Lunar Eclipse 2022

kiwiapple

kiwiapple

Well-Known Member
During the lunar eclipse of November 2022, I was lucky enough to have no guests at the lodge we run in Oamaru, New Zealand, and to have a perfectly clear night ideal for a night of shooting. I even had the perfect spot from which to shoot the scene--a newly poured foundation for the house we're building in a dark-sky location right on the coast with no obstructions in any direction. Everything was perfect, or should have been. The only problem was that I forgot to bring along my star-tracker when I set out. As a result, I had no choice but to sit there watching my camera with its long telephoto lens and nudging it along so that the moon would remain in frame for the duration of the eclipse. Meanwhile, I had a second camera set up with a wide-angle lens to allow me to capture the moon as it arced across the sky, gradually dimming as the eclipse deepened, and then brightening as it waned.

This shot is a bit of a compilation (which I hope the powers that be will permit). It combines the wide-field image of the moon in totality against a backdrop of stars (including the Orion Nebula at the far right edge of the frame) together with seven images of the close-up moon as it entered and emerged from the Earth's shadow.

EclipseTimelapse copy.jpg
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Wow James! This is awesome! Really awesome! And I think I can say that with some level of certainty as I captured the same eclipse! And I attempted to do as you did. I really like how all of the phases are set like that.

I drove a couple of hours to a dark sky area to capture the eclipse, I wasn't as lucky as you! Mine was a miracle in a way as I had clouds that broke up and cleared as the moon was rising from the horizon. And then a few minutes after the full eclipse, some light clouds rolled in. One the moon hit about 50% again, then the clouds rolled again for a bit, but cleared off again. So I was able to do it.

Now, I did have my tracker with me, but chose not to use it, for one specific reason. The camera exposure. With the moon changing it's exposure so much, I purposely decided to not use the tracker, but instead used my Nikon D850 and Tamron 150-600mm. Granted that meant continually nudging the framing, but it did all me to easily tweak the exposure, which is something I was afraid I would have issues with my astro camera. Maybe next time I won't be such a chicken. :)
 
Ben Egbert

Ben Egbert

Forum Helper
Staff member
Congrats on featured post I believe I attempted the same but with no tracker . It is not worth showing
 
Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis

Staff Member
That's lovely work! Fantastic, and I feel like the compilation tells the eclipse story better than any single images can. Seeing the change in brightness and color between the eclipse phases side by side really make the event come to life.

ML
 
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