Comet Tsunchinshan and Anza Borrego Sculptures
“The comet’s tail spills over the night, and the Earth opens its eye and we see.” -Mark Strand
So there’s a comet currently in our night sky called “Tsunchinshan.” It is a catchy name. I’ve shot the comet Neowise when it was gracing us earthlings with its presence in 2020, though that wasn’t my intention when I went out that night, it just happened to be hanging out.
Comet Neowise -2020
When I heard about Tsunchinshan being visible to the naked eye, I thought, “That’s cool,” but wasn’t terribly excited about photographing it. Then I found out it would fade fast after this week due to the relative position of the sun, and suddenly, I had a serious case of FOMO. After seeing some amazing shots on Instagram, I figured, why not? So off to Anza Borrego I went with fellow photographer Gabe.
Lately, I haven’t been that amped to go out shooting. I’m not sure why, but this trip didn’t exactly light a fire under me either. And honestly, I don’t think I captured the comet in an interesting way. It was high in the sky, making it tough to frame with something compelling in the foreground. Then the moon came up and washed away all the stars, the Milky Way, and, sadly, the comet. But in the end, it didn’t really matter.
The evening out there in Borrego Springs was perfect—not too hot, not too cold. As the sun slipped away, the comet appeared, and blue hour lingered like a whispered secret, refusing to fade until the moon forced it’s hand. In the end, it wasn’t about the photos—it was about the quiet magic of simply being there, beneath that endless sky.
Tsunchinshan Comet
Here’s some other photos taken:
