Photo of the Day – 2 January 2017: Nelson, Moon and Venus

Date wise, this image is going to appear out of order on my blog, but I wanted to publish it on the day I took it.  Earlier this evening in the West End of London I saw Nelson’s Column below a waxing Moon and the planet Mars.  It made for a remarkable sight.  One of the the aspects of the shot which I particularly like is the way that the camera has picked out the whole of the Moon’s disk rather than just the illuminated crescent.

Nelson’s Column below the Moon and Mars
(Click on the image for a larger version)

Light pollution has played a significant role in this image.  In a location away from a well lit conurbation such as London where there is dark sky, many more celestial objects would be visible.  Here, only the Moon and Mars were sufficiently bright to be seen.  There were on or two other bodies out of frame, but other than those the sky was black.  It simplfies the composition.  For me, that and the contrast between the illuminated man made object and the natural ones is what makes the shot work.  The iconic status of Nelson’s Column also helps add interest.

UPDATE  This post was originally titled “Nelson, Moon and Mars”.  I did attempt to identify the bright celestial object which appears below the Moon and discovered it could have been Mars or Venus.  Based on the way I read the description on the website I visited, I thought it was the former.  A friend who knows more about astronomy than I do, which is not difficult on this evidence, has since confirmed that it is in fact Venus.  Mars was also visible that night and in the original shot there is a fainter object above the Moon to the left.  I cropped it out to improve the composition.  I believe that to be Mars, but it is perhaps safer if I do not vouch for that.

This post is part of my occasional “Photo of the Day” series when I publish any shots which I think might be of interest and tell the story behind them.  They might not necessarily be portfolio standard images, nor the final version, but still be of sufficient interest for inclusion in my blog.  If I do not show a shot on any given day, it does not mean that I did not take any photographs, just that I did not get anything worthwhile.  For me, that is part of the fun of photography, not knowing what you will find on a shoot when nothing is planned.