![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/images\/capitol_moon_53741.jpg\")
<\/center>I spotted this unique moon last night, actually. It was even more of a sliver than it is tonight, since it’s waxing from a recent new moon<\/a>. What caught my eye is that the crescent appears completely horizontal, something I don’t remember seeing before. I knew I wanted a photo last night but I had two little toddlers to take home after our swimming excursion. No worries, I thought…I’ve got tomorrow night. Well, tomorrow became tonight, and it brought with it some challenges.<\/p>\nThat’s an actual photo up there, folks. I did not<\/b> cut out the moon and paste it next to the capitol, nor did I enlarge it in any way. Thus the title of this post, and the challenge I faced in chasing this shot.<\/p>\n
First, I needed a prominent foreground object to showcase this moon. What better object than the capitol? That’s what I thought, although that presents its own challenges. Read on…<\/p>\n
Second, I needed to get far enough away from my foreground object. Why? So it would appear small, and thus make the moon look relatively large. I can’t vary my distance from the moon to any significant degree, but a little bit makes a BIG difference with the foreground object, even one as large as the capitol. But with distance, my challenge was compounded. Why?<\/p>\n
Third, I needed to be able to get a clear shot of the capitol from just the right position to get the moon next to it. Think that’s easy? Not hardly. I needed high ground, and even a few dozen yards makes a big difference in the perspective.<\/p>\n
Fourth, I had to find this magic location at just the right time to catch the moon approaching the capitol. I didn’t want it above the capitol, nor did I want it directly beside it. I knew I didn’t want to Photoshop it, either…so I had to get it all right.<\/p>\n
That’s why it was such a fun and stressful challenge to get this shot. I had to triangulate relative distance, position, and time for things to work out. This shot is the result of standing on a freezing sidewalk, shooting between two houses and just past\/through a small tree. It worked. I was able to catch this unique sliver of moon next to our cities’ most prominent landmark, and I was able to do it without any digital trickery. Then it was a quick grocery errand for my lovely wife, and back here to share the photo with y’all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I spotted this unique moon last night, actually. It was even more of a sliver than it is tonight, since it’s waxing from a recent new moon. What caught my eye is that the crescent appears completely horizontal, something I … Continue reading