Another moon opportunity in Morgantown

At the risk of being an author specializing in “could have been, would have been” articles, I had one last attempt for 2023 at capturing the final supermoon of the year. This time, I calculated it would rise over Woodburn Hall, if I managed to find a viewpoint that included both the famous building and the skyline – pretty tricky in the hilly and wooded slopes of Morgantown.

Woodburn Hall, an iconic symbol of WVU, stands tall and proud, its Gothic architecture adding an air of elegance to the campus. My expectations were that when the Harvest Moon makes its grand entrance, it would transform this already picturesque setting into something truly extraordinary. The moon’s radiant light would bathe the red brick facade in a soft, silvery glow, accentuating every architectural detail and making the building appear almost ethereal. Well, at least that is what an AI system said would happen!

I first found a location on West Park Avenue in Westover where one of the homes has a wide driveway and lawn with no trees blocking the view towards the college. That made for a spectacular and unusual view of the downtown campus accentuated by the dramatic end of a sunset illuminating the clouds behind the buildings. These were the clouds that the weather forecast said would fade as the evening progressed!

The same scene in a more panoramic format shows the contrasts between the historic Woodburn Hall and the more modern Brooks and Reynolds Hall with some of the Fraternity houses on the hillside behind.

I had my 400mm telephoto lens on a tripod (blocking the driveway for a time, I’m afraid) and so I captured a tighter view of the towers and clock on Woodburn Hall itself:

I then made my way down towards the river as this position was not going to align with the position of the moon and found a place on Tower Lane where there is a break in the trees and the power lines along lower road are not crossing the facade of the building! Not many places fit this bill for both position, visibility and planned rise of the moon! This gave me a different perspective on the campus buildings with the ideal placement for the moonrise:

This was shortly before the moon was due to make its ascent. The time to rise above the hills surrounding Morgantown was around 15 minutes I thought, but those clouds weren’t disappearing – in fact they seemed to be thickening! I waited and waited as it got darker and tried to get out of the way of a cyclist riding along the road. I think he thought I was standing there with a loaded gun on a tripod and made a wide detour out of fear. I’m sure I did look a little dangerous on this little travelled road in the dark!

But, in the end, nothing. I gave up after 30 minutes and didn’t see the moon at all until several hours later that evening. Another missed opportunity!

But, thanks to my attempts to photograph the moon last month, I did have some good images of the supermoon cresting the hills in early September, and so with a little bit of artistic effort, I did create my “would have been, should have been moment!”

I hope you enjoy it!