Pixilista
Full Moon Azimuth 101
We headed out to Arlington last night in hopes of getting few good shots of the "supermoon." According to the Nasa web site, the moon was in perigee, and would appear 14% larger in the sky. It was a clear night, mild weather, I had fresh batteries and a tripod - what could go wrong?
We arrived to find that there were many photographers present, and I'd say that most of us were lined up to take moonrise shots over the capital/mall. Much to our surprise, the moon came up well to the south of those landmarks, triggering a rush for better positions. I joined the rush, and I have to say it wasn't worth it. The moonrise is fleeting, and I never found a place that put the moon in a good location in relation to the monuments, and without unsightly foreground elements. In the end, I never got a good shot of the gorgeous moonrise (this shot was taken in a rush as I tried to find a good location and its blurry from tripod movement). So, it was an epic fail, but I did learn a few things which is why I'm posting the shot.
If you want to get a good idea of where the moonrise will be in relation to the monuments, you need to know the azimuth. This web page provides that information:
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=263&m...
We had a 97 degree azimuth on March 19, which means that the moon was 7 degrees south of due east.
On September 15, 2008, when I took this shot:
www.flickr.com/photos/33398879@N00/2860981291/
The azimuth was 86 degrees, four degrees north of due east.
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=263&m...
So, that's the lesson for me today. Assuming I'm not completely wrong about this, I'll probably be looking for a full moon azimuth between 85 and 90 degrees before heading to Arlington.
Hope this is helpful to some of the full moon photographers out there. It definitely helped me understand why last night didn't quite go as planned!
Full Moon Azimuth 101
We headed out to Arlington last night in hopes of getting few good shots of the "supermoon." According to the Nasa web site, the moon was in perigee, and would appear 14% larger in the sky. It was a clear night, mild weather, I had fresh batteries and a tripod - what could go wrong?
We arrived to find that there were many photographers present, and I'd say that most of us were lined up to take moonrise shots over the capital/mall. Much to our surprise, the moon came up well to the south of those landmarks, triggering a rush for better positions. I joined the rush, and I have to say it wasn't worth it. The moonrise is fleeting, and I never found a place that put the moon in a good location in relation to the monuments, and without unsightly foreground elements. In the end, I never got a good shot of the gorgeous moonrise (this shot was taken in a rush as I tried to find a good location and its blurry from tripod movement). So, it was an epic fail, but I did learn a few things which is why I'm posting the shot.
If you want to get a good idea of where the moonrise will be in relation to the monuments, you need to know the azimuth. This web page provides that information:
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=263&m...
We had a 97 degree azimuth on March 19, which means that the moon was 7 degrees south of due east.
On September 15, 2008, when I took this shot:
www.flickr.com/photos/33398879@N00/2860981291/
The azimuth was 86 degrees, four degrees north of due east.
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=263&m...
So, that's the lesson for me today. Assuming I'm not completely wrong about this, I'll probably be looking for a full moon azimuth between 85 and 90 degrees before heading to Arlington.
Hope this is helpful to some of the full moon photographers out there. It definitely helped me understand why last night didn't quite go as planned!