Moon, Mercury, and Venus

I climbed the hill, camera and tripod in tow, to see what I could see Saturday night.  The late afternoon had gained a pall of overcast, and I figured it would be just my luck that an otherwise clear day would gauze over at sunset and hide the conjunction of inner planets and the moon Yet Another Night.

I crested the hill and ... nothing.  Some sanguine clouds hung in an otherwise featureless sky over the darkening hills of the southern end of the Willamette Valley. 

I scanned the skies and saw one of the thinnest crescent moons I've ever seen in my life:  a whisker thin bend a shade lighter than the darkening blue-beige sky. 


Finally!  I set up the tripod, and discovered the camera was loose.  I fiddled with the knob on the tripod that tightens the mounting screw--there was a snap, and the camera came off the tripod in my hands.  A small, rectangular plate was still attached to the screw, and there was a corresponding hole in the bottom of the camera's plastic body, through which I could see the barrel of the lens and sensor mechanism. 

I rested my hand on top of the tripod, focused the camera on the Moon, and took a photo.  The camera seemed to be working, even with a hole in it.  I took a few more photos, during which a smudge of a cloud moved and unveiled Venus.

I knew Mercury would be above Venus, and took a few more photos before locating it.  I figured that if I kept the shutter speed at or faster than 1/20th of a second, I'd be able to hold the camera steady enough for sharp pictures. 

I don't know what I'm going to do with the camera.  The plastic has fatigued around the metal socket where there mounting screw goes; obviously, the weight of the fully extended lens combined with me tightening the screw extra tight was too much for the plastic parts.  I've briefly read about camera clamp mounts, which might necessitate purchasing a whole new tripod.  For now, I've covered the hole with tape to keep out bugs, dirt, moisture, and hair.