Sunday, August 23, 2026

AC Learns to Never Boast

I had 3 good nights of sleep, which I define as getting more than 6 hours. I have my goal set at 6.5 hours, and I attained it twice with a glorious 7 hours on one of those nights.

On a walk, I bragged to Sue. Of course, 2 rather fitful nights ensued.

Then, I got 4 good nights, reaching 7.5 hours on two occasions. That is actually sublime territory for me.

Being a slow learner, I bragged again. Never brag, folks.

What followed were two rather wretched nights in which I awoke at 3:30 after 4 hours.

I drives me crazy, I tell ya. Not that it's a long drive, eh?

But then I met my goal of 6.5 hours 2X with one night over 7. That was last night as I write this.

On one of the early mornings, I saw a glimmer of a decent sunrise from my chair, so I went to the window before 6, and snapped this photo.


While it would have been great to get out to a better location for the sunrise, the good light is brief, and it would have been long gone had I attempted to go out and chase the light.

That night, while watching tennis with Beloved, I could see a bright half-moon through the patio door. I stepped onto the deck and took a phone photo around 8:45. The clouds really helped to make a rather good photo.


I am so impressed with this quick, handheld phone shot. The exposure is very good, and the moon is quite in-focus. I had to remove some distractions, 4 wires for example, and do a little editing, but the point is that the phone gave me a great starting point.I cannot explain the light streaks that we see, but I don’t mind them at all. 

I did go up to the bedroom to try for another photo, but the moon was already obscured by the clouds. Sadly.

The next night, I did get the moon in about the same spot from the bedroom, but it was about 45 minutes later in reaching the same point in the sky as it was on the previous night, so the blue was gone. There weren’t clouds either, but here it is for the record.

The bright building to the bottom left in both photos is a car wash.
The lighted building in the second photo of the post is a daycare centre.

The lesson to me is how great a lunar exposure the phone rendered. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. The other lesson, that I really knew already, is  that night photography is best while there is still some light before it gets very dark in what we call blue hour. 

Of course, if you are shooting the Milky Way, you may have to take what you can get when you can get it. Of course, this is true for much photography. 





17 comments:

  1. The sunrise is spectacular. The blue sky moon image is lovely. iPhone cameras are so handy.

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  2. Reporting, not bragging...thus your psyche will just relax and enjoy the ride all night long! Lovely moon shots. There's a lunar eclipse coming up - try to capture it if you can. I saw one moon behind clouds this week, around 2 am. My windows don't go in all directions!

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  3. I haven’t mastered lunar photos, so I rarely try. These are great! I’m sorry about the fitful sleep. I wish I could sleep like I could in my 20s!

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  4. That first moon shot is a gem. I like the streaks. I get frustrated because every photo I take has that fuzzy ring around the moon, even when I don't see one in real life.

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  5. Great shots! A good nights sleep is an event for celebration!

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  6. I never have much luck taking moon shots.

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  7. These are lovely shots! The shading of the sunrise sky is beautiful.

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  8. Wow, I love those moon shots. I have trouble taking photos when it gets dark but the advanced iPhones understand my ineptitude. I have a 16 Pro and I think you have the 17Pro which is a rockstar.

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  9. I'm happy to read that you got some sleep. Those photos are simply amazing.

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  10. Glad you're getting a better sleep, at least some of the time! And great night shots, iphone or otherwise.

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  11. Sleep knits up the raveled sleeve...so you can concentrate on photography. This is good news, sir. (Sometimes, when I can't sleep now, I try deep breathing and most times, it helps. Just fyi.)

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  12. It has been nice to see the moon of late. Now that darkness comes a little earlier, I am actually awake to see it!
    Waking up so early really messes up the day.

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  13. Lovely photos. I am so happy to hear you are getting a better sleep!

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    1. It remains unpredictable. Last night was a short one.

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  14. Reporting. Not bragging. You certainly got some fantastic photos.

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  15. The first time I saw one of these amazingly good phone shots, I was still a skeptic, clutching my telephoto camera. I now am still amazed, especially at your toss offs about the edits in these fabulous shots you take. Even sleepless, you are top of the line.

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  16. I used to sleep so well - once upon a time. Not anymore!
    How wonderful that you were able to capture some great shots.

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