TITLE: improvise

When shooting a full moon in January of 2023 I was all set up in my spot ready to take some great moon shots. And then the clouds started to move in. I thought to myself, there's no need to get pissed off - just use what you have and make the best out of it. Aside from being a good motto for many situations in life it worked well for me and my first moon shoot of 2023.

There is still the same sense of anticipation that we used to have to wait a week or so for back in the day when using film. Now, the time lag is as quick as just a few minutes, but like a young boy I always get excited about seeing what I shot :)

For me, the moon is one of those things that looks better in Black and White than in color. Maybe it's because the first moon photo that I saw was Black and White, or maybe the contrast is better. Probably a bit of both.

The photographs were taken in Valencia, España on 8 January at about 9:45am with a Nikon D780, Nikkor 500mm lens with a Nikkor 1.4x teleconverter for an effective focal length of 700mm.

AUTHOR: Max Dobens (Spain)

When Max was 15 years old he discovered his love of photography. Instinctively, he knew that he wanted a proper camera after learning the basics with various Kodak Instamatics. His parents told him that if he wanted to buy one he had to use his own money so he had to get a job. His father, a Dean at Colgate University, made a phone call and Max was gainfully employed at the Colgate's food service making $2.30/hour washing pots and pans. To this day, he still can't stomach a pan-fried pork chop.

After several months, Max had saved enough to buy a Pentax ME via mail order from 42nd Street Photo in New York City. Soon thereafter, Max became a contributing sports photographer to The Colgate Maroon and was first published at the age of 16 with a shot of a Colgate hockey player scoring a goal and the puck frozen as it hit the back of the net.

Life moved forward and he always knew deep down inside that when there was more time (and more money) he would dive back into photography. Fast forward...during the Spring of 2020 in Redmond, WA he saw some Bald Eagles in a tree at the condo complex next door and he rediscovered his love of photography. Then in November of 2020, Max picked up all his toys and permanently relocated to Valencia, España where his principal activity is photography.

Max is now dedicated to nurturing his artistic side as an Independent Travel, Landscape and Nature photographer here in Valencia and around Europe. Since Fall of 2022 Max has several photos featured in Gallery Exhibitions plus a First Place in the MSU Global Focus photo contest and he looks forward to more fun and success in 2023 and beyond.