I sometimes get up in the middle of the night and wander around the house. It's not that anything's bothering me or that I'm uncomfortable -- it's just my sleep cycle. I often wake up about 3 a.m. and walk around, get a drink of water, and go back to bed.
Anyway, I got up early Wednesday morning and found the living room bathed in moonlight. It was a full moon and the light seemed bright enough to photograph. So I got out the camera, set it on "bulb" (which allows me to hold open the shutter as long as I want) and tried some shots.
My hand-held pictures didn't work at all. I have a pretty steady hand, if I do say so myself, but even when I think I'm not moving, I am. I don't have a tripod, so I looked around for a surface where I could rest the camera. I wound up using the back of Dave's recliner, which isn't ideal because it's puffy and upholstered as opposed to hard and flat -- but it did the trick. I held the shutter open for eight to ten seconds, on ISO 8000.
I love how bright the red lights from the digital clock, TV box and power strip seem, as well as the green light on the left, from Dave's charging computer. There's something so peaceful about a quiet, dark house in the wee hours of the morning. (I was going to write "silent," but I'm sure there was actually a lot of snoring in the next room -- both canine and human.)
It always amazes me how bright a full moon can be.
ReplyDeleteThere must be something about 3 a.m. its a time that I often find myself awake.
ReplyDeleteThe photo is just lovely
Briony
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You're like a zombie, prowling around in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteApparently Two Sleeps were normal pre industrial revolution.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to see moonlight, but I hate seeing all that wasted power lighting empty streets. It's only needed at junctions.
Remember when growing up if you needed to walk out at night you took a flashlamp or at least a torch....
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI haven't slept yet. I wrote in my blog just a bit ago how I don't sleep well with a full moon. I haven't in several years.
Your photo really turned out pretty awesome. It does look surreal with the lights. Isn't it funny how different things look in the dark and in the moonlight? Sometimes I go outside just to walk around and look at the plants, the grass an weeds that look so pretty in the dark.
Heading to bed now... Talk to you soon.
I also wake up in the middle of the night but I rarely get up and tour my house, especially in the cold months. My favorite time of day is the hour before sunrise in August, and when I lived in a small village I would put on a sweater and take a walk down the road with a cup of tea. I used to have a cat who could walk on a leash and he would come with me. I miss that village and I miss that cat.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that you're reading Diary of a Bookseller! I've read it twice and it was just as delightful the second time around. His sequel, Confessions of a Bookseller, is good too, but it was written knowing that his first book was an international success so it's a bit more self-conscious.
When I was in Wigtown last Summer I got to visit The Bookshop and I got to hold Captain. Captain is awesome.
The world of night is a different world entirely, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
Pogo and I wake up lots of nights around 3 a.m. It must be a bewitching hour. Your photo of the moonlight coming in through the windows is beautiful. I think it's worthy of a frame and being hung on the wall. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteAnd how lovely to see your garden beyond.
ReplyDeletelots of people wake around 3 AM. I do though not every night. used to be 2 AM. and as gz says, there is some research that suggests two sleep periods were/are more normal. it seems during the Victorian age people would even get up and get dressed and go out. the full moon is all you need to see well at night if you let your eyes adjust to it. back when I was a river guide out in the wilderness I never used a flashlight on full moon nights. didn't need to.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful photo. I am so sleep that time of the morning a freight train couldn't wake me up. I do get up sometimes to go to the bathroom but not to talk to anyone or take photos. (lol) I think you have trained your body to awake at that time and that is what is happening. I guess Dave and Olga say let him get up and walk in the dark because we will be sleeping. (lol) Have a beautiful day....You are great at photography.
ReplyDeleteWonderful job on this photo. I love the look of a room filled with moonlight. There is something magical about it.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a beautiful view of your moonlit living room. What a great idea to photograph that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. we learn things when we try something new.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful room in the moonlight. The red and green dots of light make the photograph even more interesting, technology and nature.
ReplyDeleteI love the way the greenery seems to be trying to come in the window. The start of a story?
ReplyDeleteLovely shadows there...and yes, my hands do get beat up rolling around. Hope you are enjoying your evening.
ReplyDeleteI am usually awake briefly between 3 and 3:30 in the morning. But after I pee, I go right back to sleep until 5:30 or 6.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely capture of moonlight and technology. I would like to have seen a picture of the moon.
ReplyDeleteI Have Always Appreciated Your Photos But This So Takes The Cake - Stunning - Absolutely Stunning
ReplyDeleteCheers
Some of the best ideas/speeches/letters/lists/retorts/scenarios (fill in your own word here) happen at 3am. And sometimes also the best photos. You must have been very wide awake to bother with all the intricacies of a time exposure (even from the back of a chair LOL!)
ReplyDeleteLove your 3:00 am shot, Getting up with a nursing baby, getting up to just sit in moon glow and think. Getting up for a wander through the house having had surgery, looking for comfort. The little glowing lights look welcoming and friendly. Lovely shot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, everybody, and the kind words about the photo. It's interesting how several of you mentioned that this is a pretty normal sleep cycle for humans, and the old-time "two sleeps" schedule. I hadn't thought of that but I do remember reading about it at some point. I've also read that dogs in the wild sleep as much as 23 hours a day, and all the evidence in our house suggests that's true of domestic dogs too!
ReplyDelete