Deep Blue, Too

After Monday's crescent moon hunt, I decided to go out to Garden of the Gods last night for a repeat performance. This photo is one of many results. Again, no trickery to get the detail in the dark side of the moon, that's completely a product of Earthshine.

Deep Blue

There was an awesome wave cloud over the Front Range this afternoon, but it never really lit up at sunset. After sunset, I was heading home from running around, and noticed the thinnest of crescent moons sandwiched between Blodgett Peak and the trailing edge of the wave cloud. By the time I got home and grabbed my camera and tripod, the cloud had advanced far enough east that including it in the image was impractical. This simplistic approach was the end result. Keep in mind that even the relatively short, 3.2-second exposure at 200mm showed movement in the moon, making the crescent about double its size. To the naked eye it was barely discernible.

[no Photoshop magic was used to enhance the incredible amount of Earthshine you see here.]

Drive-Thru for a Laugh

Or should we cry?

Yesterday at the drive-thru window of my nearby Sonic:

Blonde Teen Cashier: "That's $2.34."

Me: [hand her $3.04]

BTC: [a look of horror on her face, calls one of her co-workers over, who promptly blows her off. Second co-worker does the same. They're busy. BTC fumbles for some change, and I notice at least one penny entering into the mix.]

Me: [as she hands me my change] "Is there a penny in there?"

BTC: "Yes."

Me: "You're not good at math, are you?"

BTC: "No. That's why I work at Sonic."

This morning, same drive-thru, same BTC working the window:

BTC: "Oh, it's Change Guy!" [funny, she doesn't seem happy to see me...]

Me: "Yeah, but I'll make it easier for you today." [hand her $3.06 for a $2.56 bill...]

BTC: [lays my coins on the counter, rummages through her fanny pack for her cell phone, starts punching numbers into its calculator function.

Me: [laughing hysterically on the inside]

BTC: Is this right? [hands me a nickel]

Me: "Um, no."

This afternoon, same drive-thru, same BTC working the window:

BTC: "It's Change Guy!" [even less enthusiastic about seeing me this time.]

Me: "Yeah, but I'm gonna make it really easy for you this time." [hand her a twenty for a $2.34 bill...]

BTC: [ah yes, the return of Mr. Cell Phone Calculator!] "Here's your change."

Me: "You don't mind if I count it, do you?"

BTC: "Nope!"

Me: "Good job, you got it right!"

BTC: "Here's your drinks." [drinks? hands me one drink, then begins to hand me a second one of equal size.]

Me: "You realize I only ordered one drink, right?"

BTC: "Oh, I read the ticket wrong."

How much you want to bet she's a straight-A student in school?

Awesome, Even When In Hiding

Earlier this week I took advantage of low clouds over Colorado Springs and headed up Rampart Range Road for sunrise. Once I cleared the lower cloud deck, my chances of catching sunrise light on Pikes Peak were dashed by the vigorous storm clinging to the mountain's alpine environs. But you know what? Even when you can't even see the mountain, it's an awesome thing to behold. [top] Besides, when Pikes Peak is hiding, I can just train my camera on other nearby subjects, like Almagre Mountain [middle] and little details in the forest below. [bottom]

As always, click each photo to enlarge.