Super Moon November 2016

I love photographing the moon. I always keep track of full moons, just in case there is a photo opp, but in southern Sweden cloudy weather is the norm for most of the year, so I don't get too many memorable moon-shots. But this week was an exception to the rule. With all the hype from the newspapers, CNN, Facebook, I think the whole world knew there was a super moon in the making and as luck would have it a high pressure system was parked over southern Sweden promising us a week of clear skies and freezing weather.
D-Day for the super moon was Monday the 14th, but with the beautiful clear skies I got started earlier in the week. The full moon has its charm, but since the entire face of the moon is illuminated there are no shadows to add any detail, so a few days before a full moon provides a better chance to see the craters on the moon's surface.

On Wednesday Nov 9th, D-5 I was just warming up with my Canon 7D and 800mm lens...

And then on Friday Nov 11, D-3, while waiting in line at the Saluhallen market in Lund I had about 30 numbers ahead of me, so I stepped outside to catch the moon as it was just rising over the Krognoshus. I had to stand in the middle of the street and dodge a couple of city buses, but it was worth it. Taken with my Canon 6D and 100-400L.

Saturday Nov 12, D-2, we were invited to afternoon fika at 15:00, which was really not a good time since the moonrise was at 15:37 and I had other plans... So I discretely excused myself at 15:30 to step outside, force my way through 10 meters of trees, shrubs and undergrowth before landing on a farmers field to capture the moonrise, which would have been a little boring if a paraglider hadn't flown into my picture. Sometimes you get lucky... Taken with my Canon 6D + Canon 300/2.8+ 1.4 extender.

Sunday Nov. 13, D-1. I had long been imagining getting the moonrise behind Dalby Holy Cross Church since it sits atop a hill, but there were some clouds visible, so I had my doubts it was going to work, but again, luck was on my side. The moon rose and 5 minutes later disappeared into the clouds. Taken with my Canon 300/2.8 + 2X extender, I should have used a longer lens.

Monday Nov. 14, D-Day, and the weather outlook called for clear skies in the morning so I decided to shoot the moonset. Up at 5:00AM, no breakfast and a 30 minute drive to the Öresunds Bridge where I waited for the moon to get into position. A little too early, the bridge was still too dark, it would have been better tomorrow, but rain was in the forecast, so this was the only option. Shot at 800mm at 1/30th with the Canon 6D at iso 6400.

A good week as far as photography goes, the two last pictures were even published by Sydsvenskan, the local newspaper, and then a follow-up article the next day.