Moonrise at Matagorda Beach

Since the death of our younger son, Patrick, my wife and I have been working to establish a "new normal." If you have ever suddenly lost someone close, especially a child, then you will understand that this is a difficult process--particularly around landmark days like birthdays and holidays. One of the keys that we have found to dealing with our grief is to simply stay busy and occupy ourselves. We have been searching for peace and a new "happy place," which we have lately found at the beach.

We visited Matagorda Beach the day after Thanksgiving and stayed a while after sunset to watch the moonrise. I have been wanting to catch a moonrise close to the horizon for quite a while, and this was the best opportunity. So, without further ado, here are some shots from that evening, in honor of our beloved Patrick, who loved the Moon:

The squashed appearance is due to atmospheric distortion.

This is a composite of a short and long exposure. Aldebaran and the head of Taurus are visible through the clouds to the upper-right of the moon.

All of the images were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T3 (1100D) mounted on a tripod and using an EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM lens. The images were processed in Adobe Photoshop CS6 using the Nik Collection.