Last Earthshine Moon of 2021

A photo composite of multiple exposures. From the photographer: “The Penna furnace is a fantastic example of industrial architecture. It was a brick factory according to the Hoffmann technology of the sixteen-chamber kilns. It was built as a consequence of the earthquake that struck the city of Messina in 1908 and the consequent request for manufacturing materials necessary for the reconstruction. The work was supervised in its realization by Eng. Ignazio Emmolo who went to Germany to acquire the technical information necessary for the construction of the furnace. The factory stands on two rows of mullioned windows, among which the brick chimney with a stone base stands out. It is located in the Sicilian landscape at the beach of Sampieri not far from its clay quarry and the railway station. Unfortunately, the furnace only operated for 14 years when it was destroyed by a fire whose nature is still unclear. It was not rebuilt and today remains a testimony of industrial archeology waiting to be recovered.

When I went there I wanted to shoot the last Sickle Moon of 2021 and I hoped the furnace was easily distinguishable in the landscape. Instead, not only was the furnace not illuminated by artificial ambient light (which is actually good) but above the surface of the sea there was a thick layer of moisture due to the dispersion of tiny particles of sea water. This fog acted as a photographic filter by reducing the contrast of the image which was returned with a color balance tending to sepia. I was blown away by the final result! I was admiring a postcard from a bygone era that seemed to want to honor the spirit of the place. The sickle moon, illuminated for only 6.1% and risen in the constellation of Scorpio between the star Dschubba (right) and the stars Jabhat Acrabi I and II (left), finally gave a further element of charm to the final composition.”

Technical details: Canon 6d, Sigma 150-600mm @500mm , landscape: single, 120 sec, iso 400, f/8 , Moon: stack of 50 shots, 1 sec, iso 6400, f/6.3