>> It's a frigid night in February, and John Rummel has a date with a heavenly body. >> So this is a good night. >> Venus is an outdoor girl, so John must brave the cold. >> I can't feel my fingers. >> But it's worth it. >> We got a nice shot here. >> John is a celestial photographer, and he's hoping to capture Venus paired with a crescent moon over the Madison skyline. >> Venus has disappeared. >> But the clouds are not cooperating, as Venus and then the moon move in and out of a haze. Eventually, he runs out of time as the moon sets. >> If I'm too late, you know, try again next month. >> That's how it goes when you literally need planets to align to get the photo you want. >> So, I got some good usable shots. My fingers are completely numb. >> Over the years, John has figured out the right place and the right time to capture some striking images. John says his love of astronomy came first. >> I was that ten-year-old kid with a telescope that my parents got me for Christmas at Sears, sitting out in front of my house looking at the moons of Jupiter, or looking at the moon, or looking at Saturn. >> Soon, he wanted to photograph what he was looking at. But eventually, even that wasn't enough. >> That gets boring, because if you've seen one picture of Saturn, you know, you've seen a million. The challenge became to take pictures that were interesting for other reasons. And living in Madison, I just had this fantasy of the skyline of Madison with the beautiful dome of the Capitol lit up at night with a big beautiful moon in the background. For years I thought about how to get that shot. I have to get the moon behind the Capitol. And unless you're God, you have to work with the geography that you're given. >> John eventually figured it out. And the result ended up on the cover of the Blue Book, the official state almanac. >> You could Photoshop that easily. I always pride myself on wanting to get the real thing, and thus doing the homework. You need to put yourself in the exact geometric position where you need to have the moon set in the right location. >> John uses a computer program to tell him the angular measurement, or azimuth, of the setting moon. >> I'll identify the setting point of the moon, draw a line through the center, which is where the Capitol is, and then watch where that line intersects the lakeshore. If I wanted to get the crescent moon bisecting the Capitol as it sets, this line gives me less than 50 feet of wiggle room. >> For one lunar eclipse, John had to ask a stranger in Monona for access to her yard. >> I showed her some of my photography. I said I have an opportunity to take a great picture, but I have to be in your backyard next Saturday morning at sunrise. >> John also takes his gear on the road.
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These photos are from the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. >> We take these pictures of the Milky Way over these beautiful historic lighthouses. >> Most of John's favorite shots take place at night, but sometimes the sun draws him out, like this partial eclipse. >> These are homemade solar filters. So by using these over my camera lenses, I can photograph the sun directly, and get the eclipse in progress. >> It's a festive atmosphere as John is with members of the Madison Astronomical Society. >> It should be less than one minute. >> But of course, John wants something more than just a shot of the eclipse. >> There we go.
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>> There we go. First bite. >> He's hoping for a hazy horizon that will allow him to take the filter off his camera. >> Tonight, that big orange ball will have a big ol' bite taken out of it by the moon. I'm hoping that I can take this off tonight, and I can actually photograph the sun eclipsed with the trees and with the landscapes that we see here at Donald park without this. But the odds of that happening are somewhat slim, and I have the filter just in case. >> Once again, the clouds get in the way. >> Clouds can make the shot, and clouds can also completely obliterate the shot. >> While he didn't get the exact photo he wanted, it was a good experience. >> We got to see the partial eclipse. >> John will keep his head up and camera ready, waiting for the next moment when the stars align.
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