So last January, we had a lunar event that I was really excited about. The Super Blood Blue Moon. So quick (and basic) lesson:
Super = The moon is in an orbit that brings it close to perigee. That's the closest point to Earth of the moon's orbit. To be considered a Super Moon, the moon must be full and be within 90 percent of it's closest approach to Earth. This makes the moon look bigger than usual - especially when it's close to the horizon.
Blood = Eclipse! When the moon is in the path of the sun's shadow (created by earth coming in between the sun and the moon). I think to be a blood moon, the eclipse has to be a total eclipse.
Blue = The second full moon in the same month. Unfortunately, nothing to do with actual color.
Moon = An astrological body that orbits Earth.
It's not something that happens every month or even every year. In fact the next Super Blood Blue Moon won't be until January 31, 2037. And the last one was in 1844! So I was trying to figure out the perfect place to get some amazing photos and I narrowed it down to two options due to the time/location of the moon at the eclipse: San Francisco or the Point Arena Lighthouse. I wasn't sure if the sky in San Francisco was going to be clear of fog and also waiting to long to narrow my choices. And I was also worried that in the Bay Area, traffic can prohibit you from moving locations quickly if the one you're at isn't working.
So I chose Point Arena, as I thought that it could be a cool thing to situate my shots with the tall lighthouse in them. BUT! I neglected to check to make sure it would be accessible. And it wasn't. lol They were having an event and therefore had blocked off the parking area and road to the lighthouse.
But more on that later. I STILL got some pretty awesome pics as I'm good at going with the flow on my road trips. So on to the pics!!
First I stopped at this cute little village called Fairytale Town.
The moon wasn't eclipsed yet as it rose above the forested hill.
Haha! Just kidding! Actually, there was a fallen tree stump in my apartment complex that had these cute mushrooms growing. I had recently bought a lunar lamp and thought I would try to create a cute fantasy shot. It was fun but people were looking at me weird even though it was after midnight. lol
To start my trip, I took a couple shots of the moon which had recently risen over my town. This first one is how Camera Raw edited the shot in auto. I thought the green ring looked pretty cool, so I just took it as is and didn't make any adjustments. :-)
But here is the second shot with my basic edit. All the closeup shots were taken with a 300 lens and then cropped a bit. These were taken approximately 1:30 a.m.
I drove about 2 hours until I hit the coast before I stopped again. At this point, the partial eclipse was just beginning. This is a color photo but no red could be detected at this time. Time approximately 3:50 a.m.
I reached Point Arena at about 5:04 a.m., but couldn't find my way to the lighthouse! Usually my memory of roads and directions is very good, but the dark really through me off. I went down this road thinking it looked promising. And it WAS! For seeing FOXES! Which were too fucking cute! I saw about 5 of them believe it or not. But they were pretty quick and I was driving so no pics.
And then I came around a corner and saw this view. So I pulled over and snapped a couple pics, trying to get the tree branches and stars in it. It's the almost eclipsed Super Blue Moon! Woot Woot!
My exposure time was a little too long so the stars are little trails but not really star-trail-ly enough to look cool. lol But the moon looks good!
So then I finally found the lighthouse - and that it was closed. So I found a little spot on the entrance road with this cool tree and snapped a couple shots. I actually illuminated the tree with my car headlights. Smart, huh?
One of the cool things about a total eclipse is it's the only time to get a shot of the full moon along with a lot of stars.
Again with the mini-trails!
The next photo was taken just after mid-eclipse at approximately 5:31 a.m.
After this, I headed over to Bowling Ball Beach which is a really awesome sight at low tide. However, low tide was at about 2:30 a.m. and I actually did stop and start the hike there, but chickened out. It was freaking dark!!! And scary! So no. That will be another trip when low tide is not in the middle of the night.
But it was a great setting to watch the Super Blood Blue Moon set into the Pacific Ocean. And, it was a bit lighter. So I braved it. It's a nice little walk and I reached the cliff above the ocean in about 15 minutes.
This photo was taken at 6:51, about 1/2 hour before the partial eclipse phase was supposed to end.
7:02 a.m.
7:11 a.m. black and white of Bowling Ball Beach and the last bit of the eclipse.
7:12 a.m. Technically, the eclipse was supposed to end at 7:11, so either it didn't or my times are a bit off. Could be both honestly.
Some of the views around me as the sun started to rise in the East.
The moon was now tinted by the sunrise in the East. I actually had to reduce some of the yellow/orange glow it was reflecting! This was at approximately 7:16 a.m.
This next shot is my tripod on the grassy steps of the trail on the cliff. I took the above shot handheld (I think - this is really why I need to do my edits and post much sooner so I can remember this stuff! and then took the shot of the tripod to show my vantage point.
Now the eclipse is over and the Supermoon truly looks huge as it hovers over the ocean! Once thing I didn't realize was how distorted it became once it got close to setting. Interesting.
And then it was gone. Disappearing into the purple fogbank.
But my day wasn't over yet! I hiked back to the car and then headed to Fort Bragg to look around a bit. We'll get there in my next post.
Oh, and there is another Super Blood Moon coming up on January 20, 2019! This one is a Super Blood Wolf Moon. The Wolf part comes from Native American lore where wolves could be heard howling at the full moon in late winter. This will be the last total lunar eclipse visible in North America until 2027, so be sure to plan your evening! This one also happens at around 9:00 p.m. I believe so you won't even have to stay up all night! But be sure to check your local listing...errr....Google it. 😜
xoxo
