Moon | Tony's Takes Photography

Southwest Airlines photobombs my moon shot

December 28, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

So frustrating. I was setting up the perfect shot of the daytime waning gibbous moon as it hung gloriously in the clear blue, Colorado sky. Our only natural satellite looked fantastic up there and then, suddenly a streak of blue, gold and red comes flying through the frame. Dang it! 😀

Okay, in all seriousness, I don’t blame the airline or pilot one bit and was actually kind of happy to have them fly by. I was looking to find a composition that included the moon when I saw the airliner approaching. Quickly I zoomed in and started snapping, capturing a nice sequence of images.

I do have to ask though… Next time Southwest Airlines, could you fly directly in front of the moon? That would make an even better shot. 😉

Waxing crescent moon and Venus

November 7, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

I was out barbequing some chicken when I looked to the south and saw this cool celestial scene. These are just handheld so not as good as I would like but by the time I was done eating, the show was over. Fun to see though.

A beautiful waxing crescent moon. (© Tony's Takes) — A beautiful waxing crescent moon. (© Tony’s Takes)

Early morning waning gibbous moon

March 8, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Let’s call it #MoonMonday. 😉

Taken this past Saturday, the sun was just starting to cast a glow on the horizon. I was patiently sitting at my photo destination, enjoying the quiet pre-dawn hours. As I sat there, I looked up at our only natural satellite and was quite taken by its beauty – which of course required a picture to be taken.

Daytime waning gibbous moon

February 1, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Let’s call it Moon Monday.

Much of yesterday morning was spent either waiting for a photo subject to do something or driving around just trying to find a photo subject. Getting bored waiting for an elk herd to decide if they were going to move closer or not, I pointed my camera up to the gorgeous moon hovering above.

I know the full moon gets all the press but it is the earlier / later stages that truly make it shine. The slightly offset light really help to bring out the depth of the craters and other features on the surface.

Taken in Boulder County, Colorado.

Winter solstice moon

December 22, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

While out taking pictures of yesterday’s “Great Conjunction”, I also pointed my camera toward Earth’s only natural satellite. The waxing gibbous moon looked absolutely awesome high above.

As I have mentioned before, I much prefer taking pics of the moon at stages other than the full moon as the shadows from side-lighting really help bring out the detail.

Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and Jupiter and Saturn!

December 16, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and #Jupiter and Saturn! Oh, and if you look close, you can see a couple of Jupiter’s moons too. All of this gearing up for next week’s “Christmas star” show when Jupiter and Saturn will be in conjunction. Be sure to click for the full view.

Thank you to my friend, David, providing a heads up to get outside with my camera right away.

Saturn, Jupiter and two of Jupiter's moons. (© Tony's Takes) — Saturn, Jupiter and two of Jupiter’s moons. (© Tony’s Takes)

Setting Halloween full moon at sunrise

November 2, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

I don’t usually take pics of the full moon as I find early and later stages provide for better pics. However, yesterday morning I was on my way to my photo destination as the sun was creeping up toward the horizon. A cloud near our only natural satellite was painted red and made for a nice scene requiring me to stop.

The Halloween full moon is actually a bit of a rarity with the last one having happened in 1944 and the next one not going to occur until 2039.

The fire moon

September 30, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Taken early in the morning, the moon over the Denver, Colorado area was insanely red. The only time I have ever seen it this color with it this high in the sky is during a lunar eclipse. Sadly, that was not the reason this time. Instead, it was smoke from wildfires burning in Colorado and Wyoming causing the display – and the smell.

Waning gibbous moon in “HD”

July 11, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Okay, not really HD but the processing of the picture allowed me to create one of the most detailed moon pics I have ever taken.

This is in fact six separate moon shots taken one right after the other. They are then “stacked” using some specialized software to bring out crazy awesome detail, far more than I have ever gotten with a single shot.

I’ll definitely be playing with this technique more, throwing in even more images and seeing if it improves even further.

Half a moon

April 18, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Driving to work the other day I was struck by how pretty the moon rising in the east looked. It didn’t look particularly unusual, just something that grabbed my attention. From the parking lot I took the time to snap a few pics, a nice way to start the day.