Photography, Series Florian Kriechbaumer Photography, Series Florian Kriechbaumer

The 2022 Lunar Eclipse - As the Lions Roar

My time in Zimbabwe coincided with the a full lunar eclipse on 16th of May, 2022,

My time in Zimbabwe coincided with the a full lunar eclipse on 16th of May, 2022, and luckily our location was just about within the area of the globe that could experience this rare phenomenon, so I had to find a way to capture it. What a sight it was - and not only that, also an audible experience, read on below…

The Location

The night before the Lunar Eclipse I arrived in the Chewore area of northern Zimbabwe, for entirely different reasons than seeing the earth cast a shadow on the moon - see my blog linked above to find out what they were. Nevertheless, I couldn’t miss this occasion, and went out in the afternoon to find a suitable elevated area in the African bush. We found a clearing 20min from camp, with views towards the hills in the distance. This was going to be our spot, starting from 3am.

The Progression

After a very short night, we headed out into the bush in my guide’s trusty 1962 Land Rover, always on the lookout for elephants, buffalo, baboons, and lions, which roam in this area. Luckily, we only heard them in the distance, which made the experience all the more special, as the occasional roar accompanied the spectacle in the sky. The moon stood high as the eclipse started around 3:30am. It progressed until earth’s umbra covered the moon completely around 5:30am. This total eclipse continued until moonset, and at the same time the sun rose on the opposite side, casting an orange hue into the sky.

Below is a timeslice of this period, using 10 individual photographs.

The Phases

The four images below show the progression of earth’s shadow on the moon. The first three photos were exposed for the bright side of the moon, where the sunlight was still able to illuminate our celestial companion. The last image is exposed for the shadow side of the moon, which in fact starts to glow red due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh Scattering - any sunlight reaching the moon passes through earth’s atmosphere, which lets red light pass more easily than other colors in the spectrum.

A composite of 6 images and their corresponding timestamps.

Totality

The full eclipse, as earth moved in between the sun and moon. If you look closely, you are able to observe some stars around the moon, visible as white dots. This is one of the only times you can photograph other celestial objects in the same exposure as the full moon, which normally shines much brighter than most stars and planets.

A Coincidence

Aside from close ups of the moon, I also had a camera set up for a wide angle view of the landscape. And good thing I did, because it captured this very special moment, combining the blood moon, a hint of the Milky Way as a white band, the colors of the African sunrise, and a meteor crossing the frame, all in one exposure. I love it when things come together, and this will probably be one of my all time favorite photos.

In Motion

Here’s a video of the entire spectacle, both from a wider view as well as a close up of the moon.

All the images shown here were shot with OM System Cameras, specifically an OM-1 and two E-M1 III. No tracker was used.

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Photography, Travel Florian Kriechbaumer Photography, Travel Florian Kriechbaumer

Zimbabwe - Tracking Dinosaurs & Lunar Wonders

The second country of my trip was Zimbabwe - a place which up until planning of this adventure hadn’t really grabbed my attention.

 

The second country of my trip was Zimbabwe - a place which up until planning of this adventure hadn’t really grabbed my attention. That has definitely changed after spending two weeks in Harare, Mana Pools, Chewore, Kariba, Matusadona and the Victoria Falls. This journey was full of incredible experiences, read on to find out what the country once known as the "Jewel of Africa" had in store.


Harare and some unique rocks

I had one day to spend in the capital city before making my way into the northern parts of the country. A brief tour and looking at one of its most unusual sights was all I could fit in.

Mana Pools - Wildlife in a different way

I then spent 2 days at Mana Pools National Park in the northern part of the country, bordering the Zambezi river and the Zambian mountains on the other side of its shores. It’s this setting and the fact walking and canoeing are possible here, providing a much more intimate experience than the typical bush game drives, that made this a special place.

Chewore - Off the beaten, and onto the Dinosaur track

From Mana Pools, it was a good 4h drive on dusty and bumpy roads in a 1960s land cruiser owned by my wonderful host Louisa to a remote hunting concession - here. Hunting wasn’t the reason I kept annoying quite a few people before being able to come here: In fact, this place has some of the most remote and untouched dinosaur footprints in the world, which triggered my interest. Before that though, the universe had another special sight in store .

The Lunar Eclipse

My time in Zimbabwe coincided with the a full lunar eclipse on 16th of May, 2022, and luckily our location was just about within the areas of the globe that could experience this rare phenomenon, so I had to find a way to capture it. What a sight it was - and not only that, also an audible experience, as the lions and baboons roared in the background.

Here’s a timelapse video of the event, both a wider view from 3am to sunrise, and a close up of the eclipse progression.

The Dinosaur Footprints

The real reason for venturing this far and deep into the Zimbabwean bush can be found in the next photos. The country and specifically the Chewore area is home to a very special paleontological sight: Dinosaur Footprints from 150 million years ago. It took a large amount of research, planning and nagging to make this happen, but it was definitely worth it and I’m grateful to to everyone who made it possible and was a part of it with all their knowledge, Barry, Louisa and Neil. The owner of the concession estimates only 200 people have ever seen these - 201 now.

Lake Kariba and the Matusadona

After a long drive, I arrived at Lake Kariba and the Warthogs camp for a few nights on the shores of the world’s largest man-made lake in Musango Safari Camp, both operated independently by incredible people.


Following my time in Kariba at Warthogs Bush Camp (Elephants and Zebra visit the small pool there to drink!) I moved across the lake into the Matusadona National Park. An hour boat ride took me to a very unique lodge, called Musango, run by its owners Wendy & Steve.



A night at the Falls

Before moving on to Botswana, I had a night at Victoria Falls, my second visit after having explored the Zambian side back in 2011. It is as fascinating now as it was then, and I’m glad to have seen both sides.

That brings us to the end of my trip through Zimbabwe!











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Photography Florian Kriechbaumer Photography Florian Kriechbaumer

Lunar Eclipse & Blood Moon over Dubai

July 27th saw the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, which - astronomically speaking - should have been perfectly visible over Dubai. Unfortunately it was one of the very rare summer days where the sky was cloudy, making for some dramatic moments, but mixed with the usual hazy not creating the best environment for taking good photos. Below the results nonetheless. These were shot in the DIFC area after having scouted out the location the day earlier using the Photo Pills app (which is amazing).

July 27th saw the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, which - astronomically speaking - should have been perfectly visible over Dubai. Unfortunately it was one of the very rare summer days where the sky was cloudy, making for some dramatic moments, but mixed with the usual haze not creating the best environment for taking good photos. Below the results nonetheless. These were shot in the DIFC area after having scouted out the location the day earlier using the Photo Pills app (which is amazing).


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