09/02/2026
Astro Photography can be a lot easier than you think!
Thank you, The Tangi Times for publishing my 8-27-26 Sturgeon Moon Partial Lunar Eclipse photos in the Monday paper.
A fellow photographer asked: "Phillip , where did you go to get these photos?" I replied, "in my backyard."
"Whaaaa?"
The moon was high up above and the wispy clouds were cooperative in allowing sporadic openings.
Making a photo every thirty minutes to demonstrate the eclipse stages is easy on a clear night. It's easier to show the shadow changes in the moon's surface.
However, the cloud cover meant stepping outside every ten or fifteen minutes during the "Miss Fisher's Mysteries" on PBS, the ten o'clock news, Perry Mason and Twilight Zone on MeTV. Ha ha! It did not interfere with Thursday Television Night.
Last Thursday night's location conditions were quite favorable apart from the cloud cover: no mosquitos, air conditioning just steps away inside, convenient photo location just outside the back door.
You just need good equipment to capture these photos. Sometimes a good cell phone is all you need. Do an internet search for photograph tips. However, some of the cell phone photos of the eclipse I saw were just, well, not up to the job.
A DSLR or Mirrorless Camera and long lens are the best way to capture this. The moon travels fast, so a tripod is not needed.
The hardest part was putting together this collage in Photoshop. I hope you like it!
The important part, though, is just being outside and experiencing this amazing astronomical event - it was safe and easy to see with the naked eye.
If you read all of this, thanks!
Photos by Phillip Colwart Photography, Hammond, LA. 985.542.8216.
