Summer’s night, Westhaven Inlet. 11.17pm, 10 January 2012 Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change.  –  Katherine Mansfield 50mm, ISO 2000. 170 secs at f22. Flash.

 When we are unable to find tranquillity within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.  –  de La Rochefoucauld 85mm, ISO 2000. 4 secs at f2. 5000 deg K

Through the friendly silence of the soundless moonlight. – Virgil 50mm, ISO 500. 30 seconds at f16. Flash

The love of life is necessary to the vigorous prosecution of any undertaking. – Samuel Johnson 50mm, ISO 2000. 13 seconds at f8. Flash

Live as long as you may, the first 20 years are the longest half of your life.  – Southey A composition in classic thirds. The quote is personal, referring to my first return to Waikanae Beach since spring 1976, with some ardent memories attached. Youthful impressions can be deepest on the sand! Bright shore means […]

No state of affairs is ever perfect. –  Horace On a mild spring evening a slip of a moon comes down the starry sky to a calm sea. What a marvellous programme! A bench seat was provided but there was no admission charge,  applause or intermission – and no commercials. Truth be told though, I […]

One forgives as much as one loves. –  La Rochefoucauld The old water reservoir at Nelson is a peaceful place for pic-spotting by the moonlight photographer, in part because access to it is through a motor camp. It may be needless to say, but when you’re out at night it’s important to feel safe so […]

Three lights at Paritutu, New Plymouth. 9.36pm, 10 September 2011 I have memory, which is the idiot’s talent. –  Francisco Umbral The three lights are moonlight (at sea), nearby industrial lighting and flash for the foreground. This shot has a cool feel because the incandescent (tungsten) setting was used to cool the light on the […]

Somehow to capture the constantly evanescent quality of existence. – Tennessee Williams, on his goal in writing It can be a pain to wait for the moonrise on those nights following full moon – although you do get some quality time with undimmed stars and the odd cloud capture. Eventually the eastern horizon lightens and […]

Good sense travels on well worn paths; genius never. –  Cesar Lombroso The skies were clear but the wind was howling as I set up on the cycleway, across the way from the fertiliser works near Napier. Any shot that I failed to shelter from the windgusts was useless, so I hovered as close to […]

Never confuse activity with action. –  F. Scott Fitzgerald 28mm, ISO 2000. 2.5 seconds at f2.8. Incandescent light balance, flash

It is only with the heart that one can see properly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. –  Antoine de St Exupery Although my heart is in this place, in this case I saw by ear, as the swans weren’t visible by moonlight. However they were very audible, and other wetland birdlife also […]

The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise. –  Tacitus You do not have the whole evening to shoot the crescent moon – it retires early. While it’s going, though, the crescent obliges the moonlight photographer on western coasts with some great reflections. The actual light from a crescent appears to be […]

I say have patience, and shuffle the cards. –  Miguel de Cervantes, 1615 From the 153 m (502 ft) summit of Paritutu, the volcanic landmark backing Port Taranaki, the coastal outlook to Oakura is affected nightly by industrial lighting. Here we look down on Beach Road, leading to a well-lit tank farm but with little […]

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view; While all the women came and went, their foot-servants too.  – Bob Dylan The surreal song lyric [misquoted on the web] fits this enigmatic view from the waterfront pavement at Kaikoura, in the South Island. The scale is ambiguous and the light unusual, but at least more […]

Tomorrow we shall set out once more upon the vast sea. –  Horace Moonrises after dark indicate the moon is past full, and these moonrises, especially, need a frame of reference. They benefit from foreground interest, in this case from outcrops alongside the wharf at Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island. It’s […]

You can boost minimal moonlight by using its reflection for a silhouette – another way to employ the wan light of a slender moon. “Moonlight photography” for me means not photographing the moon itself (another subject entirely), but rather making pictures by its light. The term is freely abused by amateur photographers. For a sharp […]

Moonlight and urban glow at Waimanu; digital ergonomics vs film cameras

The vacated frame and its variables: ghosting by pure moonlight

Inshore study in gold and aqua under a full moon; ideal exposure and post-process rescue

Heavy haulage outside the boat club; beast and beauty of the tripod

Effective light painting with mixed sources, using very high ISO

Moonlit abstraction on the square; Light balance selection with mixed sources

Uncommon natural lighting with an extra touch