Sunday, June 23, 2013

The Perigee Moon of 2013

The Perigee Moon from West Adams

Last night was the night to shoot the perigee moon. I was conflicted about how to spend my time, so I combined a visit with my mom with a photo excursion. I was hoping there would be a good view of the moon from the garden at St John of God Retirement Center. 
The view was "meh" at best - actually pretty bad. And I had not done my homework, so I didn't know where to look. And there was plenty of haze. Ultimately I did get a good look at the moon, but only after the light was gone and the moon was above the haze and I adjusted my gaze far enough south.
So I snapped this souvenir and I'll hope do better next time.

Here are three essential elements for successful moon photos. (A very long lens is nice, too.)
  • Location scouting
  • Moon position research
  • Weather-conditions luck 
Weather conditions can be managed if you are free to choose your location, of course.

The next perigee moon occurs in August 2014. That would be a good time to plan an outing. So here is the Los Angeles data for essential #2 from timeanddate.com:
  • Date           August 10-11, 2014
  • Moonrise   7:40 pm  at 102°East-southeast
  • Moonset     6:07am at 255°West-southwest
The location is up to you and the weather up to Mother Nature.