First Moon

Checking my records, I see that this image -- taken more than 20 years ago -- may be the first photo I ever took of the moon in the night sky! I'm surprised how well it turned out, considering my lack of prior experience, and how difficult it can be to balance the background and foreground exposures in this kind of photo. During the several-second exposure, my wife Pam sat still reading by lantern light, while I added a flash from the side to provide additional illumination on the picnic table.

Date: January 2, 1987
Time: approximately 6:20 p.m. MST
Location: Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson Mountain County Park, Arizona
Camera: Canon AE-1 35mm SLR on fixed tripod
Film: Kodak Kodachrome 64 slide
Focal length: 28-85 mm zoom
Aperture: unrecorded
Exposure time: unrecorded (with flash)
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan LS-2000