Hunting Super Moons
15 November 2024
The Beaver full moon perfectly aligned with the cross atop St Paul’s Cathedral, captured on Friday, 15 November, at 17:18:49.
For the past few years, I’ve been captivated by photographing moonrises and moonsets of Full Moons (especially Super Moons), carefully aligning the moon with an interesting foreground. I’m not sure why—it can certainly be frustrating when things don’t go to plan. The weather might not cooperate, or the location turns out to be a disappointment. I once drove two hours up the M40 to Chesterton Windmill, only to find the sails had been taken down!
But the thrill of watching the moon appear on the horizon and discovering whether you’re standing in just the right spot, with the moon perfectly aligned with your subject—that feeling is hard to beat.
The moon moves surprisingly fast when viewed through a 400mm lens—there’s just over four minutes between the image on the left and the one on the right!
The image was taken from the southern side of Waterloo Bridge, and I had space to adjust my shooting position if needed to perfect the alignment. The usual view of St Paul’s from there was quite messy, with a crane and construction boarding along the riverbank. Luckily, none of that had to feature in the final moon image!
Unfortunately, not every outing goes to plan. The moon was perfectly aligned with Brill Windmill, but the scene was cluttered with trees and buildings, spoiling the image. A good reminder—always check out a potential location in advance!
Sometimes, everything is perfectly planned—except the weather. I’m sure this shot of Belle Tout Lighthouse would have been fantastic if the moon hadn’t been hidden behind the clouds!
And sometimes, the subject just isn’t quite as it should be… This is Chesterton Windmill near Leamington Spa—everything was perfect, except the sails had been removed for restoration! They’re due to be back in place in 2025, so it’s definitely worth another visit.
If you would like to see more moon images, then please take a look at my Portfolio on this site.