I missed the last Supermoon and was determined to photograph this one, the last of 2023. When I looked up the moonrise time, I noticed it was early, 7:24 p.m. I also saw the sunset was at 7:29 p.m. With the moonrise/sunset times being so close, I knew the sky wouldn’t be all that dark when the Harvest Supermoon rose.
I headed to farm country west of Kingsley looking for a spot with open fields to the west for the sunset and similar conditions to the east for the moonrise. I noticed right away that clouds were gathering in the west which could affect the sunset.
Turns out the clouds made the sky interesting and didn’t fully occlude the sun, as I’d feared.
The whole time the sky and sun were making a lovely sunset, I kept an eye on the eastern sky for the moonrise. I knew from experience that it takes a while for the moon to come into view, depending on the hills and trees in the area.
I was concerned too because the eastern sky was becoming even more cloud-filled than the western. There was just one small area that was mostly cloud free.
And I was lucky! That’s where the moon rose against a still light sky with only a slice of clouds through the middle.
As it rose higher, the moon moved into the cloud bank. Ugh!
First it was half gone and then all gone. I headed home and searched the sky for some peek-throughs to no avail.
Arriving back home in TC, I was still moonstruck and wanted more. From my back deck, the moon still hadn’t risen above the tall tree line. I set up my camera and tripod using my 24-105 mm lens. And I caught it when it came into view set off by the trees and clouds! Oooohhh!
I was disappointed, though, that the moon had no detail and knew I needed my longer lens. I set up my heavy 100-500 mm lens and finally got the close-up view I was hoping for. Aaaahhhh!
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