Super Full Moon

On Satuday, 19 March 2011, the moon arrived at perigee at approximately 19h09 - at that point in time the moon was only 356,575 km from earth.   From what I 've heard over the radio the moon appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.

Stretch and I drove to a koppie close to our house to take this photo.  It was really a beautiful evening with very little wind.  The only thing that spoiled it was some idiot who parked his car a few meters from mine  hampering my efforts to get a shot of the moon through some tree branches. I  cursed him all the way home - so, I guess by now his suffering from acute diarrhea!!! :D

Result after using some of the gimp filters/plug-ins and scripts.

Garden Locust (Acanthacris ruficornis)

Found this nymph (lenght approx 4cm) feeding on a marjoram plant in my herb garden. I only noticed him between the green leaves when he started jumping around as I watered the plants.

Adult garden locusts are dark brown in colour with a midline cream stripe running from the thorax  to the  wings.  White and red spines are found on the hind tibea.

The best way to distinguish between adult males and females is to look at the shape of the tip of the abdomen. The tip of the male's abdomen is smooth and rounded, whilst the female's is jagged.

In some parts of Africa these locusts are considered a delicacy.

Magnificent Thunderstorm - 8 March 2011

Here's some photos I took of Tuesday evening's thunderstorm over Port Ellizabeth.  This was another first for me. 

I could barely contain my excitement when I heard the first few rumbles.  Stretch, our dog, saw us scrambling into 'his vehicle' and started to whine uncontrollably - so we decided to take him along for the ride.

We drove to a little koppie in Lovemore Heights, where we eagerly awaited mother nature's brilliant light display.  Within minutes it started to rain and white flashes could be seen all over the city. 

So, there I was camera in hand, no tripod and a plastic bag to protect one of my most prized possessions against the rain. 

It's really a shame that I selected the wrong settings for this type of photography - but I suppose the only way to learn is by making mistakes.

As the storm approached us Stretch got very agitated and we decided to return home. 

Not wanting to lose out on a good thunderstorm, I decided to take some photos from our porch.  Initially I thought that the angle would not be good enough, but I don't think it turned out too bad.

Taking these photos was an exhilarating experience - I felt lik a real life storm chaser!

Heard over the radio today that on 19 March 2011 the moon will make its closest approach to earth since 1993.  It was said to expect some extreme weather conditions and possible a few natural disasters such as eartquakes.

Although I really hope that the latter part of the predictions don't come true, I do hope for a clear sky so that I can attempt taking decent photos of the moon.