Desert Evening

I’ve been checking out the area in search of some new photo sites. I’m still scouting but I’ve captured a few evening pictures, taking advantage of a recent full moon and the beautiful sunsets that seem to come with every evening.

I’ve also incorporated some local plant life into today’s pictures, a couple of majestic Saguaro cacti and an interesting Mesquite tree. The Mesquite is presently devoid of leaves, a condition that will change in the next few weeks as warmer Spring weather will cause it to leaf. I think it’s current bare look has a certain appeal that makes it a more interesting photographic subject than when it’s in full greenery.

I begin with two pictures of the Mesquite tree, one taken with a sunset behind it and the other photographed from the opposite direction with the rising moon in the early evening sky.

The next two pictures were taken the same way, one featuring a sumset-silhouetted Saguaro cactus, the other featuring another Saguaro, backgrounded by the rising moon.

Finally, a shot of the moon through the Mesquite tree. A scene incorporating the moon is very difficult to photograph when the sky is dark. The extreme contrast between the brilliant light from the moon and the darkness of the sky leads to an unavoidable overexposure of the moon and an underexposure of the rest of the scene. I’ve merged two exposures to get this composite shot where the tree is visible and the moon is just slightly overexposed. I’ve chosen the slight overexposure to fit the luminosity of the moon itself with its radiating beams. (The light on the side of the tree opposite the moon is artificial.)

The moon now moves to new phases but the sunsets will continue. I plan to work on those sunsets, stay tuned.