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Photography: Strawberry Moon

Darkness swallows the city. I drive for hours looking for the moon until I find it beside the courthouse at the top of the hill. It’s lit for the Fourth of July, a beacon of patriotic light.

“I’m going to live there someday,” I used to say. An entire childhood spent dreaming of a place that wasn’t at all what I thought it was. 

I park near an antique shop and stare at the oddities inside. Cars streak by below. The moon blends into the city lights as a warm breeze dances around a patch of thorns.

“Does time ever feel like it’s not moving normally? Like it’s all out of whack?”—Maddy, I Saw the TV Glow

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The sixth full moon of the year arrived the day after the summer solstice. I set out fairly late and felt uninspired by the view until I drove to Auburn and found my favorite building. These aren’t very “strawberry moon,” but I like them anyway. Let me know if you have a favorite.

These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

49 thoughts on “Photography: Strawberry Moon”

  5. Question: why is the word “capture” so oft equated with photography (not meaning you). Seems an off-hand inappropriate usage of language. In the moment I don’t have a better single word, but I know, no, not that one. Seems unkind to me, to all involved. I’d rather say, “celebrate.” Does that feel better?

    Disclaimer I should confess, I’m not such a big Moon “fan”, but so what.

    Favorites can still tickle my tastes. #2 delightful Moon & trees & Light, #7 interesting comparing the Moon with our man-made night-time moon, #8 just love these kind of organic textures, and what engaging raw “wildness” this one presents, the Lion likes this one too. Well, good wishing for your Moons of the year project. Worth the study. I like it when results are unpredictable discovery.

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    • That’s an interesting question. We can’t “capture” anything can we? The moon looks so different in person than it does in any photograph. The same can probably be said about everything we take a picture of. Perhaps the word is “interpret.” When we snap a picture, we are taking an impression of what we see. It’s how it looked to us from that angle, through that particular lense. We celebrate it, sure, but maybe it’s more we are presenting it as “see the world the way I just did.”

      Not a fan of the moon, eh? Well then I’m extra grateful you’ve followed me through all these full moon shoots. Only 6 more to go.

      #2 delighted me too. I like the way the rays of the light were captured. #7 is my favorite for the exact reason you mentioned. Which light is the moon? At a certain angle they can look like twins in the sky. I’m glad you liked #8. I almost didn’t include it. I shot it at the top of a hill. The moon was obscured, so no moon, but I liked how the headlights of my van made the weeds looks alien. It’s not in focus, though, which almost had me throwing it out, but no, still interesting I thought. Glad you and the Lion think so too!

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    • I’m so glad you liked those, Penny! I drove for a long time looking for a great spot to take photos and did feel like the moon was playing with me. It’s so odd how it can look bigger and smaller depending on the angle. I drove toward it and then it would disappear and reappear behind me. Kind of magical.

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    • #7 was secretly my favorite as well. There was something so strange about how the moon and the streetlamp appeared to be twins, as if they were possibly in competition. I do feel that perhaps a sad/haunted story could take place within that photo.

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    • Thank you! After taking a dozen or so shots that looked identical, I realized if I included the traffic zooming by I might get some great blurs. I intentionally left a lot of black space in these photos to contrast with the colored lights. I’m glad it worked for you.

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  16. I was going to message you on Instagram and be like do you know that it’s a strawberry moon you better get your camera out. My favorite one is where the Moon is peeking through the tree. #2

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    • Thank you, Nicole. There’s nothing like a self-imposed deadline to give yourself anxiety! Each month I stress I’m gonna miss the full moon so please do message me!

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