The Moon & Venus

Nikon D70s, f4.2, 1/5 sec, ISO 200, 85mm

When I consider your heavens, 

the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars, 

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, 

the son of man that you care for him?

(Psalm 8:3-4)

This was the view from the Rectory garden just after ten o'clock last night.  Too large to be a star, my best guess is that it's Venus (see here).

Photo notes (If you're interested in the technical aspect of the picture):  I set my camera on a tripod, placed on firm ground and put a timer delay so that there would be no vibration for the long exposure necessary.  To my surprise I noticed however that even though there was no wind and I didn't touch the camera during the exposure the picture is still slightly blurred.  The only conclusion I can come to is that the slap of the viewfinder mirror caused it.  Unfortunately my camera does not have mirror lock-up, which would have prevented this.  Next time however I will take a much longer exposure and hold the lens cap over the lens for the first second so that the initial vibration is not recorded on the final picture.

Getting Lost

Panasonic LX1, f4.9, 1/80 sec, ISO 80, 28mm equiv., Blue 'Duotone' effect in Photoshop Elements 6, (click to enlarge)

I'm finding my way around the parish the hard way! Occasionally I kid myself that I know which road to take to get home again after being out visiting. The result is often that I end up in the middle of nowhere (see picture). It wasn't always this way - when I was a curate in East Belfast it was possible to do nearly all my visits by parking the car at one end of the street and then working my way along from door to door. The contrast with rural ministry is considerable.

Coincidentally I was reading (in the Message Bible) about Jesus being "The Road":

I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life.

(John 14:6)

In life there are so many roads to take yet Jesus tells us there is only one Road that leads to God and eternal life and that is found in Him...

Middle of the day Moon

Nikon D70s, f9, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 450mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

This picture of the moon was taken a few days ago in the early afternoon from the front garden. Nasa have been up to things crashing two unmanned spacecraft on to the moon's surface to try and see if there were any signs of water in the past. An interesting experiment or a waste of money? I'm not sure.

It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers. The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.

Psalm 74:15-17