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Okay, what kind of self-respecting photographer would I be if I did not take the opportunity to grab a shot of tonight’s Super Moon? Technically, it is a Supermoon + 3 hours on May 6, 2012, because I just had too much going on at the job that pays for most of the equipment I take photos with. It isn’t fancy, set to the Rule of Thirds, or anything else other than a basic shot of the moon at maximum perigee for 2012. The photo was taken handheld from El Paso, Texas.

This black and white image was taken with a Canon EOS 60D (APS-C sensor), using a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens and Sigma 2x EX Teleconverter. Shot specs: ISO 200, 1/500th, f/11, 400mm, cropped and enhanced using Adobe Lightroom 4.

For anyone that doesn’t know (and I am not an astronomer), the moon at perigee tonight appeared approximately 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter because the lunar orbit placed it approximately 31,000 miles closer to the Earth than usual. For more sciency stuff, please check out NASA’s page here.