This panorama isn't about THE most stunning views. It is about where the sun is around here (specifically Deer Lake beach) at four times a year: winter, spring, summer, and fall. I did each one separately then put them together in one spin around. Plus there are the full moons of September and December. Here are photos of the sunrises and sunsets and a link to the panorama.
Best Of 2010 - 4 Seasons: Sun/Moon Rises/Sets of 2010 - Caroling Geary - 48/153 - World Wide Panorama
In 2010 I decided to record sunrises and sets at the start of each season: two equinoxes and two solstices. I did it in March and June, also getting full moon rises and sets in September and December. I chose the Deer Lake State Park ramp over the dunes between the beach and forest as the best local location, with a relatively good view of the horizon. My goal was to have a composite panorama showing the risings and settings together to see the distance between them and how they relate to the whole scene.
To get there takes about 45 minutes. I drive my car a mile to a beach access, park, and walk another mile along the Gulf of Mexico to the stairs up to the overview platform on the ramp. I get there 30 minutes before the sunrise or sunset to set up and catch several rounds of photos for the best results. "Best" is highly subjective and changes according to the weather, my attention to technical details, and feeling. So the views are similarly (not identically) centered, exposed, focused, or processed.
Here is a map collage of all the solstice sunrisings and sets plus sunrise for March equinox and sunset for September equinox. Since the sun rises and sets about in the same place for each equinox, I could have subdivided each sun, but chose to give each a full arc of the horizon. The two full moons of September and December never appeared right on the horizon. I pasted them in where they did appear and let the viewer interpolate rising and setting positions.
Having full moons on the September equinox and December solstice helped define the Moon's paths during the year. It is near the Sun's path on an equinox, but opposite on a solstice. If I did spherical panos, I could have added a final touch, the total eclipse of the full moon on the final solstice, December 21. I can report an awesome experience about 2 a.m. on a very cold night, looking almost straight up. Ahead the star Sirius glittered and the Milky Way starlight arced across the sky from SE to NW.
Best Of 2010 - 4 Seasons: Sun/Moon Rises/Sets of 2010 - Caroling Geary - 48/153 - World Wide Panorama
In 2010 I decided to record sunrises and sets at the start of each season: two equinoxes and two solstices. I did it in March and June, also getting full moon rises and sets in September and December. I chose the Deer Lake State Park ramp over the dunes between the beach and forest as the best local location, with a relatively good view of the horizon. My goal was to have a composite panorama showing the risings and settings together to see the distance between them and how they relate to the whole scene.
To get there takes about 45 minutes. I drive my car a mile to a beach access, park, and walk another mile along the Gulf of Mexico to the stairs up to the overview platform on the ramp. I get there 30 minutes before the sunrise or sunset to set up and catch several rounds of photos for the best results. "Best" is highly subjective and changes according to the weather, my attention to technical details, and feeling. So the views are similarly (not identically) centered, exposed, focused, or processed.
Here is a map collage of all the solstice sunrisings and sets plus sunrise for March equinox and sunset for September equinox. Since the sun rises and sets about in the same place for each equinox, I could have subdivided each sun, but chose to give each a full arc of the horizon. The two full moons of September and December never appeared right on the horizon. I pasted them in where they did appear and let the viewer interpolate rising and setting positions.
Having full moons on the September equinox and December solstice helped define the Moon's paths during the year. It is near the Sun's path on an equinox, but opposite on a solstice. If I did spherical panos, I could have added a final touch, the total eclipse of the full moon on the final solstice, December 21. I can report an awesome experience about 2 a.m. on a very cold night, looking almost straight up. Ahead the star Sirius glittered and the Milky Way starlight arced across the sky from SE to NW.
