I joined the throngs shooting pictures of the weekend’s supermoon eclipse.  A so-called supermoon describes the full moon’s slightly larger appearance due to being at or near its perigee, the closest distance the moon reaches the earth in its elliptical orbit.  The combination of a supermoon and lunar eclipse is unusual:  the last one occurred in 1983 and the next will be in 2033.

The moonrise didn’t bode well with clouds on the horizon but the moon rose above it and stayed clear of clouds during the eclipse.  This is fortunate as I’m not sure I’ll be around in 2033 to catch the next event.

Moonlight reflects from clouds near the horizon, providing the only evidence of the full moon behind them

A supermoon is a full moon that appears a bit larger than normal because the moon is at or near a perigee, the closest the moon is to the earth in its orbit around it.

The Tetons in Wyoming are effortlessly photogenic and the close proximity of the mountains to roads make for easy intimacy.  I shot several panoramas, some hand-held, during our recent vacation trip.  All came out well and could withstand large printing if desired.  It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

These samples used anywhere from 4 to 12 images, shot vertically, and then stitched either with Adobe Lightroom or Kolor’s Autopano Pro.  (The latter is far superior, for more challenging stitches.)  Cylindrical projection suited my taste for these images.

Lori and I spent a vacation week split between Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming. They both offer endless photography opportunities (and no doubt literally billions of pictures have been shot there). My photographic ambitions were modest, opting instead to put the emphasis on having a memorable experience with Lori.  Nevertheless, it’s difficult to not get some worthwhile vacation pictures from these places of endless scenic beauty and natural wonder.