Moon
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Blood Moon Setting, Toronto
Toronto awoke to a total lunar eclipse on March 3, 2026. This composite image captured the eclipse sequence unfolding behind the Toronto skyline, from the start of the partial eclipse at 4:50 am, till the eclipsed moon went behind the skyline at 6:14 am. Totality started at 6:04 am, just as the sky gradually brightened from the morning twilight. All the images in this sequence and the Toronto skyline were captured at 3-minute intervals from the same camera angle from Polson Pier.
A total lunar eclipse is also called a “blood moon”. The eclipsed moon is not totally dark – sunlight can reach the moon via refraction by Earth’s atmosphere. The reddish colour of the moon is due to the blue part of sunlight being scattered by Earth’s atmosphere, leaving primarily red and orange light reaching the moon – the exact same reason why the sun is orange during sunset.
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Blook Moon over Toronto, 2026
Toronto awoke to a total lunar eclipse on March 3, 2026. This image was captured from Polson Pier at 6:06 am, two minutes after the start of totality, just as the sky gradually brightened from the morning twilight.
A total lunar eclipse is also called a “blood moon”. The eclipsed moon is not totally dark – sunlight can reach the moon via refraction by Earth’s atmosphere. The reddish colour of the moon is due to the blue part of sunlight being scattered by Earth’s atmosphere, leaving primarily red and orange light reaching the moon – the exact same reason why the sun is orange during sunset.
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Snow Moon Blues
The February full moon illuminates the snowy field where a lone tree stands in solitude.
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Moonrise into the Autumn Sky
The supermoon rose against a vibrant pink / blue glow in the sky on this autumn day. The glow, also called the “belt of Venus” (even though it has nothing to do with Venus the planet), is an atmospheric phenomenon that can be seen close to sunset time looking east (as when this photo was taken), and close to sunrise time looking west. The belt of Venus is a demarcation of day and night – the pink on the top comes from atmosphere lit by the sun, while the blue in the bottom comes from atmosphere in the shadow of the Earth.
Capturing this image requires paying attention to the alignment of time and space. This shot was taken on a clear day when sunset and moonrise were only a few minutes apart, and when the rising moon lined up with the tree. There are often only one of two days a year when all the conditions are aligned.
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Moonrise, Lake of Two Rivers
This high dynamic range (HDR) composite image captured the summer full moon rising over an unnamed island in Lake of Two Rivers.
Even on a day when the full moon washed out most of the features in the night sky, there were opportunities for astro-landscape photography in Algonquin Park. Paying close attention to time of twilight, moonrise / moonset, and orientation of celestial objects and landscape, allowed me to capture moments of beauty at the right time and the right place.
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Peaceful Moonrise
“Killarney Lighthouse” series.
