Winter solstice... the longest night of the year.. a time for calling back the sun. This time of winter is one I relish. It means that the days will grow longer bit by bit. Oh it will take some time yet before it is noticeable but I know it's coming. This year something unusual happened.. a lunar eclipse at the same time. That has not happened for over 400 yrs.I really wanted to get a good photo of it. But there were some technical difficulties I hadn't counted on... #1. COLD.. well I did think it might be cold but I wasn't really prepared for -27 . After standing around in that I came in to get more cloths.. difficulty #2 When I came in my lens fogged up.. it took a while to get it defogged. ( more standing in the cold) But I would have to say the worst by far was the fact that the moon was so high in the sky that my tripod kept tipping over.. Every time this happened I had would hold my breath as I inspected my equipment for damage and cleaned the snow off. This also made a cranky photographer . I soon resorted to leaning against a building and hand holding my camera. Well at least leaning against the building cut the wind. Hand holding during long exposures is not a good idea. I took over 200 photos and this is the best one. Well I guess I will know better next time.. 450 yrs from now.
P.S. It was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
very good. We saw it too but not because we set the alarm, but because we knew our dogs would be up numerous times during the night so we got to see most of the phases including the reddish. I didn't even attempt to get dressed or try and capture it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane,
ReplyDeleteIf I had been smart I would have set an alarm, but noooo I chose to stay up. It's times like these when I think wistfully about how it was to be young.