​Statue of Liberty, Pre-Dawn

    When I grew-up technology consisted of a gentle slap on the side of the RCA and suddenly the B&W TV channel came in clearer. Before I was out of high school man had set foot on the Moon.  So, technology has been ever progressing in ways my generation would have never dreamt possible. All the tech I’ve ever used in photography prior to transitioning to digital capture has been the “Viewfinder app”. The app shows exactly what a composition will look like in a chosen camera format with the various different lens that I own (only available for Apple products). With the gradual transition to digital photography a lot of online videos have become a daily exercise to embrace the new challenges ahead.

    With the shift to digital capture photography technology would be an ever present source of frustration and a new mountain to climb. Nevertheless, I have come to be inspired by the doors that technology can open, most times not an easy door to open, nevertheless, photographic challenges most times I seem to enjoy. I came across an app called PhotoPills, mind-blowingly powerful…and complicated. Nevertheless, more video homework would soon lead to an understanding, and an evolving plan to photograph a full moon directly above the Statue of Liberty’s torch in January 2024. 

   Thanks to a YouTube channel, linked here, a photographer from northern New England provided a simplified explanation into the process of determining when a full moon would be perfectly aligned with the Statue’s torch. This would include exact Blue hour times, height of the moon over the torch, the size of the moon in relation to the torch and all things this photographer couldn’t possibly determine without her explanation of the PhotoPills app. Google Earth would provide an overhead view of a perfect location to accomplish a full moon and Statue of Liberty photograph. 

    I would be in the metro New York city area to pick-up my Texas son and his family flying in for Xmas 2023. The opening photograph was made pre-dawn on Dec. 22, 2023 from the Louis Valentino Jr. pier seen in the photo above. Prior to airport pick-up I scouted out the exact location of the pier, then all things would be in place for the January 25, 2024 full moon shot over top of the Statue of Liberty. I would leave home @ 3am for the 2ish hour drive to Brooklyn and the pier that would provide a perfect vantage point. Bad weather would be the only unknown that could derail my plan. Sure enough, as I sat in front of my computer a bit before 3-am watching a “live view” of Liberty rain and heavy fog would nearly obscure the Statue itself for much of the morning !

    Back to the PhotoPills app to find another opportunity to approximate the same shot going forward. See below the sequence within the PhotoPills app to arrive at the necessary information for a future image. January 13, 2025 would provide a slightly different set of circumstances than the year before. In my mind an even better photograph could result from my efforts in 2025. My aesthetic would prefer the full moon to not be directly over top of the Statue, or even the torch. Rather, if the full moon were to occupy a higher, and to the right of the Statue, an extraordinary photograph could result. An off-center secondary part to the composition in a more powerful area of the visual image would provide a more balanced and interesting image to explore. The potential for Jan.13, 2025 is exciting, and one the NYC traffic will not deter me from. Can’t help but wonder if other photographers will show-up on the 13th, a friend from New Jersey will join me for the event.

    Photo # 1 shows the Moon’s Azimuth, (the direction of the Moon relative to the horizon, measured clockwise from North in degrees). Left side column shows the date and time for that particular Moon phase, up to a 5 year window. Middle column is the elevation in degrees relative to sea level, next column is attitude in feet of the Moon above sea level. Far right column shows the Moon’s various phases in shapes, most important are the colored backgrounds. Black = Nighttime, Dark Blue = beginning of Blue Hour, Lighter Blue = later Blue Hour, Orange = Golden Hour, usually, 20 – 30 prior to Sunrise + 1 hr after, when sun low in the sky)

    Photo # 2, shows the Red pin, (Camera location, Black pin is the Statue’s location)  Top panel, Blue circle indicates only the Moon panel is active and various info on the Moon for that given date. Next panel down from left to right details my camera model, the focal length lens in use, the distance from the camera to the Statue @ 1.5 miles and the camera’s landscape orientation. The bright Red arrow to the left indicates Depth of Field w/300mm lens and an aperture of F8. From the Black dot to Infinity will be in sharp focus. The narrow lighter Blue area shows the size of the Moon relative to the physical size of the Statue of Liberty.  Bottom panel shows the time of day and date and real time movement, here @ 6:44 am. Can be moved in 24 hr or one hour increments by holding down on the area. 

    Photo # 3 shows by waiting another 17 minutes, the Moon will move to the right of Liberty and drop in the sky to 475 ft above sea level, factoring in that Liberty is 305 ft tall, the Moon will only be 170 ft above the very top of Liberty. In my mind a superior composition and image. The Heavy Red line to the left represents the Sun’s angle to the camera at the exact time of sunrise. The Yellow line represents the Sun’s position exactly @ Sunset on that particular date.

    Photo # 4 show exactly at 7:18 sunrise the Moon will be below Liberty at 142 ft from the water and slightly further to the right. The larger dark Blue line represents the exact time and direction @ the horizon the Moon will set on January 13, 2025. The information in the top panel shows the Moon’s height above sea level and will be 73 ft in diameter. FYI, the Statue of Liberty is only 53 wide. Checking back to the opening image, the Moon will be almost half again as big over top of Liberty or to the side of Liberty.

     Interestingly seen in the last photo is the Moon’s cycle the very next morning, Jan. 14th. At the exact same time a day later @ 6:44 am, the moon will be 1895 ft from sea level. Then @ 7:01 will be 1465 ft above the water. Finally, @ 7:18am, the moon will be 248 ft from sea level and below the Statue, and on that morning to the left side of Liberty.

Amazingly, this $10.00 app can accurately predict anything relative to the Sun, Moon, Concelations, Meteor Showers, Solar and Lunar eclipses. It also has an “Augmented Reality” function where you load a given location and PhotoPills will simulate where the galactic core of the Milky Way will be and it’s shape on  any given day, anywhere on the planet. Even without an internet connection, simply off-load your plan into your mobile device for later viewing anywhere on the planet !!