Tag: night photography

Angry Moon

The moon was angry last night. It turned red. If you happen to miss the news, we had a rare coincidence of two reasonably normal events: the moon was at the closest point in its orbit; and there was a full lunar eclipse, producing what we call a “blood moon” because of its red color.

Blood Moon Eclipse-202

While originally I was planning on finding a good spot to scout it out, I stumbled upon an organized group at the University including some people from the astronomy department and also the local astronomy club. They had all sorts of telescopes and computers and equipment and knowledge. I had lots of fun interacting with people (people make all things better, right?) and even bumped into someone I had met at a programming meetup.

Getting prepared for the moon watching. The astronomer from the university had telescope pointed at the sun giving early-birds a chance to see the hot surface.
One goes down, one comes up.
The moon peeking over the horizon – a moment of excitement for everyone who came, after lots of waiting.
Probably the most awe-inspiring time of the night was seeing the partially-eclipsed moon rise over the mountain.
Everyone gazing at the moon: some just laying down next to each other on a blanket, others chatting and catching up, still more teaching curious children about the heavens. This was a successful community event.
These guys telescope packs compactly and makes for a great portable viewport into the sky.
An image stack of 32 images taken in sequence of the blood moon. It isn’t as good as I was hoping it would be, c’est la vie

Nachtwanderung

Since Mandi is gone having a girls’ weekend in London, I decided that my schedule really isn’t important, so I awakened my nocturnal side and explored the city.

After the bombings of WWII, this organ (great as it is) pales in comparison to the original organ from the 17th century.
Unlike the (fun) chaos of the disco, the pipes bring order and harmony to their listeners.
Stained Glass patterns look much different without the sunlight shining through.

The evening started with a visit to the Marktkirche (the market Church) for an Organ concert – the most pleasant part of the night. I asked myself why someone would want to come all the way to an old brick church to hear the music when they could get it from their iPod instead, but as soon as I felt the resonating tones in my ears and in my feet I remembered how silly of a question that is.

Looking back in 2015
Looking back in 1907

Hannover is small enough that you can walk through just about every street downtown in a single night, quite a contrast to the likes of Tokyo. There was a surprising amount of activity on the streets that lasted from the time the lights went out up until the bakers turned them back on. Despite the darkness (businesses and buildings turn their lights off at night, unlike in the United States) it felt incredibly safe.

The Altstadt, or old city, still has some very old half-timber homes mixed in with the ones that were reconstructed after the war.

My journey ended back at the main train station. The youth of the city and region around Hannover have taken over this block with lights and music and partying, which was actually quite a bit of fun.

I love taking these walks and getting some great pictures, and it’s something that’s hard to share with someone who isn’t also there with their camera. During the daytime I’m always on the lookout for a place that might look good at night for a photo so I can be efficient, but it still involves lots and lots of standing around waiting for the camera to do its thing, making small adjustments when it’s not exactly right.