With an understanding that the colourful moon of my dreams needed to be shot through the Earth’s atmosphere, I realized that my options to shoot the moon in the city were limited. The view of the full moonrise at the horizon from my home was blocked by buildings. I needed to look elsewhere to pick up the scattered light colouring the Earth’s atmosphere.
Uncertain of where the best place would be to capture the full moon, I explored the city in search of the ideal shooting location. I used astrological apps to plot the movement of the moon across its path each evening, watching as it waned and waxing until the full moon appeared.
On one of my quests, I explored the Toronto waterfront, walking for kilometers until I found a clear shot of the horizon. This location was perfect. It was the only place I could find within easy reach of my home that I could witness the moon begin its journey at the horizon.
I spent hours researching and planning how to capture the moon at the horizon. It was a tough task, made even more difficult because I wanted to capture a timelapse. I wanted to capture the moon as it moved through a full range of colour, rising through the atmosphere. Much like a sunrise, careful planning was required to know where the moon would appear each evening. However, unlike the sun, the moon moves substantially each night, changing where it appears above the horizon.
After determining where the moon would rise, I planned the gear I wanted to use. My equipment did not satisfactorily capture the depth and clarity of the moon of my dreams. I needed a way to bring the moon closer to me. Unfortunately, the new lens I had ordered was delayed for the next full moon, so I had to make do with my old telephoto lens from my old camera. The delay was not going to stop me from learning to capture my dreams.
Finally, the night of the full Buck moon was here, and I was ready for it. The moon rose like a ball of fire, igniting the night sky with a deep orange glow. All of my hard work and planning paid off, mostly. In a slight panic, I frantically changed the settings of my camera to keep up with the drastically changing contrast of the brightening moon in the darkening sky. I realized that understanding the movement and phases of the moon was only the first step; I had a lot to learn.
