Shadows on the Moon

Taking time to notice the shadows on the moon. An invitation to look more deeply at our closest celestial neighbour.

I’ve been moon watching over the past couple of weeks. The skies were clear on August 19 as the sun set and Luna rose in the sky. The full Sturgeon Moon shone especially brightly this night as it is the first of four supermoons we will see ahead of the full moon in November.

Supermoons are defined by the moon dipping within 90% its closest approach to the earth. A supermoon may appear as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a micromoon, which of course is the opposite extreme when the moon’s path slips to within 90% of its furthest away point.

Super or not, another lunar cycle had begun; a cycle so familiar to us, we barely notice. I wondered if I could I use photography to freeze time and get a better look at this monthly transition? That’s what this set is about.

I invite you to look deeping at the face of the moon. To see this phase of the the moon more clearly. Notice the shadows as they pass over the edges of the lunar landscape. While cloudy skies kept me from catching sight of the moon on every night between full and new, I came remarkably close, missing only August 24th, 29th and 31st. As the series progressed, I had to switch from shooting in the evening to the early hours of the morning, and then to the middle of the night. The final shot was taken this morning, just before sunrise against the morning sky. All images were shot on my Fujifilm XT3 with 150-600 Fujinon lens at 600mm (900 equiv in 35mm). Thank you for checking this out. I hope you enjoy the shots.

I have one more image to show you which was taken on Friday just before 4 am with my Samsung Flip 5 phone in night mode mounted on a little tripod. This was the most challenging night to shoot on and I was lucky to get one good shot of the moon with my main camera before the clouds rolled in.

The clouds roll in on the waning crescent moon - September 30, 2024

I will leave you with a favourite song of mine from many moons ago.