I try to not miss an opportunity to photograph a “Super Moon” near a local lighthouse when the sunset and moonrise times line up. Back in March, when the “Buck Moon” came up right at sunset, it was the perfect time to get the shot. I used an app called “Photo Pills” to see which lighthouse on Cape Ann it lined up with. I also use a newer app called “TPE” which has less features to it. As it turned out the Straightsmouth Island light in Rockport, MA lined up perfectly with the rising moon. I used the Fujifilm XF 100-400 as it is a long reach from the Headlands in Rockport to Straightsmouth Island. Using this app I was able to figure out very closely where I needed to stand. If I had gone any lower near the water the lighthouse would have broken the horizon and it would not have looked as nice. It’s still a little close for me but I could not get any higher to lower the top of the lighthouse below the horizon. If I had been at water level the moon would have come up right behind the lighthouse which would have been pretty cool but the haze would have made it less visible.
This particular day in March was quite warm (around 70 degrees F) which heated the land up quite a bit and as the sun went down an atmospheric shimmer appeared as the warmed land let off it’s heat. Using such a long lens compressed this heat and gave the images a slightly off sharp look. I was worried all day about the haze that was building on the horizon but the moon came through quite well. The top image is just as it broke through the haze. As the moon got higher in the sky it became clearer to see.
I only managed to get the lighthouse light in a few shots just not in the ones I wanted. It was a good thing a sea gull flew through to make this last image more interesting. I also made a YouTube video of this photo shoot which I have embedded below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pynzXhJVemM&w=560&h=315]