It was time for the second of August’s Full Moons. As usual I headed out for a photo shoot two days before it, when the almost-full moon rises early enough for good landscape photography.
Bypassing Telluride: the Conoco Station Must Stop
I drove past Telluride, only stopping at the Conoco station near there on Highway 145. I always stop there for snacks and to-go food like hot pizza slices, brats, etc. and cold to-go sandwiches. And gas if you haven’t been wise enough to fill up where it’s lower priced, like Montrose, Cortez, Naturita, Grand Junction. The Conoco there is still much lower than you would find over the pass at Rico, the next nearest convenience store.
In the parking lot beside the Conoco station was a roadside stand with a lady from Olathe, Colorado selling fresh produce and fruit. Olathe is not far north of Montrose and Delta and grows fantastic stuff, including the locally cherished Olathe Sweet Corn.
I bought six huge sweet peaches for $10, a baker’s dozen (i.e.,13) of sweet corn for another 10, and a bag of roasted green chiles for 12. Especially after the lady cleverly suggested that “You could put one of the chiles on your sandwich” that I had just bought inside. When she asked if I wanted to pick out my own corn I said, “Not necessary; it’s Olathe Sweet Corn, and so it’s perfect. And I know my sweet corn”. I do.
After bypassing Telluride on 145, I stopped at the Lizard Head Wilderness overlook.
Trout Lake: Jewel of the San Miguel Range
Continuing on, I stopped beside the highway to get yet more lovely shots of Trout Lake and the peaks of the San Miguel Mountain Range that ring it to the north, east, and south. With another perfect Colorado clear blue sky.
Scoping Out Lizard Head Pass
Then finally to Lizard Head Pass, elevation 10,222 feet / 3,116 meters. I pulled off there at the Lizard Head Overlook rest area for a view of the peaks along with some interesting interpretive signs about the geology of the mountain peaks and the history of the area.
Did you know that the titanic business struggle between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla/Westinghouse over AC electricity versus DC electricity was essentially settled for the whole country at the nearby mountain hamlet of Alta, Colorado? (The much safer Alternating Current electricity system won out, which we still use today).
Also, the rest area has pit toilets, a key consideration unless you want to truly poop in the woods like a bear.
At the Pass I made a number of photos of the peaks as well as the Forest Service camping area across the highway. It’s an “undeveloped” site, meaning there are no facilities; no water, toilets, or picnic tables.
But it’s free and of course has incredible views. I’ve camped there several times. If you don’t have a camper trailer or RV with a toilet, use the pit toilets across the highway at the rest area. They have toilet paper but no water or hand sanitizer, so bring your own.
Geology We All Can Appreciate
Being late August the snow was gone from the peaks save for a few small patches in shady nooks. But having the peaks bare allows one to appreciate the incredible variety of colors to the rock layers. You don’t have to care at all about geology to appreciate that. And maybe wonder why the layers were laid down by erosion in different colors over the millenia.
Picking the Photo Shoot Spot
From several years’ experience shooting photos in this area I had that evening’s spot all staked out at the Lizard Head Trailhead parking lot. An unimpeded view of the high peaks. No trees in the way. Only a few other vehicles stopping by for the sunset view. And, on this evening, sunny and no wind. So very pleasant.
As the shadows lengthened due to the peaks behind me to the west, the almost-set sunlight on the scene turned warmer, to golden. Then the sun was down and we were left in a soft early twilight.
Tactical Moonrise Photo Shoot Planning
Why was I there to shoot moonrise two days before Full Moon? If you have browsed through this blog enough you know why. Because if you wait until the actual night of Full Moon, it rises too late for good landscape photography. It’s dark by then. Sure, you could take some gorgeous shots of the moon in a totally black sky, but who needs more of those?
Instead, go out a day or two earlier. The moon will be almost full, and the scenery will still be lit. It depends on how tall the scenery is to the east, where the moon will rise. Up at the Pass, the peaks are so tall and close by that they are, uh, in the way from seeing moonrise at its official time.
It’s easy enough to find out what time the moon will rise on any date. Just go to a site like surnrisesunset.com. But…where exactly in the scene will it appear? And don’t just say “East”. Duh. But where, over what spot in your chosen scene?
Planning Using The Photographer’s Ephemeris
For that level of planning I use the excellent Photographer’s Ephemeris, http://www.photoephemeris.com. You can use the free desktop version on the site, or pay a modest fee to use the more advanced versions.
For this evening, the Ephemeris said that, from my location on Lizard Head Pass, the moon would rise at azimuth 121 degrees. That’s a full 31 degrees south of straight East (azimuth 90 degrees). The sun is still that far south at this time of year. (In case you were wondering, after Autumn Equinox on September 21 it will start traveling back north again through the winter). That’s why I use the Ephemeris to line up my moonrise shots each month.
BUT…and there are two important ones. The first is that the official time of moonrise that night was 6:45pm. If nothing was in the way. If you were out on the plains you would see it at that time.
But with mountains in the way, it won’t appear above the scenery until quite a bit later. How much later? It depends on how close you are to the “scenery” that’s in the way. And in this case I was quite close. Especially to San Miguel Peak and Sheep Mountain.
So without having been in that exact spot on that day before, I would have to wait for the moon to show herself.
The second “BUT” has to do with the fact that the moon doesn’t rise straight up in the sky. (Nor does the sun, for that matter). It rises in an arc. So by the time it clears whatever is in the eastern sky, it will be further south than the 121 degrees for “official” moonrise.
I got out my trusty Silva Ranger compass that I still have from my years as a Forester, took a bead on where 121 degrees was on the far horizon, and waited.
Since I had quite a bit of time to wait, I could leisurely eat my supper. The submarine sandwich from Conoco, with a roasted Olathe green chile in it, and a sweet peach. Filtered tap water to wash it down. A Ramblin’ Photographer’s Special. I don’t need to tell you how delicious it was. And with no wind, no need to huddle in the car. The hood of my Subaru Forester served as a stand-up picnic table. A retired Forester’s Forester, that is.
I had been hoping that the moon would clear the peaks while the golden sunset colors were on them. But no. I was realizing that for that to happen I would have had to have been in that spot a day before. Last night. Three days before Full Moon.
So the sun went down behind me and a soft dusk settled over the scene. (Later, working on the shots on the computer, I was somewhat surprised as to how nice those dusk shots came out).
I would have seen the moon sooner had I backtracked down to Trout Lake. Because there the peaks would have been further back from where I was. Experience/realization filed away for another shoot. Because I was committed to the spot I was at. Not knowing how much longer before la Luna was going to sneak over one of those peaks.
The Main Event, At Last
Finally, there it came. Creeping silently about midway between San Miguel Peak and Sheep Mountain. So you can see how far south from 121 degrees it had arced before I could see it from where I was. 121 degrees is at about the low point on the horizon at left of center in the photo.
And it was getting dark quickly. I put on the long lens and shot fast, the moon as always rising surprisingly quickly. Our Earth rotates faster than one realizes.
Back In the Studio: Developing the Shots with Adobe Lightroom
Back home in my studio late that night I developed the shots in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I say “developed” because I shoot in Camera Raw format, meaning all of the original digital information is within the shot’s file on my computer. That way the camera does not interpret the shot. I do it later, so that I have as much control as possible.
The long lens shots of the moon at first appeared to have some kind of digital aberration on the left side of the moon. Zooming in on the shot I realized that it was actually craters on the moon, being lit from the side by the not-quite-full (97% Illuminated) moon! Cool.
Wrapping up the shoot, it was time to put the camera gear back in the car and head home in the dark. Since I would be passing the Conoco station again I stopped for a snack that would help keep me from getting too drowsy while I drove.
When you were young did you think that the moon followed you home while your parents drove you? I did, too. And it appeared to follow me again that night, making the drive home so much more fun than a black sky.
Taking home the rest of the sweet corn, chiles, and peaches to be enjoyed over the next few days.
And a Video, Too!
I also made a video of this photo shoot. To see it, go to my Stephen Krieg Photography YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/stephenkrieg
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