Just as I was closing the curtains in my bedroom before going to bed at around 10:30 tonight I noticed that the clouds were blowing away leaving a crystal clear sky and the Moon shining brightly. Having been waiting for just such a night for ages so as to take a photograph of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History by moonlight I gathered my camera and tripod and drove into town.

Now, until today there have been lots of 6′ high steel fences around the front of the museum ever since the morning after the gales a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the workmen have left the day-glow orange fence around the lawn in front of the museum. Still, this may be the last time this year when the conditions are right (clear sky and a moon high in the sky and in the west during semi-civilised hours) this year so I had to take the chance.

I took 13 shots in the end, varying the focus (as it was too dark for the auto-focus) and the exposure. I think this, the last one is probably the best of the crop. What do you think?…

Updated
I’ve updated the image to a version after changing the colour balance and slightly cropping it.