Super Moon on the Coast

 Full Moons are Always "Super"
The rising full moon is always a spectacular sight and worth planning for to capture in dramatic locations. Full moons are

Washed up on the Waterford Beach

especially dramatic because they necessarily rise around the time of the setting sun and therefore are bathed in the orange of the sun while suspended against the last light of the blue hour. The residual light also makes it possible to capture the moon against interesting foreground elements. Unfortunately I live in southeastern New Hampshire among the hills of the Monadnock Region and, before the moon rises above our elevated horizon, the sky routinely has turned black ,imposing impossibly stark contrast between the brilliant orb and the surrounding landscape. A few years ago I managed to shoot the "Super Moon" rising above the silhouette of Mt. Monadnock, but could only capture detail in the mountain by compositing two images, one of the moon and an second, immediately following, exposed for the foreground.

Super Moon 20 miles from Mt Monadnock, March 2011

I whine frequently about this sad fact of astronomy and hold marginally veiled resentment for my colleagues who are fortunate enough to live near the coast.  I know that I could travel to coast for the moonrises, but hey, I'm old and lazy. I need a warm comfortable excuse to go to the coast and a couple of weeks ago the excuse fell languidly into my lap.

Super friends for a super Moon

Very good friends of ours were renting a house on the Connecticut coast and generously invited Susan and I to stay with them for a few days. Susan was busy volunteering at our local DeMar Marathon, but I decided to take Carrie and Jeff up on the kind offer. It was then that I realized that the weekend in question was the occasion of the fall super moon and a "super" lunar eclipse, AND I was going to situated comfortably on the Atlantic coast!

Super Moons
For any who don't know, Super Moons refer to full Moons that occur when the moon is closest to the earth in its elliptical orbit, otherwise know as "Perigee". At perigee the moon appears about 14% larger than when it is at its furthest location, "Apogee". The media make an inordinately big deal of this occurrence, but as Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "Resist the Hype: The size of today’s “Super” moon is to next month’s full moon as a 16.07 inch pizza is to a 16.00 inch pizza". Perhaps the only real significance is that a moon that is super provides a good excuse to get out and shoot, not to mention that I can probably charge at least 14% more for a "Super Moon" picture.

A View to the Saybrook Lighthouse

For me the excitement stemmed, not the "Superness" of the alignment, but from the opportunity to shoot a moonrise over the ocean. Before I headed south I dove into the Photographer''s Ephemeris searching for a nearby location that would allow me catch the moon rising above something of interest, preferably a lighthouse. I was staying in Waterford and following the lines of the moonrise I discovered the Saybrook Lighthouse in a near perfect position. The location was so good that I assumed I would be doomed to cloudy weather, but I headed down on Friday full of hope.

Sunrise on Long Island Sound

Scouting the Site

Harkness Estate

Jeff and Carrie were wonderfully understanding about my plan to disappear Saturday evening and they even joined me on a trip to scout the location Friday night before dinner in Old Saybrook.  Saturday morning I got out for dawn along the coast and then settled in to enjoy the unusually warm weather and await the rising. I walked the beach and in the afternoon we explored the nearby Harkness Estate State Park with its beautiful gardens and expansive lawns leading down to the water. Around 5:30pm I headed off to Old Saybrook.

Crackling Sunrise Light

 Among the Rocks
My location was out on a breakwater about 1.3 miles south of the lighthouse. The sky was clear but there was an ominous haze at the

Jonathan Steele by iPhone

horizon. I moved out on the rocks finding a stable spot to embed my tripod, low against the blustery wind. I was happy to have my choice of location confirmed by the arrival of another photographer. Jonathan Steele is a great local photographer who used the Photographer's Ephemeris to find the same spot at the end of the breakwater, and I was surprised that he recognized my name from the New England Photographers Guild. It was lovely to have pleasant company as we
waited to see if the moon would break through the haze. TPE made it certain that the moon would be there, but would we be able to see it. The moon appeared behind the breakwater precisely on time but it was barely visible through the mist and haze. Happily as it rose

In the Mist

and moved toward the lighthouse it surmounted the mist and became more prominent against the darkening blue sky. Jonathan and I clicked madly as the combination of moon, lighthouse and light became increasingly perfect. I probably could have captured it all with one shot, but this was one of those rare situations when everything seemed to come together and I didn't want to waste the opportunity. I was shooting with a long lens and a relatively long exposure, and, given the windy conditions, I grabbed a pile of shots in hopes of capturing at least one sharp image in precise focus.


Success

As Close as it Gets

I got what I came for! The moon and the lighthouse both reflected the color of the setting sun and as the moon approached the beacon it was warmed by a few wispy clouds. My distance from the lighthouse (1.3 miles) magnified the size of the moon against the foreground, which is a key part dramatic full moon images. It was a lovely warm evening and I was reluctantly to leave my perch among the rocks, but I had to get back to join my friends for dinner. As Jonathan and I packed up we discussed the New England a Photographer's Guild and I encouraged him to pursue membership in the group. I'm thrilled to report that he followed through and is now part of the Guild, extending our representation to the Connecticut region. 


Lunar Eclipse that was Super

Eclipse Composite

After a nice dinner, Carrie and Jeff joined me outside to monitor the progress of the lunar eclipse. I followed the moon as it approached totality with my 400mm lens and 2x Tele-Extender. At 800mm I was able to capture a nice succession of images for eventual compositing into an image of the moon-lite ocean that I had shot the evening before. I'm not a giant fan of lunar eclipses, but putting it all together in one imagine was undeniably neat. It was a long day but a unique evening of lunar excitement, and I was ready for bed.





 
The next morning, after exploring the dunes and avoiding the ticks, I headed home to get ready for this year's foliage blitz. The coastal trip was a great opportunity and a wonderful break from my land-locked status. Again, I thank Jeff and Carrie for their hospitality.  And the bonus was that I got to meet the newest member of the Guild.


Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

The Rye Beach "Weekend", 2015

Couldn't Quite Get it in the Lens

 
One of our summer traditions is the annual Rye Beach Weekend. Every July we spend a couple of days on the coast visiting our friends Tom and Paula, who rent a rustic cottage on the New Hampshire shore. A nice thing about retirement is that the Rye Beach Weekend no longer needs to be scheduled during a crowded Saturday and Sunday.  This year we were able to visit on a relaxed Sunday through Tuesday.  As always, it was a chance to roll my toes in the sand, engage in leisurely chatting and of course consume too much good food. It was also a treasured opportunity to get a dose of sea coast photography. 


Pick Your Lighthouse

Morning Catch, Whaleback Light 2012

Year to year my Atlantic shore subjects vary, largely dependent on the weather, but, being on the east coast, sunrises are always a major attraction. Over the last couple of years I focused on the rising sun behind Whaleback Light in Portsmouth Harbor. As outlined in previous blogs, I have enjoyed variable levels of success from my early morning adventures to Odiorne State Park, attempting to capture the dawn glow from just the right angle. This year I decided to look for other sunrise scenes and ended up with a different lighthouse.



Portland Harbor Light

Pinned

As always, my first step was to explore my options from within the Photographers Ephemeris. I went to the appropriate dates and then moved my location pin to try to find places where the rising sun would be in an attractive location. I have always found the Portland Harbor Lighthouse difficult to approach, being isolated within the Coast Guard Station, but I discovered that the sun could be seen to rise directly behind the light from a spot along the shore to the southeast.


Two Ungodly Early Mornings
 I had two mornings to try for the shot and set my alarm for 4:30am. The sunrise was at about 5:20am, but, on that first morning, the best show came as the predawn light set the clouds on fire. Sadly I took the wrong turn and ended up on the beach about thirty seconds too late and totally missed the fleeting spectacle. I was frustrated and annoyed with myself for not exploring the location the night before. I was able to catch a couple of images of the light peeking through the clouds, but making things infinitely worse was the fact that another photographer was on site and was only too happy to show me the amazing light that I had barely missed. A lovely guy, and I wanted to strangle him. 

Predawn Glow Portsmouth Harbor Light

The next morning I was determined to give the spot another try. This time I set the clock for 4am and reached the location in plenty
of time. The sky was mostly clear without the nice layer of clouds from the day before, but I was able to capture the fiery predawn glow along the shore. I hoped to catch the sun at the moment that it shined directly through the lens of the lighthouse, but as I followed its ascent, and slowly moving to the west, I ran into the fence which guarded the perimeter of the Coast Guard Station. With signs promising incarceration, death or both, I decided not to try sneaking around the obstacle and had to settle for capturing the brilliant orb as it nudged the top of the light. Given my distance

Predawn Glow

from the lighthouse, I was able to use my 400mm telephoto lens to get closer and to magnify the appearance of the of the sun. At that hour, lobster boats were regularly heading out to sea and I was fortunate to catch one at just the right time. As the sun rose higher it was time to turn my back and look for subjects illuminated by the rosy early light and I couldn't get away without at least one picture of Whaleback against that remarkable sky.

Tidal Washed

Dawn Light

Whaleback Glow, Portsmouth Harbor

Along the Beach

Ring Billed Gull

The other major attraction of the Rye Beach visit is the opportunity to explore the interface between sand and surf. The beach is a popular spot for leisurely strollers, but on this foggy morning that traffic was manageable and it seemed that the sea gulls were desensitized to the presence of humans. I had hoped to catch a few gulls during take-off, but despite my persistant approaches I seemed only able to get them to waddle away.


Flotsam and Jetsam

Flotsam, Jetsam or ?

As I stroll the beach, I am always looking for interesting flotsam and jetsam to photograph and this year I found my share. Thanks to Wikipedia I now know the difference between flotsam and jetsam. As it turns out they both refer to items lost from a ship in distress. Flotsam is debris inadvertently lost, while jetsam refers to items that have been intentionally "jett"isoned, often in an attempt to lighten ship. The definitions may seem arbitrary, but they have legal implications, since flotsam can be claimed by the original owner, while jetsam can be salvaged by anyone. Of course on the beach, it is hard to tell the difference and I have no idea where an escaped lobster buoy falls on this continuum. But it is all fair game for photography. 





You must agree that my blog is a rich source of worthless information.

  

At low tide the southern end of the Rye Beach is a great place to explore the surf kissed rocks and quiet tidal pools. The trick is to avoid getting stranded by the incoming tide. The light was soft with intermittent fog and I got some nice images, but I stupidly forgot my aqua-sox and came away with grotesquely lacerated feet.

Tidal Dance

Bearded Rocks

 
























It Takes a Village

Portsmouth Congregational Church

It was another lovely couple of days on the beach. Sun, sand, friends and food, and the chance to capture the unique feeling of coastal New England. It was great to meet up at a restaurant in Portsmouth with old friends Wally and Michele who now live in York Maine. We also had the chance to welcome the newest member of our "village". Grandchild, little Ivy, seemed to fit right in, good job Kelly. The only thing better would have been if she was OUR grandchild. Are you listening Abby and Jeremy?

Ivy's First Rye Weekend

Ryes Past

 Whaleback Light, Searching for an Eddington Moment, 2012

Rye Beach Weekend, Trying Again for an Eddington Moment, 2013

Rye Beach 2014, Challenges and Opportunities, 2014

Last Glow, Rye Beach

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com