Sometimes You Win and Sometimes...

 I consider myself fairly lucky at getting most of the photographs I envision. It probably ranges a bit higher than 50%. When things go right, it’s wonderful, but when things go bad, it seems as if everything is going downhill.

    I’ve recently had a string of good shots, the “photography gods” were smiling down on me. But I knew it wouldn’t last for long. This is one of the "joys" of amateur photography, you try your best and sometimes it works. The longer you keep trying, the better your chances get!

    On the 2nd of July, I was looking forward to what would have been a great shot, well at least in my mind.  The Chinese space station, Tiangong, would be coming out of the west and would be passing directly across the face of the moon! The moon would be only a few days past new, only 11% illuminated. This would enable a longer exposure without overexposing the moon. The longer exposure would also enable the camera to record a longer pass of the bright satellite as it neared and passed over the moon.

    I checked my sources and then rechecked. I did a run through on Stellarium and they all showed that the space station would be going right across the moon as seen from my home. By moving just few miles away, the chances of a “moon hit” was decreased. This was only a prediction, there was always the chance of a miss! Still, how could I not be excited?

    During the day, things were looking good, the skies was mostly cloud free. I charged the battery to the camera, set the gear by the door and then laid down for a short nap.

    Waking up, I looked outside and saw that the blue skies had morphed into grey. It didn’t damper my enthusiasm though, I still had hopes.

    Disappointing would be a good word to describe what I saw at the appointed time. The sky was grey except for a bright patch to the southwest, the reflection of the city’s lights on the clouds. Some fireworks were being shot off, but that wasn’t what I wanted to see! The moon couldn’t be seen at all and neither would the space station. I watched a few aerial displays and then headed back into the house. "Ya gotta remember, you don’t always get what you want!"

    This was my second failure in two days. The day before I had set up to catch the same satellite as it passed close to the bright star Vega. I had the camera set up with a nice composition with some trees in the foreground, a couple test shots had been taken, all was ready. All that was needed now was the space station. I watched the western sky, waiting for it to come up out of the trees. Then, there it was! I moved over to the camera and watched as it crossed the sky, nearing the target.

   Just as I touched the shutter release a neighbor started up his truck and its lights flooded the camera. I attempted to shield the lens but it was futile; the lights had destroyed the chance to catch the pairing. As I watched the satellite drift into the trees in the east, my neighbor put his truck into gear and drove away, leaving me in darkness once again, never knowing what he had done. Well, that’s life, there was no sense getting upset because that wouldn’t solve anything. I’ll catch it again in the future. 

Jupiter and the road to Wagman

    I know that there will be lots of other successful shots to come, I can’t let one or two destroy my will power. These future shots are the ones I’m looking forward to!

     You have to remember; mistakes and problems can sometimes turn out for the better! Ann Marie and I made a wrong turn the other day while on a short road trip. As we navigated the back roads returning to our route, Ann Marie spotted a red fox running through a field. She would’ve never seen it if we had taken the correct turn! It all worked out in the end.

    In the meanwhile, I’ve been thinking. These types of things tend to happen in threes, I guess I have another one coming. Sometimes you win and sometimes… ya don’t!