One Big Bright Moon!
OK, OK, OK, so I know everyone and their brother has posted photos of the 2018 Super Blue Blood Moon. I held off a week doing my blog about it so that you could recover from all the super moon posts! Who would I be tho if I didn't blog about it right?
So, unlike the usual organized person I can be, I waited until the last minute to even scout out a location. By last minute I mean the morning before the big "event". I narrowed it down to three spots. All of them at Whiskeytown. The first one was down by the watercurtain. Another was at the Visitor's Center. The last one was at the dam. I chose the watercurtain area.
So Niki and I get down to the watercurtain around 4 a.m. I kind of thought that Mike would go with me. You know, because we aren't going to have this trifecta phenomenon again for like 150 years! But alas, he chose to stay home and keep the bed warm. Whatever. I didn't care if I got any great shots, I just wanted to witness this thing. I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about!
I came armed with Mike's camera which can zoom in, ALOT, and I brought my camera which zooms in a smidgen. Not knowing this camera of Mike's I practiced a bit at home so I would have the hang of it. I actually liked a couple of my test shots. Go figure.
So onto the making of my supermoon photo. Let me start by saying it was freezing! There was a slight breeze. Teeth chattering breeze. I asked myself just how long I thought I could stay out to witness this supermoon event. I get all set up, checked emails and Facebook, I was ready. Then I heard the voices. I thought maybe I had company. I was cool with that. No one showed up. These voices haunted me for about 20 minutes! I thought I was losing it! For those that know me, I know you are nodding your head saying I have already lost it! You know what it turned out to be? Those stupid tanks that hold up the watercurtain. It was freaky. I would hear whistles, voices, I even heard someone call my name. I truly was spooked! My trusty Niki wasn't alerting to anything so I slowed my roll and got back to the task at hand.
I was beginning to become frustrated with my equipment. 1. I was using a camera that I was unfamiliar with, 2. I had this incredibly idiotic tripod of Mike's. I asked myself how does he use it? It wouldn't stay still! I set the composition where I wanted it and it would slowly creep down! Frustrating! So being a person of the adage "adapt and overcome", I shoved a rock in it to make it stay still. I managed to get one good photo.
Despite being cold, hearing the voices and equipment challenges I was so glad that I made the effort to get up and go out!
The next total lunar eclipse is January 2019. I have a year to practice and get my equipment together! I would love to be in the desert photographing it next time!
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