I shoot some odd scenes (more often than I’d like to admit) and when looking back I sometimes wonder what had gotten into my head to shoot them, then in a few cases, after a bit of consideration, I decide to process one anyway…

This is one of those “odd” scenes; it was almost twilight I guess, the sun had set (officially), yet there was light in the sky… and the crescent moon was still in the sky…  clouds were covering parts of the sky, not necessarily in a pretty way, yet I had the inclination to snap a few shots.

At this time of the year, the crescent moon is more like a smile than during mid-year when it’s more sideways…  I’ve heard it referred to as the Smiling Moon, or the Cheshire Moon (a reference to the smile of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland); in Hawaiian mythology and folklore it’s also called the Wet Moon, because of the “bowl” shape it resembles at this time, with “wet” referring to the moon holding the waters of the rains that were soon to come…

I digress….

It’s an odd scene for me, so I took some time to process it since it was not an easy one (processing-wise, that is)…  I used Nik Silver Efex, and did some exposure reduction in the upper portion to further emphasize the moon and the star (nothing has been added or removed).

2011  |  Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270mm

Depending on our cultural, religious or scientific knowledge and beliefs, we will each look up into the sky and wonder different things; about what is “out there”, the myths and legends of ancient civilisations colour our imaginations, the teachings of our theologies ask us to believe in our maker(s) and for some an after-life, astronomers and movie-makers give further impetus to our imaginations of worlds and galaxies more spectacular than the pin-point stars we see with the naked eye…  poets and song-writers pull at our heart-strings with words and melodies, with stories of love and lust under the darkened dome,

Most of us will never leave this rock we call Earth, but that should not stop our imaginations, our desires, our dreams, for there is undoubtedly more out there than we know.

Click on the image to see it in the Odds and Ends Gallery 🙂