It can be awe inspiring to glance up just before dark and see the full moon rising in the eastern sky and spotting a super moon when our neighbor is closest to the earth is amazing.
look for the supermoon fri-sat, nov. 15-16
The November full supermoon will rise above the eastern horizon Friday, November 15, 2024, at 4:49pm in the New Orleans area. That’s fifteen minutes before sunset, so the full moon may be difficult to see at first in the sunlit sky. The following day, Saturday November 16, the moon should be equally impressive when it rises a bit later at 5:39pm. That’s more than a half-hour after sunset. Don’t forget that you can catch the full supermoon as it sets just before sunrise on Friday November 15. The full moon sets at 6:08am, a short time before the sun rises at 6:26am in New Orleans. All we need are clear skies!
my quest to photograph the full moon
I planned a supermoon photo shoot in September, picking a location with an interesting landmark to pair with the rising moon. But to get to that spot, I needed a boat ride. Captain Mike Jones of Louisiana Tours and Adventures picked me up along the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville. I was carrying two backpacks loaded with camera gear and tripods. The multiple cameras and telephoto lenses were needed to shoot the moon and record video of the adventure.
FINDING A SUPER LOCATION FOR THE SUPERMOON
We boarded Captain Mike’s pontoon tour boat an hour before sunset and headed south to the end of the river a few miles away. There is a classic 1837 lighthouse that stands on a small finger of land near the entrance to the river. The lighthouse is the landmark I was hoping to pair with the rise of the supermoon. And to get the right angle, I needed to be on the west side of the lighthouse, a location that can only be reached by water.
Captain Mike is no stranger to this area. He’s been doing guided tours along the Tchefuncte River for the past nine years, introducing visitors to this beautiful slice of Louisiana scenery. The river is framed with moss-draped oaks and tall cypress trees. White egrets and great blue herons are frequently seen wading along the shoreline or perched in branches overhanging the river. Mike says he gets requests for moonlight cruises, which also provide a chance to see alligators. “It’s the best time to see alligators because their eyes reflect the light at night,” Mike explains.
clouds get in the way
As we reached our vantage point near the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, the low-hanging clouds were blocking the horizon. Although I was hoping for a break in the clouds to the east, that didn’t happen. It was nearly dark when the full moon finally rose above the clouds. At that height, it no longer had the massive appearance typical of a rising supermoon. We did our best to get a few interesting pictures, but this was not the scene I was hoping for. I planned to return a month later for the next supermoon.
chasing the supermoon on tv
Take two – another moon shot
Captain Mike picked me up at the same spot in Madisonville in October. It was cool and the skies were clear. The breeze that would rock our boat on the lake was buffered by land to the northeast. The super moon would rise nearly a half-hour before sunset. Not ideal, but it proved to be workable. The giant full moon had already lifted above the treetops when we spotted it through the sunny evening haze in the eastern sky. I set my cameras for a rapid-fire shutter release since the boat was moving in the small waves. I hoped that by taking multiple images, I would capture some that were nicely framed with the lighthouse and moon and the intermittent beacon.
a frenzy of picture-taking as moon rises
I don’t think I had ever experienced a ‘bigger’ full moon. It was worth the effort and the challenge of shooting a long telephoto lens in a rocking boat that was drifting in the lake while the moon was also moving across the sky. The experiences were wonderful and have me checking the calendar and weather forecast for the next full moon.
Supermoon and comet
After returning to Madisonville, I took a brief detour before driving home. I drove south to the lakeshore, away from the city lights, to catch a glimpse of the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, aka A3. A dozen other vehicles were already there and groups of people searched the sky for the comet. And it was there, barely visible with the naked eye, but easily captured with an IPhone. As I drove across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway on my way home, that bright supermoon was reflecting off the water. A small portion of the moon was now blocked by the shadow of the earth in a partial lunar eclipse. It was a great night to be outside!
Photographing Louisiana
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