Mid-February Fun

Ok so it's the middle of February. This has to be the worst time SDS (supercell deprivation syndrome) for storm chasers. Spring is so close, yet to so far away. It has been quite chilly the last few days and we still have 4 foot snow banks, with about 1-2 feet of snow left on the ground.

Last night I froze my butt off watching the lunar eclipse. I went out 4 times, in 10 minute intervals because it was so cold that one could get frostbite. It was almost -20C! Ice crystals in the air formed light pillars from various light sources. I decided to try my hand at moon/eclipse photography. Needless to say, I did run into issues such as blur (long exposures don't help because the moon moves across the sky quickly) and sometimes the moon would come out looking like a white glowing orb with ghosting/flare. I must have taken about 60 photos last night, but I finally managed to get one of Saturn and the eclipse that I thought was somewhat decent.

I used 400 ISO, 8 second exposure, with F stop 14, on my 18-200 Tamron
lens (focal length is 200 in this pic).