Total lunar eclipse, January 2019
Mahaulepu beach, Kauai
Eclipse setup
Camera position for photographing the lunar eclipse over Kawelikoa Point, Kauai. Planning for the eclipse was done using The Photographer's Ephemeris on my iPad, with on-site confirmation using the augmented reality mode of PhotoPills. The eclipse was on the first full day of my first visit to Kauai, so I wasn't sure how it would work out, nor was I sure how to get to the location I selected. My wife and I did some advance scouting the afternoon before, but only had time to go partway. The full hike from the end of the dirt road where I parked ended up being a little over a mile, over a combination of beach and trails. I benefitted tremendously from OpenStreetMaps maps that I downloaded to my GPS app, MotionX-GPS. The maps had excellent coverage of the trails, and allowed very efficient route-finding. I recorded my track to the shooting location so I could retrace my steps back to the car in the darkness of the total eclipse.