Full Moon Along I-25

I was looking out the window from work and saw that some great looking clouds were rolling in over the Sandias. As soon as I got home and kissed my wife hello, I grabbed my camera gear and headed out the door. I thought I would shoot off of I-25, between Albuquerque and Bernalillo because it was late and I didn't want to drive far or have to hike. I've seen some beautiful views driving along this section of highway but have never really liked any images I've shot from this area, partly because Rincon Ridge hides most of the real Sandias, and it's just too difficult locating decent places to shoot in high speed traffic but I thought I would try again tonight. It's not easy flying down the freeway at 70 mph with cars on your tail, looking for a good view and a safe place to pull over and be safe shooting. By the time I would find a place I had already passed it. I managed to pull over but the angle was not very good, the clouds had all but blown away so I waited for a break in traffic and got back on the interstate and headed to Bernalillo to turn around. The sun had already set and I was just going to head back home but the moon was rising over the mountains and the twilight colors were beckoning so I began looking for another place to pull over, this time going the opposite way. I had to locate a hillside I could climb up to have a clear shot across four lanes of fast moving traffic.
The wind was blowing and exposures were long, over 3.5 sec at F11 so getting a clean, sharp photo was not a guarantee. I couldn't see well to focus so I set my focus to "Infinity" and did the best I could to keep the camera and tripod steady in the wind.

These are different images than anything I've shot before. Even though it seems like the shoot is not going to be productive, I usually come back with something worthwhile, even if it's not what I was originally after.

The streaming lights in the foreground of this photo are vehicle headlights and taillights as they pass by on the interstate during the long exposure. I shot a couple this way just for fun.

To see more Sandia photos please visit my website at http://www.howardholley.com/