The moon reached fullness March 16th. In anticipation, I kept an eye on the eastern sky the day before, though I wasn’t very diligent (a casual glance out my front door). Then all of a sudden there it was! Although my camera was accessible, I couldn’t locate my tripod so snapped a quick hand held shot. Not bad.

Lesson learned; sort of. I had 25 hours to gather my gear in preparation for the rise the next evening. According to my favourite photography app The Photographer’s Ephemeris, the moon was scheduled to rise an hour later which would make the sky and surroundings darker than the night before. The forecast was for cloud cover by sunset as another snow storm was moving in from the west. An hour before the scheduled moon rise, I headed out to locate a suitable angle for a shot assuming the gap between cloud and horizon would be sufficient. I had all but given up when I noticed a hint of colour.

Although I had located and packed my tripod, I didn’t bring my remote shutter which would have given clearer shots.

Photo Tip: When you don’t have a remote shutter, use your camera’s delay shutter option. My camera has a 10 second and 1 second option. I prefer the latter in this type of shot. Your camera should be on a tripod but can be propped up on something. Mittens or a jacket work well to create soft, flexible platform. The brief discomfort in the elements might be worth the shot captured.

I will have to remember that next time.