On March 19 the full Moon was rumored to be closer to the earth than it will be again for the next 20 years meaning it was going to look bigger than normal. I did a little research and learned that the giant Moon was going to rise shortly after 7:30 PM on Saturday the 19th. We found a spot on the shore of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook to watch it. There was a bank of low clouds on the horizon so we didn't see the Moon until it was a little higher in the sky than I was hoping but it was still pretty large and impressive.
Several other photographers had the same idea as we did. As I was perched with my tripod at the end of a long dock I enjoyed listening to the bantering of an older couple set up only a few steps away from me. There were grumblings and expressions of frustration as he snapped picture after picture with his huge telephoto setup. They would peer at the digital display and I'd hear her say, "Oh, that one's blurry again." "That one was too long, it's blurry again!" My favorite was her muttering under her breath, "I can just see tomorrow's headlines, dear: Old Couple Found Frozen to Death On Dock in Old Saybrook! Can we just go now?" I was sort of sad to watch them pack up and shuffle back to their car and I wonder if any of their photos turned out.
Of course, none of the pictures I took of the Moon itself impressed me much. The Moon is usually so bright that I find it pretty difficult to capture in any detail. This night it was particularly bright. In most of these pictures the Moon is just a too-bright spot in the sky but I still like the overall results, particularly with all the docks at the yacht club and the glassy water of the Connecticut River.
Several other photographers had the same idea as we did. As I was perched with my tripod at the end of a long dock I enjoyed listening to the bantering of an older couple set up only a few steps away from me. There were grumblings and expressions of frustration as he snapped picture after picture with his huge telephoto setup. They would peer at the digital display and I'd hear her say, "Oh, that one's blurry again." "That one was too long, it's blurry again!" My favorite was her muttering under her breath, "I can just see tomorrow's headlines, dear: Old Couple Found Frozen to Death On Dock in Old Saybrook! Can we just go now?" I was sort of sad to watch them pack up and shuffle back to their car and I wonder if any of their photos turned out.
Of course, none of the pictures I took of the Moon itself impressed me much. The Moon is usually so bright that I find it pretty difficult to capture in any detail. This night it was particularly bright. In most of these pictures the Moon is just a too-bright spot in the sky but I still like the overall results, particularly with all the docks at the yacht club and the glassy water of the Connecticut River.
The long exposure created a unique mirror effect on the water
The lights of Niantic and New London reflect pink on the clouds on the left side of this shot.