Lunar Eclipse Over Mt. Audubon. From Sugarloaf Mountain, Colorado, December 10, 2011
If you are a landscape photograph you already know that, normally, the best times to be out and about to catch the best quality of light is within an hour or two either way of sunset or sunrise–the “golden hour” as some call it (which sometimes can last but a few minutes!). Knowing this, you likely regularly consult the sunrise and sunset tables and maybe even the moonrise and moonset tables so you’ll know when to hoist your fanny perpendicular from the comfy bed and be out at your favorite photo spot (as I did in the case of last year’s eclipse, above).
One such site I go to all the time is the US Naval Observatory website–just load in the date and your location and it will calculate the times for you as well as tell you the phase of the Moon and what percentage of the disc is visible. Useful stuff.
But, there is another site that takes this a step farther: The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE). I have it listed as one of my favorites under the Online Resources tab of my website. The download is free to a Mac or PC desktop, but a small fee is charged for an iPhone or Android download. TPE will show you the path of the Sun and Moon at sun/moon rise and sun/moon set over a topographic map. You can actually see if the Moon will set behind that special peak or if the Sun will rise and shine down your favorite valley or street.
To see how this program might help your photography, check out the example on The Digital Photography School website in this tutorial.
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