in the middle ground, is a small dark smudge: a lone mule deer. I didn't notice it at the time. This happens fairly often, I open a landscape shot in Photoshop and discover an animal, sometimes staring at me. Makes me wonder how often in mountain country I've been watched by cougars.
Photographed near Cadillac, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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