Mystical moon photographs from Lancashire
Lee Mansfield photographed the moon for the first time in 2020, and now his images have been published in national newspapers
I noticed the tip of the moon: it was happening! I ran to my car to grab my gear and set up as quickly as I could
Early last year I saw a few photos of large moons towering over landmarks, which looked really impressive. I decided to have a go myself and spent a good few weeks understanding the moon’s position, azimuth and direction using apps such as Stellarium, The Photographer’s Ephemeris, Photopills and Sun Surveyor. I knew
I needed a good lens, so I decided to purchase the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 with a 2x teleconverter, meaning that
I could extend the focal length to 1200mm if I needed the distance.
I attempted to plan a few moon shots in July 2020 but failed miserably due to the amount of cloud. I started to doubt myself, but decided to spend a little more time researching the moon and understanding the apps. It finally paid off. In August I managed to capture my first ever full-moon photo; it was a rare one too. I took it at the end of the day, as the moon rose from the horizon just before civil twilight. The full moon was on 3 August, but I knew I had a few days either side of this to capture a suitable image. The best conditions were on 1 August, which would provide me with a waxing gibbous at 95% illumination. Although this isn’t classed as a full moon, I knew it would look impressive enough.
Moonage daydream
Planning is essential. The most important steps are to determine the position of the moon, locate where you intend to shoot from and identify any obstructions such as trees, houses or pylons. I’d also make sure you can access and park close to your shooting location. On top of that, research the height and elevation of the landmark you’re shooting and ensure your lens can reach the desired focal length.
For the moon to appear suitably large you need to be at least one mile away from the landmark, which is why scouting suitable locations is so important. I chose Darwen Tower in Lancashire for my first subject [1]. On the day, I monitored the weather conditions, which were hit-andmiss. It was still very cloudy at 8pm and I was unsure if I was going to go ahead with the shoot. I took the risk and arrived at the shooting location at 8.30pm.
The conditions still weren’t suitable, so I left my gear in the car. At 8:51pm I noticed the tip of the moon: it was happening! I ran back to my car to grab my gear and set up as quickly as I could. I had about five minutes until the moon moved away from the tower. Thankfully the planning paid off. I knew exactly where to set up and had already worked out my exposure settings.
I returned another night to capture the moon at 100% illumination [2] and used
a slighter longer focal length for a tighter crop. I have also photographed the moon over Darwen Tower at 80% illumination [3]. Rain made this almost impossible, but a five-minute gap left me just enough time to get the shot. I locked focus on the moon and the tower was silhouetted as the time moved from civil to nautical twilight.
Next up, I planned to shoot a moon over the White Church at Lytham St Annes. The coastal winds were so strong I had to abandon my original shooting point on the beach and find cover in front of a wall. This meant I was no longer positioned to capture the moon directly over the church, but was still able to shoot it as it rose above the houses [4]. The next photo is an early one. I was up at 4am to shoot the moon at 5am. I set up approximately 1.5 miles away from Peel Monument. Cloud came in at the last minute, so I could only photograph the moon to the right of the tower before it disappeared for good [5].
The last full moon of 2020 was the Cold Moon in December, which lasted two days at 100% illumination. This allowed me to shoot it above the town of Haslingden [6] and Stonyhurst College [7]. The first photo was captured by chance when I was out photographing the sunset, while the latter was planned.