Photographing the Super Blood Wolf Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse of January 2019 in NYC Area
I’ll start with a question. Why do (total) lunar eclipses always have to take place on the coldest nights of the year? Last one I photographed happened on the night of winter solstice 2010. And I froze then, as I did the other night, on January 20, 2019, while trying to take a pic of the super blood wolf moon and lunar eclipse.
A few things to consider before venturing out in the cold, in the middle of the night, to gaze at the stars and take a snapshot of the moon and lunar eclipse:
clothing: ski pants, winter boots, winter coat, gloves, hat or head band…the idea was to bundle up and prepare to spend a significant amount of time out in the cold (below-freezing temps)
gear: while I don’t have too many choices when it comes to gear for photographing the moon, the planets and stars, I ended up using what gear I had–my Nikon 28-300mm lens
First, after checking the moonrise time, I watched, waiting for the moon to appear over Manhattan skyline. Yet, there was a thick cloud blanket behind the skyline, making it impossible to witness the first few moments of moonrise–that’s when the moon appears the largest in size, is closer to the camera and has a rich, orange in color, hence, best to photograph. Therefore, I had to wait for the moon to appear above the clouds.
Second, I waited patiently until it was almost time for the lunar eclipse–that was, around 11.40 pm to step outside and photograph the super blood wolf moon and lunar eclipse. I spotted the moon right away, almost right above my head. Because of the wind, the few clouds would often cover the moon, on and off, making it pretty difficult to photograph it.
As I watched the super moon turn a darker color, not necessarily red, though, I started taking a few shots, mostly handheld, using fences and walls to steady the lens especially when zoomed in all the way. I tried to include buildings, trees and clouds whenever possible. Here are a few images:
Hope you got to glance at the super blood wolf moon the other night, too. And as always, thanks for stopping by,
Alina Oswald 