Last night I watched one of the most beautiful crescent Moonsets I have ever seen.

I’m sure it was no different from the one a month before and a month before that. The difference this time was that I paid attention.

From an hour after sunset I followed the descending crescent into the fading purples of the end of twilight. I watched as the Moon’s colour transitioned from white to yellow then orange and finally red as it dipped below the ocean.

I became acutely aware as its luminosity dropped and dropped and dropped at least 4 stops over its final descent.

I make no apologies for the quality of this image. I don’t have the gear for this kind of photography but using a secondhand 500mm f8.0 mirror lens and a 2xconverter I believe I have faithfully captured the feeling.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 381, The Setting Waxing Crescent Moon’ 1s f/16 ISO800 1000mm