The Dreaming State

First, let’s be honest, this is far from the greatest photograph I have ever taken. It’s awful in fact, but it exists!… I woke up at 6:45am and looked out the window to see a strangely large moon just about to set. Something was off about it. It was missing a small slice, but I knew it was supposed to be full. I then realized I was seeing the beginning of an eclipse! I ran to grab my dSLR but the moon was quickly slipping away, so I used whatever lens I happened to have on, pushed the ISO, and snapped this blurry pixelated image.

This is no ordinary lunar eclipse, it is a combination of three lunar events called a “Super Blue Blood Moon”. Let’s break down this impressive name: A “Super Moon” is when the moon is at its closest orbit to the earth, the perigee, and therefore is actually visibly larger. A “Blue Moon” is when there is a second full moon in the calendar month, but no, it will not be blue. And a “Blood Moon” is fitting name because while the moon is in the Earth’s shadow it will give off a red glow.

I have been working on this series of self portraits since January 2017. The one aspect I always forget to address is the challenge of creating these without any assistance, and this image (“Indulgence”) really shows the struggle as well as the payoff.

It’s not easy using yourself as a model when you are all alone in the studio, but I enjoy that challenge. I set up lights, my camera, and control all of them with a wireless remote. I tape the floor to mark my feet, then put an object in place of me so that I can get the focus right. After that I set the remote to shoot a picture every 4 seconds, and the rest is just acting the part!