Shooting the Blood Moon

Early this morning we in the USA were treated by a celestial show - full lunar eclipse.  Moon rise of the April 14th was mostly clear with a few light clouds. While I had napped during the day, not sure if I would be up for the whole eclipse. Gathered the equipment for a shoot.

All photos processed from RAW by Adobe Camera RAW. The camera was supported by Sunpak tripod.  Canon wired electronic shutter release.

Early evening shot. The first thing I did was set a negative EV, trying to adjust the metering for the bright subject. 

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens.  f/5.6 at 0.800 sec  Aperture Priority  102.0mm  ISO 100   EV -2.67

At my location, approximately 20 miles due East of downtown Omaha, NE, the eclipse started about 1:00 am CDT. Clear and cold (upper 20s) with no wind.  Camera was set up in my driveway. This photo was taken at 1:16 am.

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens.  f/5.3 at 1/13 sec  Aperture Priority  200.0mm  ISO 100   EV -5.00

Changed my len before subsequent shots.  Wanted to get a close as my equipment would allow.  Caught this photo as the eclipse nears totality and the moon starts turning red.  1:57am

Canon EOS 60D with .Canon EF 75-300 (1.6 cf) lens  f/8.0 at 1/2 sec  Aperture Priority  300.0mm  (effective 480mm)  ISO 100   EV -5.00

The "money" shot of the shoot.  You can understand why its called a "Blood Moon".  This shot required changes to my procedure.  I switched to "live" mode to get a good focus.  Fortunately, I had time to go into the house to process earlier photos and realized I had a focus problem.  

Canon EOS 60D with .Canon EF 75-300 (1.6 cf) lens  f/6.3 at 5.00 sec  Bulb  300.0mm  (effective 480mm)  ISO 100   EV 0.00

 

On the way back to the full moon, I was having problems with artifacts - see above. There was no detail in the moon like I was hoping to see.  It was now 4:00 am.  

Canon EOS 60D with .Canon EF 75-300 (1.6 cf) lens  f/6.3 at 1.00 sec  Bulb  300.0mm  (effective 480mm)  ISO 100   EV 0.00

Some more experimenting, I was able to get some detail into the moon before the eclipse was finished.   4:25 am

Canon EOS 60D with .Canon EF 75-300 (1.6 cf) lens  f/5.6 at 1/125 sec  Manual  300.0mm  (effective 480mm)  ISO 100   EV 0.00

 A final shot of the moon as I head out for coffee at 5:40 am.  This one was taken hand-held. 

Canon EOS 60D with .Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/320 sec  Manual  200.0mm  ISO 100   EV 0.00

While it was a long time in the cold (between breaks inside the garage and house) it was a productive shoot.  I learned a lot about my Canon 60D camera and "shooting the moon".  These photos will not be available for sale.  At a later date, I will post information of any that may be for sale.