After a recent Optimist Club meeting I drove for a while to unwind after a long day. I stopped at Clarence Street when I saw the full moon caught between the bridge uprights. I quickly threw up the drone, aiming to get an otherwise impossible shot at a higher elevation, without the solid mass of the central control building blocking the moon. This did not work. Time was against me. I had missed the moment. Points for trying, though.
Plan B, I put away the drone and quickly grabbed the camera. The moon was moving fast and by this time had already slid away from the bridge a little more. Cloud was also partially covering it. I can still work with this, I thought.
Positioning myself so the moon was directly behind the bridge cables, I recomposed the shot and set the shutter to 10 seconds. A little risky, since the lights on the bridge act like floodlights and make it almost daytime bright. But I wanted to get the sky behind the bridge, as well. I also wanted to time the shot to get tail lights from traffic crossing the bridge, and I did – that red line on the bridge.
This is not the best image I have taken of this bridge. The shot did not come out as I hoped when I pulled up and grabbed the drone. Time (and orbital mechanics) were against me. Things in the sky move faster than you think. Nonetheless I got a shot I like. Crisp and clear, with moon and sky. Not completely blown out. That 10-second exposure was right on the money. Not bad math, for running gun seat of the pants and calculating a complex scene with many (literally) moving parts. Not perfect. But with seconds to get any shot at all, I’m happy. Event photography experience helps. I will return again when the moon is in the right place, and give myself a little more time to line up the shot. Some day. Until then, here’s my memory.
