Photography During Harvest Moon
The Harvest Moon is the full moon that appears nearest to the autumnal equinox. The appearance of the Harvest Moon begins the first of the harvesting months in the Northern Hemisphere. Many cultures celebrate the harvests with gatherings, festivals, and rituals that are intricately attuned to the Harvest Moon.
The harvest moon gets its name from the fact that farmers harvesting crops at this time of year were able to use the light of the harvest moon to continue the work in the fields.
I decided to use it for some night photography.
Shadows creep across the landscape as the sun behind me sinks toward the horizon.
Night photography requires some leg work during the day. Nothing is worse than wasting a particularly good evening, searching for a good subject by moonlight. I decided to use the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management area. Over 16,000 acres of undeveloped land, some fields are used to grow corn that provides the wildlife with a valuable food source to help them fatten up for the winter months ahead.
One week before peak of foliage.
As an archer, much of my time is spent observing nature while following strict guidelines in regard to scent.
If I wanted to see deer, I made sure to scrub with scent eliminating soap and
wore clothes similarly treated and stored where they would not absorb odors.
Then before I went into the woods I would mask myself with cover scent.
The funny part of the story. Today I did a couple of things:
1. I smoked a cigar
2. I didn’t shower
3. Wore dirty clothes
4. Cleaned 3 of my guns and had copper solvent and gun oil on my hands
5. Stepped in dog shit!
I was the ultimate stinkfest that should scared deer away from 100 miles. Yet I still managed to capitalize on the above opportunity.
I saw the deer sniffing their way through the field ahead of me.
I sat down in my “Horse Whisperer” pose and started snapping photos as they approached.
The deer here could hear the shutter of 10D and started creeping closer to investigate.
These are my first attempts at night photography. This photo is of Werewolf mist rising from the swamps.
Several moments later the mist enveloped the entire field. My photo equipment dripped with condensation. Time to go before something bad happened.
Last shot. A 2 minute exposure at 11pm
This is a custer of maple trees located in the heart of a corn field managed by the WMA. A fitting location for photographing during the Harvest Moon.