01/06/2026
The phrase "Once in a Blue Moon" means a miracle that happens extremely rarely. For me, this May Blue Moon in Swakopmund became exactly that moment of personal reset. As a photographer, I have spent many years catching eternity. As someone with a medical and marketing past, I know what burnout is, the sensation of time standing still, and the search for a new path.
On the eve of publishing this photo, I felt the urge to write a parable about finding focus, about the two worlds existing in one heart, and about how sometimes you have to lower the camera to see the road itself...
The Fairy Tale of the Blue Moon
In a distant coastal kingdom, on the very edge of the inhabited world, where the sand dunes meet the cold waves of the ocean, there lived a princess. She did not rule lands, and she wore no crown; her magic was of another kind: she had the gift of catching time. With the help of a wondrous glass, she knew how to capture the things that others ran past. More than anything in the world, she loved to look at the sky. In this coastal kingdom, everyone knew her as the Moon Hunter.
Once upon a time, her path had led her from blooming lands to this kingdom of sands and winds. And everything in her life was harmonious, until one day, her home kingdom was attacked by an evil dragon.
On that black day, the princess's heart was shattered. She herself remained safe, on the far shore by the ocean, but her soul flew to where the fire raged. For her, time came to a standstill. The days turned into a colorless existence. She walked the streets, but she felt like a transparent ghost. The only consolation remained the moon - after all, it was the same one, hanging over both kingdoms.
The princess continued to go out to the road at the edge of the city to catch the moonlight. But her gift, which used to bring joy, began to feel like a heavy burden. She spent her last strength trying to hold the vanishing radiance in her glass, but this light no longer warmed her from within. The princess was tired. Her castle held many other treasures. She knew the secrets of healing herbs, knew how to draw maps, manage affairs and create beauty, but all of this lay gathering dust in chests while she unsuccessfully tried to warm herself with the cold moonlight by the side of the road.
And then one day, a miracle happened, the kind they call Once in a Blue Moon, when hope is almost gone.
On a night in May, a rare Blue Moon rose over the road. It was huge, unreal, and... entirely pink. It stood so low that it seemed like you could touch it. It pointed the way. The princess aimed her wondrous glass, froze... and suddenly realized that this moon had not come to be caught.
The Blue Moon was shining personally for her. In its radiance, the princess clearly heard the voice of her native home: "You are not betraying us when you breathe. You are not betraying us when you live. Your strength is needed by this world. Stop standing on the roadside of time." At that very moment on the horizon, exactly beneath the moon, a rescue brougham appeared.
The princess gently lowered her wondrous glass. She did not renounce her gift, for it is impossible to stop loving what one was born with. But she decided that she would no longer run after the moon in an attempt to hide from reality.
She returned to her castle, opened the old chests with the treasures that had waited so long for their hour. And then she understood: her magic lens was just one way to capture a moment. But the road called to step forward and become part of the movement again.
And the Blue Moon remained as a sign that miracles happen precisely when we decide to stop being observers and become participants in the journey.
