Moon me!

The full Super Moon of September 17th is known as the Harvest Moon and the Blood Moon. 

I've missed quite a few moon rises this year because I just didn't feel like going up to the ridge to wait on the moonrise. 

This was my first glimpse of the moon after it came up out of the river mists from the valley below.

I stopped on my way home...

I don't know if there was smoke in the air or what, but it sure was orange at first! Perhaps this is how it earns the 'Blood Moon' moniker.

I was determined to stay up and see the partial eclipse. I've done moon eclipses before and over the years I struggled with photographing it. 

Practice, practice, and practice helps. So I gave it another go.

I took some stages of the moon and then overlayed them on one black background to try to simulate what I saw over an hour. The shots started at 9:00 PM and went through until about 10:15 PM.

This morning's moon was surrounded slightly by a hazy sky but I took one last shot of it anyway...

It was like a dance

with the sun and the clouds.

The sky was clear in the morning and the clouds swiftly moved in along with cold winds. I was going to go to the Reserve to watch the eclipse and enjoy some peaceful quite time. I decided that with the heavy clouds, I'd stay home.

After all, if the clouds were going to obscure a partial eclipse, so be it. At least I could go in the house and warm up.

I set one camera up to do a time lapse, it took shots every few minutes. It lasts all of 3 seconds. You can see the conditions for the big eclipse.

I started the time lapse at 12:30 our time and until about 2pm. These photos were taken 5 minutes apart.

The heavy clouds presented an issue in that only once in a while would the sun get momentarily bright enough to see through the camera. The NOAA reported our area with an 81% cloud cover, so it was a great challenge.

My Camera Assistant. Little Richard.

It was great when we caught a bit of a break.

This is what I saw through the flip screen on my OM-5. I used a solar filter I'd purchased years ago and unless the sun was peeking out, the screen was black. That is part of what made it so challenging. The other part was being able to twist like a pretzel to re-aim the camera to track the sun when it glimpsed at me.

These were the shots I picked out of the many I tried.

By this point I was just starting to get the hang of catching the sun with the camera. I had to search for a bright spot and then zoom out and zoom in. When I found the sun again, it was sometimes so breathtaking with the cloud movement that I nearly forgot to hit the shutter.

At times the clouds were moving so fast across the sun that the exposure was up to a few seconds. Then the clouds blurred. I felt like Mother Nature was doing a painting just for me.

By the time it reached its peak, I decided to bug out and go inside to warm up. I was SO cold! I had been wearing my heavy coveralls and a stocking cap. My hands were ice.

I was not disappointed at all though. The cloud cover made it a huge challenge and also made the event in my opinion much more beautiful than stark photos of a crescent in the sky.

When I got in the house, I grabbed a blanket and a pillow and headed for the bedroom for a warm up nap. 

I'm going to remember this day for a long time. The work at getting the shots was a bit brutal with the weather [cold and windy] and the clouds. I spent from noon to 2:15 when the moon was moving past the sun outside.

Yep, that dance was worth it!

The Annular Solar Eclipse 2021

Yes, I studied for this one because I'd had such good luck with the partial moon eclipse so I thought.

Why not?

I used a free online app to help me decide where to go.

After trying several spots with the little pin, I also used Google Maps to read the height of each of my prospective areas. I knew the rock where I'd shot the moon earlier wouldn't work as there was no clear place to photograph from without trees and a steep drop off.

I drove to the areas at sunrise the day before to scope it out. Lucky for me, there are a few good spots on the ridge yet that allow a decent view. That will change once the corn is 8 ft tall.

I settled on a place that I have used often. I also knew that the owners of the land near where I parked wouldn't get excited when they saw my vehicle there. They are used to me parking near their cattle pen before dawn. 

I brought some friends to watch with me. I had a watch party.

[Well, no one else was willing to get up early and go with me....]

At least they were quiet. I told them not to look at the sun directly. I did grab my sunglasses out of the car but Bear kept dropping them off his face.

Rabbit said they tipped him over.

I've always wanted to do a little thing like this...Pointing UP☝

It is a series of shots through a solar camera filter. ND 100000. 

The other shots were neat also, as you can see the details of the land where I was taking the photos.

Another member of the audience:

Just above an old homestead.

And then what we all were waiting for.

The Annular Solar Partial Eclipse of 2021.

My friends were gleeful and properly awed.

We wrapped up and went home.

It started for us at 5:26 and ended at 5:39 AM.

I am glad I put the extra effort into figuring out where and when I would be and that the weather actually cooperated with me.

Is it too early to plan for a partial Lunar eclipse in November of this year???