Photographer Captures Blood Moon From the Parking Lot of a Quality Inn

Andrew McCarthy

Photographers don’t always need to go to great lengths for great pictures; sometimes it’s about making the most of where you are. Case in point: Andrew McCarthy’s latest shot of a Blood Moon eclipse.

The lunar eclipse happened last week as Earth’s shadow covered 96% of the Moon’s surface. This partial eclipse caused the Moon to turn a crimson color because light from the Sun passed through Earth’s atmosphere, which causes blue light to scatter but bends red light toward the Moon.

Andrew McCarthy

McCarthy, a well-established astrophotographer, captured the eclipse from the parking lot of a Quality Inn in Florida. Despite having to deal with “glaring streetlights,” McCarthy pulled off a magnificent shot of the Moon bathed in a scarlet hue as a glint of sunlight glances off the top of the natural satellite.

“This photo is a testament to my philosophy: The best place to stargaze is a mountaintop. The second best place is wherever you happen to be at the moment,” says McCarthy. “Capturing these events is as easy or as hard as you want it to be. Even my phone got some decent shots.”

The final image is a stack of 30 photos, all taken within a few seconds of each other so the shadow on the Moon didn’t move too much. “I also shot this bracketed, with exposures ranging from 1/1000 to 4 seconds, allowing me to more closely cover the range of human vision.”

With just 4% of the lunar surface kept out of Earth’s umbra, the red color was visible to the human eye, but camera sensors bring it out even more.

Nothing quite like a timelapse of a celestial event.

Here’s some behind the scenes of my latest lunar eclipse capture! pic.twitter.com/MdSf4QNmAg

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) August 28, 2026

“This shot almost didn’t exist — as cloudy forecasts plagued Arizona, Texas, and Florida, which is where I had cameras set up to capture this event. Thankfully, the clouds cleared in Florida, and I was treated to this incredible view,” he adds.

McCarthy made a short print run over the weekend, but that’s unfortunately now ended. For future print runs, be sure to follow McCarthy on Threads, X, Instagram, or sign up for his newsletter via his website.