Yesterday night, residents of the Western Hemisphere experienced a total lunar eclipse. This phenomenon occurs when the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon and darkens it. At the peak of the eclipse, when the moon is totally within the Earth’s shadow, the moon often appears coppery red. That’s why this is called „Blood Moon”. This spectacular coloration caused by refraction of sunlight by the Earth’s atmosphere. Yesterday’s eclipse was just the first in the series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses within a year and the half. It’s known as a „tetrad”.

In Honolulu, Hawaii, the sky was very cloudy, however, finally, I was lucky, because I was able to photograph many of the phases of last night’s lunar eclipse through the gaps of the clouds. Photographing the lunar eclipse was a real challenge. I envisioned a composit picture with different phases of the eclipse. I wanted to show the detailed surface of the moon, so I decided to use a long telephoto lens. Getting a sharp image in the dark with a long lens is not an easy task. I used a tripod, turned on my camera’s mirror lockup function and I also used a remote control to avoid any vibration. I took several images of the moon going in and out of the shadow and assembled them into a montage to show the entire sequence of the lunar eclipse.

Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 lens, Canon 1.4x extender, Manfrotto tripod