With Covid running rampant and our kids all grown up we decided that we weren't going to be doing anything for Halloween this year. So my evening was free which was good because there was going to be a blue moon rising right at sunset and I was hoping to get some photos of it against the skyline.
I have an app on my phone called 'photopills' which allows you to map out where the sun and moon will rise and set and will give you the times and so on. Using the map I looked for a spot west of downtown that will have the moon rise occur near or between the buildings. I'd left the house a couple hours before sunset/moon rise so I could scout out a few of the locations ahead of time.
I first stopped down near Pumphouse Ave under Bow trail but I didn't feel like I would be high enough for the view I wanted so I continued on and made my way to the foot bridge that crosses Bow trail at Shaganappi park. I got there at the same time as two other photographers who were setting up shop on the bridge right were I was hoping to be. I walked across the bridge and decided that some big trees would be in the way and I wouldn't be able to get the shot I wanted.
From the bridge I could see a high point near the Sunalta school on the other side of Crowchild trail that might have a view. I walked back to my car and drove through through the neighborhood looking for a way over there. While backing up my tire/break started to squeal and ping and make all kinds of noises. Loud embarrassing noises.
A week or so ago I'd put on my winter tires and a few days after that I found myself driving on a gravel road east of the city. The noises started then and were somewhat intermittent to the point where I thought they had gone away. I suspected I had a rock or something stuck in my break assembly and I'd need to pull the tire off to see, but I wasn't going to do it now. So instead I drove around with this obscene noisemaker attached to my car. It was pretty stressful and I'd say it prevented me from exploring many more photo sites.
After a short drive, I ended up near Oliver Quarry park (just fyi, I'm picking up all these place-names after the fact by looking at google maps while I type this up.. it's not like I'm an expert on Calgary park names or anything) and from Quarry park there's a foot bridge over Crowchild that leads to the Sunalta school grounds.
I walked over there hoping to find a clear shot of the skyline that wasn't blocked by trees. On the side of the building I noticed a staircase that led to a second or third floor doorway that looked promising but there were three teenaged girls on the platform and it looked like they were making tic-tocks or some such thing and I didn't want to disturb them so I left thinking that maybe I'd come back another time.
Also, there was a build up of clouds in the east and I don't think the moon was going to make an appearance anyway.
With my photo ideas thwarted, clouds blocking the moon and the obnoxiously noisy tire I decided I'd make my way home. I drove onto 17th ave S.W. and just then the sun broke out and was illuminating downtown in this most spectacular way. I turned into the parking lot of a medical center that had a reasonably un-obstructed view and took some photos.
Down the street there was this view along 19th ave. With the power lines running through the scene I included the street and power poles on the right for context, this was probably my favorite view from the shoot. A couple had walked across the intersection at the bottom of the frame but in the resulting photos I didn't find a frame with them in a position that I liked.
In the photo below I noticed the sunlight was fading on the foreground houses. I love areas where the light is transitioning like that.
Feeling like I lucked out with the sunset I drove home with my squeaky wheel hoping that the rock or whatever it was would just bounce out and go away.
Thanks for looking.
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