In a previous post I wrote how the North American Monsoon (NAM) was very late getting started in July. Fortunately, once started, it resulted in normal precipitation amounts for the month of August. Here are photographs and discussion of some of the events during the month.
It is the season for capturing the nearly-full Moon as it rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona. The best time to capture this is a day (or two) before the actual full Moon so that late afternoon sunlight still illuminates Cathedral Rock. The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) was used to determine the best location to shoot this as it became visible between the towers.
The Moon rose into the gap between the north buttress and the spires about 45 minutes before sunset. Here are two shots of the Moon taken ~90 seconds apart as the Moon rose higher. I particularly like the spire that is in shadow because of the illusion that the spires are casting a shadow on the Moon.
As the Moon rose higher it was obscured by clouds and then made a reappearance above the clouds.
January has been a very snowy month in Flagstaff. So far, 2023 is the third snowiest January–and only a few inches from being second snowiest. So we have been taking advantage of the lower elevations of Sedona and doing all of our trail runs there.
This run took us along the Baldwin, Templeton, HT, and Easy Breezy Trails. Recent rains and some snow resulted in rivulets of water running across the slickrock–except that the nights had been cold enough to freeze the water and create icy patches. Although it made for some tricky running it also produced some very photogenic scenes.
It’s always fun to combine a trail run with a bit of photography.
A few days ago we ventured down to Sedona for a morning trail run with Northern Arizona Trail Running Association (NATRA.org). Recent rain/snow and cold temperatures resulted in slippery conditions on the sandstone slickrock with rivulets of water and ice crossing the trail. Although treacherous–and many of us took a spill or two–it was also very beautiful so see patches of snow and ice on these trails.
I have been looking forward to this most recent Lunar eclipse for several months. I have worked up several scenarios to photograph the event, considered renting a larger lens, and more.
And, then, a few days before the event it became evident that it would probably be cloudy. All forecast models indicated increasing clouds moving in from the west. It was pretty obvious that I was not going to be able to capture the event from beginning to end.
That still left one possibility. There would be fewer clouds low in the east early in the eclipse so I might get a few shots of the beginning of the eclipse. So at the insistence of a friend, I joined him at Crescent Moon Picnic area near Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
The plan was to get a few twilight photos of Cathedral Rock before it got too dark. And then get a photo or two of the Moon as it rose between the spires of Cathedral Rock. The Photographers Ephemeris was used to determine the best spot to see the Moon in the gap.
And then we waited.
Right on time the Moon rose in the gap with the Moon visible from 2002 to about 2012 MST.
The photograph at the top is a blended image of Cathedral Rock at 1938 MST and the partially-eclipsed Moon at 2010 MST. Below are the two images before they were combined.
The next two total Lunar eclipses will occur 7–8 November 2022 and 13–14 March 2025.