if you want the moon
May 18, 2022
"If you want the moon, do not hide from the night." - Rumi
Sunday evening in Albuquerque brought the full moon, quickly followed by a total lunar eclipse - the "Super Flower Blood Moon" for those keeping track of "official" names.
It also brought... clouds.
To begin with, anytime a major celestial event occurs, I hold an internal debate over whether or not I'll photograph it. I admit, I'm a bit averse to photographing things that I know everyone else will be photographing, because, well, everyone else is. But... this was also an eclipse at NIGHT, as opposed to early morning... and so I couldn't help but be interested. If you know me or have followed me for long enough, you know early mornings are a much harder sell for me (though I can be convinced, for the right photograph).
But... CLOUDS.
Do I pour myself a glass of wine and chill for the night? Or do I gamble on the clouds and go out? When I initially told myself I'd photograph this eclipse, the forecast showed clear skies. And true to New Mexico form, the forecast meant absolutely nothing, I said to myself as I looked up at the sky from my backyard on Sunday afternoon. I can watch this from the driveway, if I want.
Maybe I should just stay home.
Not tonight. I told myself I would go out. Damn the clouds, let's go. I'm not watching this from the driveway.
Go... where? I wasn't sure, but knew I'd figure it out. When I'd first thought about photographing this eclipse, an image flashed in my head of the eclipsed moon over Downtown Albuquerque. I generally tend towards less populated locales, but maybe... maybe.
A few hours later, I tossed my gear in the backseat of my car, and headed for that yet-unknown destination - watching the moon make its way up the sky, behind intermittent clouds, I wondered at my chances of a clear shot. After checking out a couple of other spots I thought held promise, I ended up... in Downtown Albuquerque, wondering whether I could incorporate the bell tower at Immaculate Conception, with the stars and crescent moon below its cross, into an image with the moon. Pulling into an empty parking lot a couple of streets behind the church, it became clear that yes - this was possible.
Remarkably, though the sky was still quite cloudy, there were no clouds in my view. I set up my tripod and made several images over the course of the next few minutes; this one was my favorite. As the moon rose higher within minutes after creating this photograph, it dipped behind the clouds. From a later vantage point, the fully eclipsed moon was eventually completely obscured by cloudcover. I'm glad this photograph worked out.
More next time ;)