Moon Party: Nobody was invited but everybody came. The Lunar Eclipse gathering in Portland, Oregon.

(This sequence was shot with two camera setups: A K3ii with a Sigma 150-500mm lens, mostly set at 450mm. The wide shots of the crowd were done with a Sony RX100M3, 24-70mm).



5:30 pm: The crowd starts to gather on the Pittock Mansion grounds, one of the best views in Portland:






Photographers from everywhere. The early birds got the premium spots by the front fence. The rest of us gather in the back. Dozens of photographers; some bring significant others who can withstand all the geek talk:






Getting ready, checking settings. I'm shooting with my new Pentax K3ii and a Sigma 150-500 lens. The crowd swells to over 100 people. We're shoulder to shoulder and it's fun comparing notes with all the photographers:






Focusing on Mt. Hood. Everybody trades information about where the moon is supposed to show up relative to our mountain. The guy next to me asks if he should create a rumor that it's going to be "way over there" so he and I can get a better vantage point:






7:04 pm: There it is! Barely visible to the naked eye, it looks more like a cloud than a moon. The eclipse is nearly total, and we're looking at a sliver of bright moon left to cover. It's only dusk and there's a haze out there:






7:20 pm: The moon has been in total eclipse since 7:11 pm. It rises quickly and, with an increasing darkness, we finally see the pinkish orb:






Ooohhh! The cell phones all go up at once:






7:20 pm: Now we have a moon in total eclipse, totally visible. It's more orange than red. Somebody pops a champagne cork but there's not enough to go around. Some teenagers start howling at the moon:






The city is just below us and starting to get dark. The lights make the moon look even eerier:






8:02 pm: The eclipse is moving fast. The moon is moving fast. It takes constant recomposing and exposure adjustments to keep up with it:






8:25 pm: The earth's shadow is no longer completely covering the moon. The eclipse moves to the upper right and we begin to see the bright moon peeking out underneath. My brother called this "the polar ice cap". That's exactly what it looked like:






8:30 pm: The sliver of light grows brighter. Some people pick up their lawn chairs and leave. It's windy and my hands are stiff with the cold, but I feel compelled to watch. I've got plenty of company with the diehards:






8:38 pm: I'm sorry to see the orange-colored orb go. I've become attached:






8:45 pm: So much light is coming from the uncovered moon that it's creating a flare in the lens. I like the sister moon it created, so I leave the exposure alone and enjoy it:






8:53 pm: We start to see the familiar shape of a partial moon. There are only a couple of dozen people left at the party:






8:55 pm: I darken the exposure and get the last shot of the night, a crescent moon. Only a handful of photographers left. Some folks are staying to the bitter end. I say goodnight to the moon party and pack up my gear for the hike to the car. See you all in 2033!

[GeoJerry]

That was great! It looks to me like you could get superb shots there, moon or no moon, with the city in the foreground and the mountain (Hood?) behind it. Nice post!

[Kath]

Thanks @geojerry. It was great fun and made for an exciting night.

[DeadJohn]

SNIP...See you all in 2033!

Nice set. You'll get the "Great USA Solar Eclipse" of 2017, too. It passes just south of Portland.

[Kath]

Thank you, @DeadJohn. I saw that map of the solar eclipse trajectory and thought, lucky us!