Red Moon Rising

[flavio]

A couple of nights ago, I was doing the dishes after dinner when absent mindedly I looked through the window. What I saw, at first, got me a bit confused. It was before 9:00 PM and it was not completely dark yet, but right in front of my eyes the "sun" was setting with beautiful red colors, the sky was dark and not dramatically illuminated as it "should" be. That is besides the fact that the "sun" should have been setting in the OPPOSITE direction, as it does every day. It took me a second to realize that it was not the sun setting but the MOON rising. I left the dishes, rushed for my camera and tripod, jumped to the backyard and took some pictures.
I did NO color treatment to the MOON these are the actual colors. There is some fuzziness to the moon due to its movement captured by the slow shutter speed, but is not too bad. This is the best compromise I could find in my set. If I knew how to HDR properly I should probably have done that.
For now, I wanted to share this rare moment with you.
For those who are interested in an explanation of the atmospheric phenomenon, please check out my flickr copy.
Any suggestions for improvement are welcome!

Hope you like it,



EXIF data:
Camera: Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Exposure: 6
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 60 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[harsh.kataruka]

I love this shot flavio.

Even with 6 sec exposure, u were able to get quite a level of detail in the moon..

N this phenomenon is quite strange.. maybe due to earth-light combined with the reddish hues of the setting sun?

[jakethepig]

That is a great capture flavio and the composition is excellent. That was worth stopping for my friend. This is a great job. Well done buddy.

Dave.

[flavio]

Originally Posted by harsh.kataruka

I love this shot flavio.

Even with 6 sec exposure, u were able to get quite a level of detail in the moon..

N this phenomenon is quite strange.. maybe due to earth-light combined with the reddish hues of the setting sun?

Thanks Harsh!

The orange-red colors that the Moon sometimes take on are caused by the particles in the Earth's atmosphere. It only happens when the right conditions come together. So, basically this is the only interesting and nice looking result of pollution.

[flavio]

Originally Posted by jakethepig

That is a great capture flavio and the composition is excellent. That was worth stopping for my friend. This is a great job. Well done buddy.

Dave.

Thanks for stopping by Dave.
I'm glad you like it. We actually had a second day with a red moon (that was yesterday). This time I was prepared. Later, I'll try to make a time lapse picture of the moon rising until it becomes the white moon we are used to see.

[Penary]

Thanks for sharing your red moon. I have seen blue moons (they are actually white) but this is my FIRST RED MOON. Thanks for sharing this photo.

[Heaterguy]

Great shot. Good composition and color. Should be on a calendar.

[fstopMike]

Great capture, and I love the colors. Looking forward to seeing more.

[flavio]

Originally Posted by Penary

Thanks for sharing your red moon. I have seen blue moons (they are actually white) but this is my FIRST RED MOON. Thanks for sharing this photo.

Penary,
First of... Welcome to DPS.
Second, it makes me feel something special to be able to lead you through your first...red moon. Thanks for your kind comments.

[ressalg]

Very nicely composed picture. It's a shame you couldn't get more detail on the moon. Unfortunately, everthing's a trade-off. If you'd have gotten the exposure to show more detail of the moon, you'd have probably lost the detail in the landscape. I don't know much about HDR but I would think this would be a perfect subject to try it with.

And, your explanation on your Flickr page as to why the moon has these colours is spot on... couldn't have said it better myself. This is also why, during a lunar eclipse, the moon never actually disappears. If the moon passes right through the centre of the Earth's shadow, it turns blood red. I also find it interesting how many people are saying they've never seen a red moon. In my neck of the woods (western Canada) this is a fairly common sight. Which is maybe why I've never thought of taking a picture of it... didn't think it was that "special".

Thanks for sharing.