The Lunar Eclipse That Almost Wasn’t – A Night Photography Sprint!

The May 26, 2021 Blood Flower Supermoon (right) glows a deep red next to the red supergiant star Antares in Scorpius. The galactic core region of the Milky Way shines through the clouds, revealing, among other objects, the pink Lagoon Nebula at the upper right. This is a single image and was captured just as astronomical twilight was commencing, hence the light blue of the sky. ISO 6400, f/3.2, 20 sec; 35 mm.

 

When I look back on some of the best things in my life, so many of them are the result of a conversation with a friend.

Like the 2021 total lunar eclipse, also known as the Blood Flower Supermoon Lunar Eclipse. Now, while I knew the eclipse was going to take place, it wasn’t until I was chatting with a friend about night photography that I realized (i.e., she pointed out) that the eclipsed moon would be near the galactic core of the Milky Way.

Well, THAT piqued my interest! However, I live in Minnesota and the total eclipse wasn’t going to be visible here. So, I put the whole idea on the back burner. 

Not much more happened until I was preparing for my night photography webinar on how to photograph the lunar eclipse on the Sunday preceding the eclipse on the following Wednesday morning. 

As I was doing my research, I realized that in fact the eclipsed moon was going to be visible RIGHT NEXT TO the galactic core of the Milky Way, and offered a number of truly fantastic nightscape shots and time-lapse opportunities.  

 Needless to say, I definitely pointed these out during my lunar eclipse webinar!

Planit Pro screen showing its highly accurate rendering of how the May 26, 2021 total lunar eclipse would appear from Zabriske Point in Death Valley National Park. This simulated accounts for the use of the 45 MM focal length lens used during the actual event. It also accounts for the actual terrain as viewed from the specific shooting location, and with the camera aimed at the specific azimuth and elevation angle. I demonstrate how to use the Planit Pro app in most of my night photography workshops and classes.

 

The hunt was on! Google Flights, Weather Underground, Expedia….bada boom, bada bing, I was booked on a $297 flight to Las Vegas, leaving in roughly 48 hours! My itinerary allowed me to land, pick up the rental car, drive 2 hours towards Death Valley National Park, grab a couple hours sleep in my car just outside the park, and then drive the remaining distance to arrive at my shooting location at Zabriske Point, Death Valley, around 1:30 am. 

After rescheduling my appointments (thank you, you know who you are!), charging my camera batteries, cleaning my camera sensors and lenses along with hurried, last minute photography planning with Planit Pro!, and finally cramming three cameras, tripods and gear into two carry-on bags, I found myself descending into a completely cloudy Las Vegas Nevada. Not ideal eclipse-viewing weather.

Cellphone shot of the cloudy skies that greeted me at my parking spot just outside Death Valley National Park. Not ideal for eclipse viewing – the moon is the bright patch near the center top.

The weather forecast indicated that the skies should clear right around when the eclipse would occur, so off I went, into the sunset. But when parked for my pre-eclipse nap, the skies looked even worse. Ugh.

When I awoke around 1:00 am– still cloudy. But wait, off to the west, there was a clear patch of skies! And when I arrived at Zabriske Point, the moon was just beginning to peek through the clouds, filling the landscape with beautiful, silvery moonlight.

View walking up to the viewing deck at Zabriske Point, Death Valley National Park, 1:52 am, May 26, 2021; cellphone photo. Bright moonlight from the full Supermoon flooded the landscape, making it appear almost like daytime.

When I arrived at my intended shooting location, I was surprised that only a half dozen or so other photographers were present, intently crouched over their tripods. I expected the place to be packed! 

I unpacked my gear, set up my three tripods and cameras, and started shooting. I anxiously watched the clouds – were they thickening or clearing? I removed my thermos of hot tea from my bag, started spooning in some dry milk…and then I heard a familiar voice, “Mike? Is that you?” 

Ha! It was my friend who had arranged to meet me at Zabriske Point for the eclipse. I hadn’t seen him since before the pandemic lockdown, so what an unexpected bonus to the whole event! We exchanged greetings and remarked on how crazy is it to meet under such unusual conditions.

The sky continued to darken as the moon slipped into the earth’s shadow… cameras all around clicked furiously… more people arrived… red headlamps flashed over the scene… people spoke in whispers…. the Milky Way appeared! The moon turned deep, orange red! The eclipse was happening.

Time-lapse of the May 26, 2021 total lunar eclipse from Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, California. Experience the eerie darkening that accompanies the full moon transforming from a brilliant orb of light into a vivid reddish, “Blood Moon!” Dawn overtook the brightening of the moon as it slipped out from behind Earth’s shadow; fortunately a window in the high clouds allowed this event to be observed.

Suddenly the skies began to lighten as dawn approached. The clouds thickened and the moon slipped behind the mountains to the west. It was over. You could hear a collective sigh of relief!

Everyone chattered excitedly as they reviewed their images on the cameras. What an incredible event. The clouds had cleared for just the right amount of time to view the eclipse, and everything went superbly. My friend and I chatted for a while, catching up on events from an extraordinary year.

The time had come to depart. I repacked my two carry-on bags and we said our good-byes. I drove back to the airport and returned home uneventfully. A productive 24 hour and 12-minute trip, if there ever was one!

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Mike Shaw’s May 26, 2021 Total Lunar Eclipse Projects

Tripod 1 - Time-lapse with constant exposure settings:

2100 images

ISO 2000

f/2.8

0.5 sec

5 sec interval

45 mm Irix lens on an astro-modified Nikon D850, lens and astro-mod by Spencer’s Camera

Tripod 2 - Various moon / Milky Way images

ISO 3200-6400

f/3.2

5 - 20 sec

24-70 mm, f/2.8 Nikkor lens on a Nikon D810A

Tripod 3 - Various tracked moon / sky still images & video

ISO 800-6400

f/3.2

5 - 30 sec

70-200 mm & 200 - 500 mm Nikkor lenses on a Nikon D850

Star Adventure Pro star tracker