Twi-night Doubleheader

As I reflected upon the photos I have taken, I realized that I have not covered evening and am weak on sunsets. Since Monday evening was going to be a full moon and one of the last warm nights before the weather turns cold I headed to Great Meadows to try to fill in those gaps.

Unfortunately all the rain we have had has only increased the population of mosquitoes and other flying, biting insects. They treated my bug spray as if it was marinade. In spite of the conditions, I soldered on.

The sunset started slow, but ended with some wonderful color. One advantage of the rains and the accompanying flooding of the impoundments, is that there are patches open water which reflect the sky.






The last time I thought about taking moonlight photos at Great Meadows, I had forgot to check the time for moon rise before departing home. Unfortunately, it was 3 hours after sunset. Not tonight. The moon rose 15 minutes before the sun finished setting.

Digital photography allows long shutter times which allow you to capture the dark of night bright enough to see. Unfortunately, the moon is too bright in a long exposure, so it takes some compositing of a properly exposed moon, with a long exposure landscape to make a night time photo.



Lower Impoundment


Upper Impoundment


The refuge seems different when viewed in the twilight. It was a bit disconcerting to hear so many animals rustling around in the reeds without being able to see them. As the night crept in, you could hear the coyotes calling from across the river (and I was hoping it would stay that way).

As I walked back the to parking lot, the habituated Great Blue Heron was in his usual spot doing a little night fishing. He didn't seemed any more concerned about me than if it was mid-day.

As I reached the tower, the first stars finally start to appear in the sky. If you look carefully, you will see the Big Dipper over the Concord River at the end of the boat ramp.