Well; wonder of wonders...looks like April will be clear enough to shoot the full moon during sunrise. In the last eight years, the April event has been clouded over; except for one year! As you probably are aware, the best time to shoot a setting moon right at sunrise (at least here with high mountains in the west) is April and October.
Tonight is technically "full moon", but generally, one can get away with shooting it up to two days after "full" and it still looks pretty round. The best day this month will be this Sunday 4/16. Sunrise is about 6:21 am and moonset is about 7:41 am. This places it high enough to be useful in a variety of settings (sorry for the pun) - and on a Sunday morning, no less!
Saturday morning may work, as well; but the moon will be a little lower at sunrise. Those of you with high mountains may lose it before the sun makes it up. On Saturday, sunrise is about 6:23 am and moonset is about 7:08 am.
So let's see how creative we can be - - post your best shot here!
Ken
Posted by Jon Leibowitz on April 14, 2006 at 12:40 AM
I have an idea....This should be fun!
Posted by Brian Jackson on April 14, 2006 at 12:47 AM
Funny you should say. I took this from my house tonight.
Nice shot Brian! It seems so very sharp! What do you use to support the lens? Any special technique you used to prevent vibration?
Ken
Posted by Brian Jackson on April 14, 2006 at 11:42 AM
Actually nothing special. I think I could get it sharper as I don't have a cable release for my camera yet and I can't use the mirror flap up function. I do notice a slight vibration when the shutter is released. Right now I'm just using the timer in place of the cable.
I'm gonna be in the Garden of the Moonset Sunday I may do Saturday too!
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 14, 2006 at 4:14 PM
As you probably are aware, the best time to shoot a setting moon right at sunrise (at least here with high mountains in the west) is April and October.
What the Sam Hill are you talking about? April and October are no better for shooting a setting moon than any other month. Just do it a day or two after full moon and you'll get a shot of a setting moon at sunrise. Conversely, a day or two before full, you can shoot it rising at sunset. If you mean the moon sets generally straight west in April or October, since that's near both equinoxes, that still doesn't exclude any other month, it just means the moon sets some degrees farther north or south, depending on the season. It never sets so far off of true west to be anywhere near unusable in a photo.
BTW, another CNPer and I were at the Garden this morning. The moon set behind the mountains before the sun came up, as expected, but tomorrow and Sunday will be good, position-wise. As for weather-wise, I'm skeptical about tomorrow.
Posted by Tony Bouchard on April 14, 2006 at 7:06 PM
How does Monday look? My wife says no to photos on Easter Sunday.
Posted by Jon Leibowitz on April 14, 2006 at 7:24 PM
OK, I have a silly question. I have never shot a moonset before. I was planning on shooting somewhere south on 93 between Boulder and Golden (closer to the Boulder though). If I'm in the area and look directly west, is that where the moon will be or will it be much more north?
Posted by Mark Stahlke on April 14, 2006 at 8:34 PM
Hi Jon,
You can calculate the time and azimuth (compass direction) of sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset for any date at any location here.
Cheers,
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 14, 2006 at 9:11 PM
Or, since the moon will still be up in the sky, you can just look at it to determine where it is. Then, figuring it will set in a slightly rightward direction (rather than straight down), you can drive/walk until the moon is about where you want it, albeit slightly to the left, and wait for it to set. Azimuth figures in when you're watching for it to rise, since you can't see it and need to know when and where it'll pop over the horizon.
On the day of the full moon, the best way to find the moon is to simply turn your back on the setting sun, and watch the moon rise directly opposite the setting sun. On the other hand, on the days following the full moon, the setting moon will move a little closer to true west. In other words, in June, when the sun is rising and setting at its northernmost azimuth, the moon is to the south, and will move north for the days following the full moon, until new moon, when it heads back south. Conversely, in winter, when the sun sets in the south, the full moon rises in the north and moves south after the full moon.
Of course, when all else fails, just remember that when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.
Todd stated "Of course, when all else fails, just remember that when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars."
My good friend Todd:
After a 5D college concert, I was invited to spend an hour or so on a band bus in Rolla MO, 1969. Marilyn McCoo was the inviter and I was the invitee and I was totally enthralled. I will never forget that! That woman was WAY COOL! Oh yeh, the concert was good too.
I have some 5D B&W pics of her in a scrap book somewhere because my best friend was on the college newspaper staff.
Hi Todd, regarding your question on April/October...
April and October are no better for shooting a setting moon than any other month. Just do it a day or two after full moon and you'll get a shot of a setting moon at sunrise. Conversely, a day or two before full, you can shoot it rising at sunset. If you mean the moon sets generally straight west in April or October, since that's near both equinoxes, that still doesn't exclude any other month, it just means the moon sets some degrees farther north or south, depending on the season. It never sets so far off of true west to be anywhere near unusable in a photo.
You're right, of course. What I mean, after doing a study some years ago, was that the moon height seems maximized at sunrise during those two months compared with other months. This is important when shooting towards mountains that are situated west of you. Maybe I need to redo the study just to make sure?
I'm also a little skeptical about Saturday am, because we're likely to have cloud cover as we did today. At the very least, we may get nice colors on the rocks. Sunday is expected to be clear.
Well, Saturday morning was fantastic, but not for the moon. I went up to my usual spot at Hwy 128 & McCaslin hoping to catch the setting moon at sunrise. No moon though - not sure if it was the cloud clover that was hiding it or if the ridculously strong wind blew it out of the sky...
I did get what looks to be a couple of promising pics while wrestling with wind and rain. I posted them in a separate thread. It was definitely a spectacular morning. I'll take this over clear skies any day (although a little less wind wouldn't hurt my feelings) .
Saturday morning was better than expected, as others have pointed out. No moon due to the clouds, though. However, the light on the Garden of the Gods formations was something else! I've posted a couple shots in a separate listing. It wasn't near as windy down south here, but it really picked up as I headed back up Ute Pass - just about blew us all off the road!
Met Bob and Josh at the parking area and ended up having to move way north to position the moon over the rocks. The sunrise was pretty diffused due to moisture in the sky, so we didn't get the deep reds as we did yesterday. Here's my contribution from this morning - "Kissing Camels with Full Moon". Note the composition hides the fact the moon is not quite full. Average shooting this morning, but the company was worth it!
Discussion
15 repliesTonight is technically "full moon", but generally, one can get away with shooting it up to two days after "full" and it still looks pretty round. The best day this month will be this Sunday 4/16. Sunrise is about 6:21 am and moonset is about 7:41 am. This places it high enough to be useful in a variety of settings (sorry for the pun) - and on a Sunday morning, no less!
Saturday morning may work, as well; but the moon will be a little lower at sunrise. Those of you with high mountains may lose it before the sun makes it up. On Saturday, sunrise is about 6:23 am and moonset is about 7:08 am.
So let's see how creative we can be - - post your best shot here!
Ken
500mm + 1.4x
Brian
Ken
Nikon D200 Sigma 50-500mm + 1.4x TC Manfrotto Tripod
Thanks for the comment.
Brian
What the Sam Hill are you talking about? April and October are no better for shooting a setting moon than any other month. Just do it a day or two after full moon and you'll get a shot of a setting moon at sunrise. Conversely, a day or two before full, you can shoot it rising at sunset. If you mean the moon sets generally straight west in April or October, since that's near both equinoxes, that still doesn't exclude any other month, it just means the moon sets some degrees farther north or south, depending on the season. It never sets so far off of true west to be anywhere near unusable in a photo.
BTW, another CNPer and I were at the Garden this morning. The moon set behind the mountains before the sun came up, as expected, but tomorrow and Sunday will be good, position-wise. As for weather-wise, I'm skeptical about tomorrow.
You can calculate the time and azimuth (compass direction) of sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset for any date at any location here.
Cheers,
On the day of the full moon, the best way to find the moon is to simply turn your back on the setting sun, and watch the moon rise directly opposite the setting sun. On the other hand, on the days following the full moon, the setting moon will move a little closer to true west. In other words, in June, when the sun is rising and setting at its northernmost azimuth, the moon is to the south, and will move north for the days following the full moon, until new moon, when it heads back south. Conversely, in winter, when the sun sets in the south, the full moon rises in the north and moves south after the full moon.
Of course, when all else fails, just remember that when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.
My good friend Todd:
After a 5D college concert, I was invited to spend an hour or so on a band bus in Rolla MO, 1969. Marilyn McCoo was the inviter and I was the invitee and I was totally enthralled. I will never forget that! That woman was WAY COOL! Oh yeh, the concert was good too.
I have some 5D B&W pics of her in a scrap book somewhere because my best friend was on the college newspaper staff.
You're right, of course. What I mean, after doing a study some years ago, was that the moon height seems maximized at sunrise during those two months compared with other months. This is important when shooting towards mountains that are situated west of you. Maybe I need to redo the study just to make sure?
I'm also a little skeptical about Saturday am, because we're likely to have cloud cover as we did today. At the very least, we may get nice colors on the rocks. Sunday is expected to be clear.
Regards, Ken
I did get what looks to be a couple of promising pics while wrestling with wind and rain. I posted them in a separate thread. It was definitely a spectacular morning. I'll take this over clear skies any day (although a little less wind wouldn't hurt my feelings)
Ken
Ken