Hello Hello Hivians
There are sensible reasons to be wandering around Kirkcaldy staring at the sky.
Coming home from a weekend at Yarndale is one.
Running to the shop because Mrs T needs bread for her work sandwiches the next day is another.
Apparently, both are also excellent excuses for me to stop in the middle of the street and point my phone at the fluffing Moon π
These photos have a little extra significance too.
They are probably my last proper Moon photographs taken with my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
In a few days I should have the new Google Pixel 11 Pro XL in my hands ... and one of the main reasons for upgrading is the improved camera and in particular, the extra zoom capability.
So consider this the Pixel 9 Pro XL's...
Final Lunar Audition. π
No tripod ... No elaborate astrophotography setup ... No telescope.
Just me, a phone and the highly sophisticated photographic technique known as:
Hold your breath and try not to wobble your fluffing hands too much!
Sunday 27 September β home from Yarndale
We had been away for the weekend at Yarndale down in Yorkshire and I was making my way home through Kirkcaldy after getting back from the train station.
It was around 9:40pm, and naturally I looked up.
The Moon was fighting its way through the clouds.
Which meant there was absolutely no chance I was simply going to walk home like a normal person.
Phone out and Zoom engaged.
Mrs T probably not wondering where I had disappeared to. as I have been doing this for years when we are walking...
Photo 1
I really like this one because it is much more than simply a photograph of the Moon.
You've got the dark house below, the trees almost disappearing into silhouette and then that bright Moon trying to burst through the clouds.
It's very atmospheric.
Very gothic.
Very...
"Something terrible definitely happened in that house in 1897."
In reality somebody was probably sitting inside watching Netflix with a cup of tea, with a very large elderly fluffing cute English bulldog at their feet. I know as I meet them frequently going or returning from his walk..
Photo 2
A little closer.
The clouds were constantly moving, so the scene changed every few seconds.
A perfectly clear Moon is beautiful.
But put clouds around it and suddenly the Moon starts behaving like it has been cast as the lead character in a BBC crime drama.
Photo 3
Then I started zooming.
Because obviously I did.
At this point the house had been dismissed from photographic duties.
We were concentrating entirely on the main attraction.
And considering this was shot handheld on a phone, I was pretty impressed with the detail.
My tripod for this photograph was:
Left hand + right hand + DON'T MOVE.
Very technical!!!
Photo 4
One more close-up before I finally continued home.
I actually like the slight haze and cloud around it.
It isn't an observatory photograph.
It isn't taken with several thousand pounds worth of camera equipment.
It is simply:
an auld bloke standing in Kirkcaldy holding his phone very, very still.
I'll take it. π
Monday 28 September β The Great Bread Emergency π₯
Fast-forward to the following evening.
Around 7pm, I was given an extremely important mission.
Mrs T needed bread for her sandwiches at work on Tuesday.
There was no bread... I either went now or at 6am and get them made before the taxi picks her up at 6.42am..,
Therefore I became
Emergency Bread Procurement Officer.
A position carrying enormous responsibility.
Naturally, while walking to the shop I looked down the street...
...and immediately forgot about the bread.
Because sitting at the end of the road was this.
Photo 5
What a difference one evening makes.
Sunday's Moon had been white, cold and hiding behind clouds.
Monday's Moon had apparently spent the day on holiday somewhere warm.
It was a gorgeous orange colour and sitting low over the houses.
Even from this distance it looked enormous.
Photo 6
Obviously I zoomed in.
Again.
And this is where the orange colour really started to show.
This is also precisely the kind of photograph that makes me think:
"Do I really need a new phone?"
Followed roughly three seconds later by:
"Yes. Obviously. Imagine this with even MORE zoom."
π
Photo 7
This may be one of my favourites from the whole set. I had walked a whole whopping 70 yards to the next junction...
I love how the street leads your eye directly towards the Moon.
Streetlights.
Trees.
Houses.
Cars.
Then this huge fluffing orange ball casually sitting at the end of the road.
Sometimes you don't need mountains, waterfalls or exotic travel locations for a photograph.
Sometimes you just need ...
A trip to the shop for a loaf of fluffing bread π
Photo 8
Then the trees started framing it beautifully.
This is when I started doing that thing phone photographers do...
Hold the phone.
Zoom.
Hold your breath.
Move half an inch.
No, that's worse.
Move back.
STOP MOVING.
Take picture.
π
And still no tripod.
Photo 9
And this is probably my favourite close shot from Monday.
That beautiful orange Moon framed by the dark leaves, with the streetlight sitting underneath it.
It almost looks staged.
It wasn't.
I was still technically on a bread-buying mission.
I actually had a guy come up to me saying that was a small hole for the moon you could just see it. I then proceeded to explain it was a great hole as the bush surround the hole and you could see the moon framed perfectly! He got it and went away impressed!
For anybody concerned about the important part of this story...
The bread was successfully acquired.
Mrs T's Tuesday sandwiches were saved.
Civilisation continued.
Farewell Pixel 9 Pro XL ππ±
These may well be my final proper Moon photographs with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
And to be fair to it, the camera has been brilliant.
Especially considering my normal photographic planning consists of ...
"Oooh... look at THAT!"
...followed by pulling the phone out of my pocket.
Birds.
Sunsets.
Buildings.
The sea.
And apparently now Moons encountered while buying groceries.
But in a few days the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL arrives.
One of the biggest reasons I'm upgrading is the camera β particularly what Google is promising with the improved zoom.
Which means there is really only one sensible thing to do when the next decent Moon appears...
Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Pixel 11 Pro XL Moon Test ππ±
Same photographer.
Same questionable handheld technique.
More zoom.
What could possibly go wrong?
This is purely scientific research, obviously.
Nothing whatsoever to do with me enjoying pointing phones at the Moon.
Definitely not.
Which one is your favourite?
For me I'm torn between:
Photo 1 β for the atmosphere.
Photo 7 β for the whole street leading towards the Moon.
Photo 9 β for that gorgeous big orange Moon.
Which one would you pick?
And perhaps the most important question of all...
Would you have remembered the bread? π
All photographs taken handheld in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
No tripods were harmed β or indeed used β in the making of this post.
Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!
All images and ramblings are from me with some verbage only added by a chat with chatgpt, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated. All photos captured with my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL on Sunday 27th September and Monday September 28th 2026 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. @tengolotodo October 2nd 2026
