Canon EOS 5D
1/400
640

Whenever I study the details of the moon, I wonder what memories they trigger, like raindrops in the mind, for the astronauts that have been there.

A few months ago, Neil Armstrong shared one of his recurring dreams with me. The moon always reminds me of him… and the incredible bravery of those pioneers.

72 responses to “Moon Dreams”

  1. Beautiful.
    It looks as though someone has been lobbing chalk clods at it.

    I am endless awestruck when I realize the primitive level of computing power that got the astronauts there. My gawd, Mission Control used to take Polaroids of their monitors for documentation! Brain power is astounding when it is used for good.

  2. fabulous pic. nice to see Google Maps confirm everyone’s long-held suspicions…

  3. Wonderful shot.

    When I look at the moon, I think about a kind of paradox. First, the incredible engineering accomplishment that allowed us to travel there and return several times. The bravery, the discovery and the elation brought about by the Apollo program.

    On the other hand, the farthest place mankind has ever ventured is within view of the naked eye.

  4. I would like to have a bigger size for wallpaper…

  5. biotron: I recommend you to write to the google moon team: google_moon[at]google.com just to receive their automatic reply… worths it. Gives some further details about this mystery. 😉

  6. I just found this while looking at the "photos tagged with craters" page, and was astonished that you and I took nearly identical moonshots on the same evening… right down to choosing almost precisely the same random orientation and cropping:

    Gibbous moon 2006-02-07, square crop Moon Dreams

  7. stunning shot, amazing details!

  8. Can you give some technical information on this wonderful shot?

  9. Very impressive, lovely colour, rather spooky

  10. ah, same thing with Smith and Robford on Friday the 13th..twin moons. Beautiful how we all share the same sun and moon isn’t it :)Love the warm golden hues of this one, a feel good image, am adding my sad attempt at a moon from Oz to the soup…
    Moonlight

  11. I think that the interesting coincidence between jb and sj shots, and between Soli and Smith and Rob´s photos drops a conclusive statement:

    There´s one moon. And we always see its same side. =D

    For exif data of both shots there are some minor differences that seem to have no impact in the neat final results. Second conlusion:

    Canons are great machines indeed! Nothing to envy to those NASA guys! Welldone.

    Btw, I saw the moon yesterday and at an eye glance looked pretty similar too. 😉

  12. I just love to see the moon! I call it a pearl in the sky!
    Great view for us Steve. Merci!

  13. Alieness: we know you were on the moon. You’re not fooling anyone. |-)

    I love the comments here…. thanks. Vanita: the chalk clods were lobbed at the moon by the irate apes in 2001.

    Jbparker: Here’s the spooky thing. I had a near identical experience just before posting the photo. A neighbor knew that I was thinking about this funky telephoto lens (more on that later), and so he independently went out to see what he could do with the moon, and he ended up with the same exact shot as the two of us. So there were at least 3 of us. He had yet a different camera and lens (Canon 10D + Sigma 400mm) and ended up at the same place.

    I was using a full-frame Canon EOS 5D and 500mm lens. His camera is not full frame, and so his focal length multiplier makes the 400mm like a 620mm. But I get more pixels in…. so it all came out about equal in the end.

    Maesk: I shot when the moon was straight overhead to minimize atmospheric dispersion. Used the timer and tripod. Went with a higher 640 ISO so I could get a fast shutter (1/400) to minimize blur from the moon’s movement.

    Now, the lens is a real treat. It’s a funky vintage 500mm Spiratone. My buddy Victor1 lent it to me, and this was my first use of it (perhaps he can add some flavor on the history of this puppy).

    It uses mirrors instead of lenses, like in a reflecting telescope. The light path traverses the length of the barrel three times and bounces off two mirrors, so it’s fat and squat, not long and skinny (just like reflecting vs. refracting telescopes).

    It’s fully manual. The aperture is set at f8.

    The only artistic decision was to do it in sepia. I find it much warmer and less visually harsh given the wide range of brightness. Also, for a “large moon” image, it seems more natural to my eye… because when the moon is near the horizon, haze color shifts it like this… and that’s when we think we see a “large moon.”

    The color also looks more natural, of course, because "it’s the cheese."

  14. ’tis the cheese indeed. |-)

    "Maesk: I shot when the moon was straight overhead to minimize atmospheric dispersion."

    uhm… This triggered the visual search engine, you know. 0-) Couple of words in common, but also somehow familiar feelings. Too long to explain, tho. Maybe impossible in words as well.

    If you can, go listen to it. One of Pearl Jam´s bests.

    I´m Open (Pearl Jam)

    "A man lies in his bed in a room with no door
    He waits, hoping for a presence or something, anything to enter
    After spending half his life searching
    He still felt as blank as the ceiling at which he stared
    He is alive, but feels absolutely nothing, so is he?

    When he was six, he believed that the moon overhead followed him
    By nine, he deciphered the illusion, trading magic for fact, no trade-backs
    So this is what it’s like to be an adult?
    If he only knew now what he knew then.

    I’m open… Come in
    I’m open… Come in

    Lying sideways atop crumpled sheets and no covers
    He decides to dream. Dream up a new self…
    For himself."

    —-
    edit: I uploaded for a while the song to share. If you want download to listen, right-click the link with the and from the appearing menu choose "Save… as".

  15. wowowowowwwww! fabulous shot!

  16. Jurvetson: Thanks a lot for the interesting information!
    Alieness: the moon -> "a pearl in the sky" -> Pearl Jam -> R.E.M. -> The man on the moon -> "you were on the moon" -> Neil Armstrong -> Moon Dreams…

  17. I was hoping to hear the story behind this shot. Nice job, Steve! It looks great!

  18. Maesk: having fun with all of our comments, hey?! Great!

    A photo is most interesting when it generates questions, discussions, associations and the stimulation of the imagination!

  19. Nice moon shot!
    1-2-3

  20. Stunning moon shot! (123)

  21. Great shot and good idea to do it in sepia.

  22. A great picture of our lovely satellite

  23. You saw the whole of the moon!
    The Waterboys

  24. Great shot!
    I wish my camera could get shots like this.

  25. I thought the moon was made of green cheese, not ‘d & c yellow no. 5’ cheese? 🙂

  26. uh oh.. not green cheese…?

    great use of the vintage lense…

    I try to shoot the moon periodically but I don’t want to switch from a pocket camera to a "weapon"…
    so I have to be satisfied with the types of photos that I can make nice..

  27. So… for when a photo of Mars, J?

    We already have the Google Mars waiting…

    http://www.google.com/mars/

  28. heh… if the Canon adapter for my 1900mm lens wasn’t on backorder, I’d have one by now, but alas, it will have to wait…. But you read my mind.

  29. 1900mm… that must look like a bazooka, no?

    Don´t worry, Mars can wait… if it could millions of years already!

    Wanted to share this cute piece of inverse admiration…

    Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate, sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth… home. My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity.

    – Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut and founder, Institute of Noetic Sciences

  30. Amazing! Cant wait to improve on my moon shots once the scope arrives….

  31. Now that’s amazing! Best moon shot I’ve ever seen.

  32. Really awesome!
    breathtaking!
    what zoom did you use?

  33. thanks y’all.

    Yoghi&Bubu: The lens is a real treat. It’s a funky vintage 500mm Spiratone. My buddy Victor1 lent it to me, and this was my first use of it.

    It uses mirrors instead of lenses, like in a reflecting telescope. The light path traverses the length of the barrel three times and bounces off two mirrors, so it’s fat and squat, not long and skinny (just like reflecting vs. refracting telescopes).

    It’s fully manual. The aperture is set at f8.

  34. now i understand! it’s really nice…
    i founded a group and i will be very glad if you’ll join!
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/72hours
    anyone of you is invited!

  35. great shot!
    the "A" Class/post 1-comment 2 . Comment on any two
please, group icon
    Your photo is "A"Class<br

  36. Your photo is uploaded here :
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Jurvetson_-_Moon_Dreams_…
    under the terms of the Creative Commons by license.

  37. as far as this image is concerned, it IS a wonder, impressive and inspiring


    Seen in *GreatPixGallery 50 Faves+ (?)

  38. OPEN INVITATION TO ALL!

    Hello, I administer the following groups. I am looking for contributors to these pages, so if you have the appropriate material, please just join and post away!

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    All about beautiful or cute babies 1 year or less

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/cold_as_ice/

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    Sunsets or sunrise, it does not matter which, but the more beautiful the better!

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    Nothing like it on Earth – pictures from outer space – especially if you have been there 

    I would be very happy to see your photos if you can spare the time!

    Thank you

    Stewart

  39. Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Lunar photography, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.

    hope to see you in lunar photography.

    BR
    neaz

  40. This photo should be used in class, at school !

    Please add your photo to Photos pour l’école / Photos for school
    Read the group rules first.

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