Super Blood Moon from Blue Mounds State Park

Panoramic from Blue Mounds State Park getting ready to shoot the moon.  My shadow is in the picture also.

I read that there will not be another Super Blood Moon until the year 2033.  This was a unique time to practice photography and reflect on the significance of this event.  I have seen headlines of supernatural events associated with this time in our history.  While these theories are intriguing, what can I do about it if an apocalypse were to come to pass?  My only thoughts were recording this historical time in pictures, being creative, inquisitive, thankful, and enjoying these moments God provided.  

Trail starts just beyond this tree.
Used my sunglasses as a filter for this shot.

We drove about 45 minutes to Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota to hike the ridge and discover a spot to take pictures. We brought water, a flashlight, camera equipment, and jackets. The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and the wind was strong, As we entered the hiking trail, a huge tree rustled leaves and swayed with the wind.  The trail was cool green grass with scattered boulders and rocks to the sides.  The ridge was treeless for the most part; just tall grasses and a sky that goes on forever.  After a few minutes, we stopped to admire the distant lakes, corn fields, farm houses, silos, and country roads below us. There was a small quarry from the 1930's. An information post told of its beginnings and history.  The rock was blasted out and shipped to a nearby crushing plant for use on roads and other projects in the local area. Another information post recorded this: 

In 1836, making his way to the Pipestone quarry, George Catlin described the vegetation of the prairie. "There is not a tree or bush to be seen.  The eye may range east and west to a boundless extent over a surface covered with grass.  The grass is green at one's feet but changes to blue in the distance like the blue and vastness of the ocean.  Man feels here, the thrilling sensation of unlimited freedom."

I repeated the words "unlimited freedom", took a deep breath, and looked out across the land imagining what early explorers must have felt when they crossed this way and realizing too that we are explorers ourselves in so many ways.

Farms, cornfields, and lakes from the trail.

The trail is soft grass.

Pipestone quarry.  Our shadows holding hands.

On the other side of the ridge a herd of bison contained by a fence grazed below in an open field.  A woman taking her daily run was silhouetted on the ridge. A rabbit jumped out between rocks as the sun was setting. We set up the tripod and camera on a shelf of flat rock and watched the sun set and the super blood moon appear. We discussed the science of this event, where the little puddles of water came from since we have not had any rain and warnings of the spindly cactus growing along the rock. We took selfies with our remote and tried the popular pose of appearing to hold the moon up in the air with our own hand.

Moon finally comes out after the sun sets below the horizon.

The moon finally appeared as the sun settled under the horizon and it was unusually majestic with an rusty orange glow, effortlessly hanging in the sky.  I practiced taking photos every few seconds with different settings.  I kept having to adjust the tripod because the moon was moving.  Eventually the moon went behind clouds in the darkness creating an eerie night sky.  I saw the beginnings of the eclipse but soon the clouds were too dense to see anything.  We gathered our things and walked by flashlight back to the car avoiding the little water puddles and stumbling hazards.  This was a great evening.

The moon is hard to capture.  A regular small camera only captures a small white dot.  A camera and lens kit such as what I have captures some detail and I was using the far edge of my camera abilities this night.  I feel I am ready for a better, longer reaching lens...  and some more training and practice. Learning and exploring is what makes photography fun.