Classic arcade machines have a special place in my heart. Even though the halcyon years of my childhood occurred in the nineties, I was surrounded by the ephemera of the eighties. I cut my teeth on an Atari 2600, a Nintendo Entertainment System, and an Apple II. Pac-Man machines littered the landscape of the broader world. I would spot them in small restaurants, pizza joints, motels, movie theater lobbies, and mall arcades (of course). But the point is, they were just out there.

The past few evenings this October, conditions have been incredibly clear. I decided to try my hand at taking multiple photos of the same moon and stacking them in software to be able to bring out more detail than a single photo provides. I used Affinity Photo on MacOS to do this and am pleased with the result. I do not have the craziest equipment, and I like working within those limitations and seeing what I can manage. These were shot with a Pentax K-70 and a simple 55-300mm lens zoomed all the way to 300mm.

On October 10, 2024, in a rare event, the northern lights (aurora borealis) were visible in southeastern Pennsylvania. To the naked eye, in my somewhat light-polluted suburbs, you could discern a pinkish hue to the night sky. Cameras could reveal more, especially at longer exposures. When I realized what was going on, I grabbed my tripod and set up the Pentax. Here are some photos.

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