SUPER-moon!

Rome, Italy

Dario and I were just settling down to watch some movies after a heavy dinner of Italian-ized American food.  See, when there's a good deal on prosciutto, Mamma buys a bunch of it and puts it in the freezer.  Unfortunately, this means it's not always available for eating on short notice.

Rather than wait for it to thaw or – horrors! – heat it up, I opted for a hot dog.  Oh, yes, they sell hot dogs here.  They even slice them up and – more horrors! – put them on pizza for kids.  With fries.  Yes, on the pizza. 

It's not my fault, I swear.

Fresh salad was available right out in the garden.  Bowls full of strawberries were in the 'fridge.  Mamma had even made a pastiera earlier in the day.  But we were all feeling lazy, so hot dogs it was.  With homemade fries.  But not on a pizza, thank the gods.

Afterward, Dario and I waddled upstairs and prepared to vegetate until we passed out.  As usual, I checked all my social media channels to see what was hopping in blogland. 

Me: Oh, yeah!  Supermoon tonight!

Dario: Wha- ?

Me: Come on, come on, come on!  SUPERMOON!

Dario: …?

I grabbed the binoculars, camera and tripod, and roused the parents on the way to the terrace.  They were in pajamas already, but came out to see what craziness their American daughter-in-law was up to this time.  As soon as we walked around the corner of the house, I think they got it.

(Click to enlarge.)

need a little cape and boots

Much better than getting mooned by a superhero.

 

The parents smiled and peeked through the binoculars for a bit, but swiftly and sensibly went inside to warm up.  Dario showed up just as they were leaving and quickly monopolized the binoculars while I fussed with the camera.

I soon realized that my trusty ol' 17-85 mm Canon lens wasn't going to do it.  I sighed because this meant breaking out a lens that had already let me down on safari in Tanzania: my cheapa** Tamron 28-300 mm.  (I know, I know…  #firstworldproblems.)  Never was the "getting what you pay for" adage more apt.  Yup, I could spy into the distance all right – would never have completed my "Big 5" spotting without it – but the focus was notoriously soft and occasionally distorted.  Not to mention an ominous rattling could be heard inside from time to time.  Oh, well.

I made sure to do my best with the 17-85 mm lens first, just in case.  Then I took the plunge.  The result was what you see above.  It's still not as sharp as I would have liked, but then I probably should have bought a nicer lens, eh?  In any case, the Goddess was smiling and the photos came out pretty well.  I'm happy.  :)

 

Seen anything super in the sky lately?
 

ps: Mamma and Papà told me that in Italy, people believe if you cut your hair 3 days before or 3 days after the full moon, it will grow better.  Hmm.  I do need a haircut…

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8 Comments

  1. It was overcast here in Melbourne, so no super moon for me :(

    1. We were hoping to get a Round Two last night, but it was raining. C’est la vie! There’s always June 2013. It’s supposed to be pretty great, too. :)

  2. Super pic of super moon ;=) It was glorious here too.

    1. I was wondering if you went up near the observatory, Linda. Did you? Did you get any pics from wherever you were? Oh, Tenerife must have been a glorious place to see it!

      1. I’m so lucky. It rises right out of the ocean at the end of my street! I thought about going up to the mountains, but glad I didn’t without precisely knowing where it would appear (should have researched, granted). I saw a photo by someone I know, and our sighting was better I think.

        Last night Maria & I went again. It was darker and it was an utterly different experience. There was a skein of cloud along the horizon, but not touching it, so we figured we would get a brief glimpse between moonrise and it disappearing into that cloud, which is just what happened, but it looked so different from the previous night, and now my burning desire is to get a new tripod!

        1. Oh, that’s marvelous, Linda! The invitation to write poetry and paint must be very strong if you’ve got the Goddess popping out of the water every month there. ;)

  3. Missed this Super Moon! But then, the skies have been heavy with rain clouds over here in Paris. ;-(

    1. Probably going show again tonight – get on a fast train! We were going to go out and try again tonight, so we could get some scenery in the shot, but I think we have your clouds now. D’oh!

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