Jelieta Walinski
Walinski+Jelieta_LunarArc_Panorama
Moonrise to Moonset — A 13-Hour Lunar Arc Over Montezuma Pass, Arizona
Beneath the crisp November sky, I spent the entire night at Montezuma Pass, a high mountain saddle rising 6,575 feet within the Coronado National Memorial of southern Arizona. From this ridge, where the views sweep unobstructed from east to west—across the San Pedro River Valley to the San Rafael grasslands—the Moon’s entire voyage could unfold before me. It’s a place steeped in history; once part of the 16th-century route of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado’s expedition, Montezuma Pass stands today as a meeting point of cultures, borders, and sky-island ranges—a perfect stage for the ancient rhythm of the Moon.
As twilight faded, the Full Beaver Moon began its ascent at 5:31 PM (Nov 4). From that moment, I began recording one frame every 20 minutes, patiently continuing through 13 hours and 9 minutes until the Moon set at 6:40 AM (Nov 5). Using my Canon 1DX Mark II with an 800 mm lens, I followed the Moon’s silent journey—forty stills capturing its glow through shifting hues and altitudes.
To preserve the spirit of the land, I used my Canon 5DS with a fisheye lens to photograph two wide panoramas, creating a 180-degree landscape of Montezuma Pass. Later, I stitched the panoramas in PTGui, crafting a single vast canvas onto which each of the 40 Moon frames was carefully placed along its natural celestial arc. Subtle contrast and sharpening in Photoshop brought the scene to life—crisp ridgelines, deep desert silence, and the Moon’s timeless path bridging night to dawn.
Walinski+Jelieta_LunarArc_Panorama
Moonrise to Moonset — A 13-Hour Lunar Arc Over Montezuma Pass, Arizona
Beneath the crisp November sky, I spent the entire night at Montezuma Pass, a high mountain saddle rising 6,575 feet within the Coronado National Memorial of southern Arizona. From this ridge, where the views sweep unobstructed from east to west—across the San Pedro River Valley to the San Rafael grasslands—the Moon’s entire voyage could unfold before me. It’s a place steeped in history; once part of the 16th-century route of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado’s expedition, Montezuma Pass stands today as a meeting point of cultures, borders, and sky-island ranges—a perfect stage for the ancient rhythm of the Moon.
As twilight faded, the Full Beaver Moon began its ascent at 5:31 PM (Nov 4). From that moment, I began recording one frame every 20 minutes, patiently continuing through 13 hours and 9 minutes until the Moon set at 6:40 AM (Nov 5). Using my Canon 1DX Mark II with an 800 mm lens, I followed the Moon’s silent journey—forty stills capturing its glow through shifting hues and altitudes.
To preserve the spirit of the land, I used my Canon 5DS with a fisheye lens to photograph two wide panoramas, creating a 180-degree landscape of Montezuma Pass. Later, I stitched the panoramas in PTGui, crafting a single vast canvas onto which each of the 40 Moon frames was carefully placed along its natural celestial arc. Subtle contrast and sharpening in Photoshop brought the scene to life—crisp ridgelines, deep desert silence, and the Moon’s timeless path bridging night to dawn.