Tag: #moonset

Full Moon Sets at Sunrise

If you visit someplace scenic like a National Park for the Full Moon, you can look forward to a Moonset with gentle morning light on untouched Nature. That’s what we found on the morning of May 20 in Joshua Tree National Park. The Full Moon (95% full) looks brightest when the sky is still a bit dark, and a little bit of light on the landscape allows you to see the amazing landscape in the foreground. You will only have a few minutes to balance the darkness and the light for optimum effect.

The rising sun has lit the distant mountains and clouds but not the Joshua Tree in the foreground, which appears almost in silhouette. The low light reveals some detail in the highly textured tree, but makes it a strong visual element in the composition where the moon is the “star.” May 2019

Was your week wet or dry?

We have had a wet and stormy week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United States have endured worse — floods or even tornadoes. This late spring/early summer weather can be violent.

So, my mind is traveling back to last week in the dry high-altitude desert. We had cacti all around us in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. The Joshua trees themselves are as numerous as they are unique. This one, uniquely shaped, seemed to point toward the setting moon in the west.

Old Joshua Tree points toward the moon as it sets behind the mountains in Joshua Tree National Park, soon after sunrise in late May 2019. We were thankful for a clear day to enjoy some hiking.

Moonset on Mount Moran

My visit to Grand Teton National Park was well timed to coincide with the peak of fall foliage and the moonset as well. For every month, the full moon sets at virtually the same time that the sun rises. That singular morning is a great opportunity to capture the full moon close to the horizon while the sun has only gently lit the scene.

When I’m at home, the moon sets behind my neighbor’s house. The view is not at all comparable to the rugged peak of Mount Moran with fall foliage in the foreground. Traveling out West with a group of photographers gave me a better opportunity and the incentive I needed to wake up in the dark and venture outdoors in the cold.

#fullmoon, #grandtetonnationalpark, #nationalpark, #mountain, #foliage, #fallcolor, #september. #moonset, #sunrise, reflection, #snakeriver, #mountmoran, #mtmoran, #wakeup, #frozentoes, #landscapephotography
In the moments before sunrise, the full moon slid toward the horizon alongside Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park.

A large number of photographers gather along the shore of the Snake River at Oxbow Bend to take advantage of the possible reflections of the mountain, the trees and the moon in the water. As the sun rose, fog began to form and the wind blew it across the surface of the water. My fingers and toes turned to ice cubes before we finished the shoot, but the experience was worth it, especially in the company of friends.

 

 

Lovely Lunar Eclipse

The Moon, the Sun and the Earth, moving in concert, put on a fabulous show, and I am so grateful that the Clouds did not run interference. Clear skies over Naples on the Gulf of Mexico early on January 31, 2018 gave all of us at Vanderbilt Beach a great experience. I promised my friendly neighbors in the adventure a series of images shot with my Nikon D800 and Tamron 600mm lens, so here we go:

#bluemoon, #moon, #supermoon, #eclipse, #naples, #january31
About 6:25am the Supermoon of January 31 looks full, but the upper left portion begins to darken. Notice the detail on the moon’s surface.

#moon, #supermoon, #bluemoon, #lunareclipse, #eclipse, #naples, #photography, #astrophotography
Minutes later the dark portion of the moon grows, as the Earth blocks more of the sun. The moon also appears more orange.

#moon, #supermoon, #bluemoon, #january31, #photography, #astrophotography, #eclipse, #lunareclipse
The dark region and the orange glow continue to grow as the lunar eclipse approaches its peak.

#moon, #eclipse, #moonset, #bluemoon, #supermoon, #lunareclipse, #naples, #photography, #astrophotography, #tamron, #nikon
The eclipsed moon descends toward the horizon over the Gulf of Mexico.

#moon, #moonset, #gulf, #naples, #lunareclipse, #eclipse, #dawn, #supermoon, #bluemoon, #itsover, #photography, #astrophotography, #nikon, #tamron
As the dawn approaches and the sky lightens and turns pink, we catch our last glimpse of the lunar eclipse before the moon has set over the Gulf.

In a short thirty-minute observation, our adventure was over.

If you enjoyed this series of photographs, please share this blog with your friends. There will be more moon, wildlife, nature and landscape photography to come! Prints of higher resolution images are available for sale via Cathy’s website: www.cathykellyphotography.com or by emailing Cathy your request at cathykellyphotography@gmail.com.