Planning and Shooting a Full Moon Behind an 800-Year-Old Church

Last month, during the full moon of November, I planned and shot a photo of the full moon rising behind the 800-year-old Frösö church in Sweden.

I originally got this idea in May this year when I was wandering about on Andersön, a nature reserve located on an island 5 km Southwest of Frösön, Sweden. I noticed that the Frösö church was clearly visible and that it would make a nice foreground against a full moon.

When I returned home, I started planning my shot, using different software (e.g. Photopills) to see when the moon would rise behind the church. The first date that popped up was November 22nd, 2018.

So after waiting for 6 months, the time had finally come. Now it was all down to the weather, and this time I was lucky to see clear skies with pretty good atmospheric conditions.

The still photo was taken using my Nikon D850 on my Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4 D IF-ED II lens. The real time footage of the Moon rising was shot using my Nikon D500 and Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8 D IF-ED with a Nikon AF-S TC-20E III teleconverter.

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About the author: Göran Strand is a professional photographer from Östersund, Sweden, with a passion for astronomy. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can find more of Strand’s work on his website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.