Having shot lunar eclipses several times in the past, my objective this time was to see whether I could line up the Eclipsed moon with a major landmark. I selected San Francisco’s most iconic building, the Transamerica Pyramid. The time I chose was 6:06am, right when the eclipsed moon should be coming out from total eclipse and brightening back up. I looked up the height of the building, the elevation angle of the moon at that time, and that enabled me to calculate the distance I would need to be from the building. I determined the compass direction the shadow would fall, and located point on Google earth with the right direction and distance.

 I set my camera up in that spot 10 minutes early, and here’s how the next 10 minutes turned out:
I pretty much nailed it… the center of the moon passes right past the tip of the building!

Here are some more of my images from that night:

Jeff Sullivan

Jeff Sullivan leads landscape photography workshops in national parks and public lands throughout California and the American West.

View Comments

  • Pretty much nailed it? I don't think you could've done anything more. This is OFS -- Out-freakin-standing! I'm still trying to decide whose work I prefer, yours or Darwin Wiggett's and I think the answer is you're both equally talented.

  • Well done, sir Jeffrey! I flew to DC for my shot. One correction, however, the moon *entered* totality just as it hit the TA building. It was fully eclipsed as it set.

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