What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday morning I posted a photo of the moon setting over Tillamook Bay.  The day before, I had been returning from Cape Meares when I saw the moon, just to the right of a headland, about to set.  The sky was not yet dark but was late twilight.  Dark blue sky easing into a burnt orange, and a bright orange crescent moon, framed by a headland to the south and a massive rock to the north - a magnificent shot.  There was no place to safely stop on the road!  About a quarter mile later, there was a pull-out area where I could stop.  My moving meant that I no longer had the frame of the headland and rock, but I did have reflective water.

The moon was dropping fast.  I had no time to put on the big lens, nor set up the tripod.  I grabbed my camera and took the shot that was there.  Within minutes the moon was gone.

Yesterday afternoon I returned, hoping to find a vantage point that would let me get the shot I wanted.  I found a seafood wharf and restaurant in the approximate area, had dinner, and settled down to wait.

I had forgotten that the moon sets later every evening.  By the time the right moment approached I realized that I had miscalculated in two ways.  First, the sky was almost dark and had lost the color from the night before.  Second, I was too far south, so that the sun was now setting behind the headland.  Still, I had a nice photography discussion with two young ladies and I managed to get a few fair shots.

First, some driftwood on the beach...

Next, a gull, with feet and feathers backlit and aglow from the setting sun...

Finally, the setting moon.