Super Blood Moon - Eclipse September 27, 2015 Sacramento California

I was so excited to hear about the Super Blood Moon - the fairly rare occurrence of a Super Moon eclipse.  

A Super Moon is a moon that is a full moon at it's perigee, or closest point to Earth in it's slightly oblong orbit.  It makes it look super large, especially at moonrise when it's close to the horizon.  And, become of the remnants of light that comes around the earth from the sun, the moon is tinged red when it is eclipsed.  It's a photographer's dream. 

We decided to go out to the River Road (where I attempted my last shots of a Super Moon...they all turned out terrible BTW); I had refreshed my memory on night shooting on my camera but it's always something that is fraught with stress because I tend to forget and get frustrated.  haha  I was determined that this was going to work.  

In a scene straight out of The Birds, as soon as we parked on the levee, a huge flock of crows flew over and started circling us, cawing loudly.  They eventually settled down into the trees.

  

It was a gorgeous day, but unfortunately, there was a thick cloud layer just along the Eastern horizon.  The moon in Sacramento was going to rise almost fully eclipsed, so having part of it being obscured by the clouds was a disappointment.  

In addition to the crows, we were treated to the loud honking of Canadian Geese that flew overhead in their customary V formation. 

However, the clouds in the sunset were stunning.  So I contented myself with capturing some of the purple and orange beauty.

I also dabbled with long exposure when I saw a few planes in the sky.  My result??

Of course when I was facing West trying to catch some weird picture, one of the older ladies near us asked "Is that it?"  I turned and it was about halfway out of the clouds, looking red and malevolently beautiful.

As expected, at this point it was almost fully-eclipsed. But that's okay; I was so happy I could get a couple of pictures with the dark trees in them!

You can just see the slight, orangey looking rim on the right bottom.  That was the only part not covered by the Earth's shadow. 

So at this point, we decided to head home while the full eclipse was happening.  I had neglected to think about how standing by a river on a warm, humid night would make us choice mosquito dinner.

By the time we got home about 25 minutes later, the moon was starting to come out of the eclipse.  Now you can see the white rim on the opposite side...lower left.

Little bit more...

And now halfway there!  Note:  I took this through tree branches thinking it would make a "cool" effect.   

And now, because so much of the extremely bright moon was visible, I had to switch settings and go to a higher aperture and shorter shutter speed in order to get some detail in the moon.  Consequently, most of the red effect from the shadow is taken away.  To the naked eye, it still looked tinged with red but not nearly as much. 

We're almost there!

As the red from the shadow was receding, I decided to try some different white balance settings.  I think, especially beside the red photos, it looks over compensated and almost blue.  But still gorgeous!

This one I darkened slightly in order to bring out all the detail in the moon. So amazing. 

And here's the final finished product.  A gorgeous, bright-white Super Moon!

All photos taken by ME! with my Nikon D3000, Nikon ED Nikkor 70-300 lens.  I absolutely used a tripod and also used the timer button to lessen vibration since I do not have a remote.  Actually I do but it doesn't work.  Thanks camera store. 

The early photos with full/mostly full eclipse were taken with ISO 200, Shutter speeds up to 8 seconds, and aperture set at f5.6 (the lowest my lens will go).  After half of the bright moon was exposed, I switched to 1/125 Shutter speed, aperture between f8-f11 (same ISO).

Next I will tackle star trails!  Hope you enjoy my photos and story as much as I did creating them. 

xoxo

9/11/15 ~~ Revisiting the Sacramento 9/11 Memorial & Worldwide Reaction

I remember where I was when I first heard that America had been attacked on 9/11/2001.  I drove away from my daughter's high school after dropping her off, switched on the radio in my car, and then pulled over to the curb in shock as I heard what was happening.

I called in to the employee emergency line to find out if we State workers were supposed to report or stay home and was told that we would not be working today.  I pretty much parked myself in front of the television for the rest of the day watching the news coverage. 

I pledged to myself that day and for months and years afterward that I would never forget.  

And I haven't.  And I won't.  

  

I have frequently gone to the 9/11 Memorial at Cal Expo and wanted to do so again this year.  I had read that there would be a collection of newspapers from 9/11-12/2001 from around the United States and even the world and thought it would be fascinating to...renew, for lack of a better term coming to mind...my memories and feelings from that day.  

But first, a tour of the memorial...

When you first walk up the ramp into the raised memorial, there are separate memorials to the Pentagon and Flight 93 on the right and left with a replica of the Twin Towers straight ahead.  
I stopped at the Pentagon first. 

These beams are the main attraction of the memorial.  They are actual beams from the World Trade Center that were eventually brought to Sacramento for the memorial.  The beam on the left was obviously twisted and damaged in the attack. 

Another new enhancement to the memorial this year are several carved, wooden benches designed and made by groups of high-school students with 9/11 remembrance as a theme.  
Very creative and well-done.

I couldn't see a description for the bench below.  
The design is pretty self-explanatory but I would have liked to know who made it.  

Next I stepped into the hall with the newspaper collection.  This collection belongs to Napa Valley resident Michael Perry.  He has spent an estimated $100,000 collecting the papers from various sources...some bought himself right after 9/11 and others purchased on Ebay and other sites. 

Photo courtesy of the Napa Valley Register

It was gratifying to hear parents of younger children, obviously born after the horrific event, show the different newspapers and explain what happened and how it felt to experience it. Many people, myself included, thanked Mr. Perry for bringing his collection to share with others. 

It was not only America that was stunned by the tragedy; newspapers from across the world shared the brutal pictures and shocked headlines.

This table was all foreign papers.

Back out on the plaza...

Etched into the beams were messages to the fallen.

God Bless the USA

Love & We Will Never Forget

  

RIP We Miss You

We Will Miss You God Bless Danielle

These photos are of the Flight 93 memorial up close.

This is a large ball with the names of all those killed at all three attack sites.  
It rests and revolves on a bed of water. 

Before leaving the memorial to head for work, I revisited the beam and said a little prayer.  I'm thankful for this country; even though it is far from perfect, it is a country based on freedom that at least attempts to help others in the world.  I don't always agree with our politicians, our foreign policy, etc. But I am grateful for the blessings my family has here.

And I prayed for those lost in terror attacks around the globe and for first responders who are often also first in the line of fire.  

Someday, I hope this world is not such a messed up place. 

xoxo