The perfect counterweight and constant counterpart. The moon looks down from 238,000 miles away - the ideal distance to dance in Earth’s embrace. Twice a day it pulls the tide over the shore and permanently keeps Earth from bouncing between wild extremes of scorching desert heat and barren frozen wasteland.
From our perspective it has always been and always will be present in the sky. Even when unseen we have confidence it’s there, still pirouetting on Earth’s coat-tails, providing a guiding light to the twilight creatures, or maybe a secret message for the maniac.
On this particular night, late on summer solstice of 2026, my curtains remained un-drawn and the windows open wide, the gentle night breeze providing a welcome respite from the oppressive heat and humidity of the day.
Refreshing beer in hand, I had the television on, but it was I who was being watched through the window to my living room. Bright in the sky the moon demanded my attention until I could ignore it no longer. I went to my ageing car to retrieve my tripod and in the dark outside my home I fumbled with camera settings, trying to remember which dial did what.
Eventually I find that 1/15s at f8 and ISO160 through my Fuji 150-600 lens, maxed out at the long end is the sweet spot. I take my shots using a timer to minimise camera shake. In the moment I peer back at the solitary satellite and we doff our caps to one another.
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