Sad but True, Will I Never Learn?

 to keep my big mouth shut?

I really did think twice about posting our plans to go out and shoot the moon, but jeez, it seemed pretty safe.

It started out good enough.  We looked out on the wharf, spoke to several people about where to expect the moon to rise, and decided the wharf was out.  We headed out to West Cliff Drive and picked this spot, which, according to previous pictures, seemed like a perfect spot.

We were pretty early, so I kept practicing, laying out shots, checking exposure, what ever.  This would prove to be my undoing but that's another part of the story.

I can't seem to be near the ocean 

and not take at least one picture of the pelicans.

The ice plant is just starting to bloom, 

in a few weeks it should cover the cliffs.

These black bumble bees were everywhere.

Being bored, I took a few shots with my iPhone.

I liked the perspective on this one,

so I played with it a bit

(click to enlarge)

then some more.
Kind of like the poppy fields
in the Wizard of Oz

Having my iPhone and iPad with me

makes it easy to play with my photos,

no matter where I am.

Finally, as we kept looking at the lighthouse, 

waiting for the moon to rise

it came up in another direction entirely.

Did I mention that by this time it was really cold?

And from somewhere,

an army of mosquitoes descended,

biting me on my face

(since the rest of my body was covered

because it was so danged cold . . .).

Mosquitoes love me,

I'm like their favorite flavor.

The feeling is not mutual.

Back to the moon . . .

I must say, 

it was nowhere near as impressive as I was expecting.  

I remember the moons of New Mexico, 

bright and huge, like this. 

It's my opinion 

that Californians wouldn't know a good moon 

if it hit them in the eye like a big pizza pie!

See?  This isn't so big . . .

Terry did get this shot, that I liked a lot,

but the moon wasn't in focus like we wanted.

We can't figure out how to get landscapes 

where there's ambient light, 

but you can still see the man in the moon.

These shots are easy, but I want the landscapes.

Remember how I spent so much time 

playing with the camera 

before the moon even came up?

Well, it was right after this shot 

that the battery in the camera died.

Of course I was a couple of blocks from the car.

And I didn't have a key anyway.

And Terry was off somewhere else shooting.

And there was no cel reception.

Are you getting the picture 

that this was a less than perfect evening?

To make things even better, 

for some reason, 

my allergies kicked in about then.

They haven't bothered me for a long time.

But suddenly, my eyes began to itch, then run.

With the camera effectively dead, 

I resorted to my phone.

The iPhone takes great pictures, but requires light.

Later, when I looked at these, I kind of liked the look.

Sort of like the paintings of Georges Seurat.

And this kind of reminded me of Monet.

If he had painted 

two of the three moons of Tatooine.

Right after these shots, 

I dropped my iPhone.

Fortunately, it was undamaged.

Then a big bug flew straight into my mouth,

right to the back of my throat.

The evening wasn't improving.

This was the last shot.

At this point, we decided we'd had enough