No, that's not as typo in the title! I follow a lot of photographers on Google+; it's a great place for them to showcase their work. That includes photographers who make time lapse videos, and one of them is Maik Thomas. Maik posted a still frame from a time lapse he made last year, showing the Moon rising into the view. Mist had condensed onto the lens, giving the picture an odd, well, mystical look! Intrigued, I clicked through to the video, and although it's short, it's really quite lovely.

[embed width="610"]http://vimeo.com/14701213[/embed]

[Make sure it's HD, and make it full screen for the full effect.]

I love how, about ten seconds in, the water condenses on the lens and the stars all get halos. Then the Moon moves into view, and the droplets act like little lenses themselves, creating those tendrils that move and flow as the Moon rises. As an astronomer, I know that when your optics get misted over, you're done: unless you can evaporate the water off, your observations won't be any good anymore (that happened to me observing for my Masters degree, and it was pretty aggravating). But as a photographer, going not just for accuracy but for beauty, it can be a blessing in disguise. Maik has many really wonderful photos posted on the site 500 px

, so check them out.

Credit: Maik Thomas