One benefit of going to 12,183 feet in altitude is the skies get clear, the blues bluer and the #moon clearer. Taken this past Saturday atop Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, the mountain landscape is accented by deep blue skies and a waning gibbous moon. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous road in the United States and over 8 miles of it is above 11,000 feet.
September Super Moon Rising
The September full moon is dubbed the ‘Harvest Moon’ but this year it also caps off a trifecta of ‘Super Moons’ in 2014 – the third time this year the moon was at its closest to Earth. I captured this image last night as a plane was taking off from Denver International Airport.
Full flower moon
‘Full Flower Moon’ as seen from #Denver, Colorado. Clear, early morning skies provided a great viewing of the full moon today. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name comes from the fact that flower “spring forth in abundance this month.” It also is called the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.
Nighttime sky dazzles with lunar eclipse, the star Spica and Mars
Lunar eclipses aren’t really all that rare but they are quite fun to view – and photograph. Of course as is the case with last night’s event, sometimes it isn’t so easy to get out of bed to do so. 😉
I woke up three times last night to try to get some images of the event. Two of those photos are below.
The upper images catches more than just the moon. Below and to the right of the moon is the star Spica, the 15th brightest start in the night sky and the brightest in the constellation Virgo. Perhaps more interesting is Mars, toward the top right of the image. The planet is at its closest to Earth in 6 years right now making it very easy to spot. Even at this distance, the color of the red planet is clearly seen.
The lower image is a composite of three stages of the eclipse. It shows the moon half-way to the total eclipse, at totality, and half-way between totality and the end.
Photos © Tony’s Takes. Images are available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.
A bright waxing gibbous moon
Clear Colorado skies provide a nice shot of the waxing gibbous moon tonight. I always tell folks, you don’t need to spend a lot of money for a camera that takes great pictures and this is an example.
I didn’t want to break out my digital SLR so instead just grabbed my ‘superzoom’ point and shoot – a Canon SX50 IS. It is a bit of a higher end point and shoot but illustrates that a decent, ‘normal’ camera can allow anyone to get some pretty darned cool pictures (far better than a cell phone camera).
Mostly clear skies give nice view of the moon
Wanting to test out a new piece of photo gear (a tele-converter), I was in need of a test subject. The moon proved to be a willing target this evening and despite some thin cirrus clouds in the way, the image came out quite good.
Weld County moonset over the Rockies
On a usual weekend drive looking for something to take picture of, I was pleased to come across this scene in southern Weld County. The moon coupled with the amber field and snow-capped Rocky Mountains looked gorgeous.
Photo © Tony’s Takes. Image is available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.
December’s full cold moon
Perfectly clear skies allowed a great viewing of December’s large and bright full moon. Unseasonably warm temperatures made being outside to take pictures quite easy.
From the Old Farmer’s Almanac: “December’s Full Moon is called the Full Cold Moon. It is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark. This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American tribes.”
A fall moon
As we were heading farther into autumn, the leaves were golden and would soon be gone. I went for a walk around Eastlake Reservoir soon after sunrise to attempt to capture the colors.
Looking up, I saw the moon and our usual dark blue Colorado sky. Framed with some golden leaves, I think it made for a pleasant image.
Photo © Tony’s Takes. Image is available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.
Moon and cliff eclipse rock climbers
Out exploring in Pike National Forest I came across this scene with the rock formation and the half moon with dark blue skies above. Amusingly enough, it wasn’t until after I took a few pictures that I noticed the rock climbers on the face of the cliff.
Photo © Tony’s Takes. Image is available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.