Did you know that you can see a rainbow at midnight?
That's right, rainbows can appear not only from sunlight but also from the moonlight.
Inspired by this fact, I came up with a project to capture the "moonbow" over New Zealand's waterfalls.
It's fascinating to think that hidden beauty exists in the mountains while everyone is asleep.
With numerous waterfalls in New Zealand, this project is a delightful way to explore them all.
I hope to share this charm with all of you.
Rainbow caused by moonlight
This is Wishbone Falls located near Lake Wanaka on New Zealand's South Island.
Although there is not much difference compared to a rainbow captured during the day,
the moonbow has a fantastic and enchanting atmosphere due to the long exposure effect.
I wonder if anyone can see the moonbow with the naked eye.
I have never been able to see it, even though I strain my eyes.
It's a shame because I think seeing it on the spot would be impressive.
Due to the fact that some things are not visible to the naked eye, capturing the moonbow is a challenging task.
After road-tripping all over New Zealand for location scouting, I returned to shoot again around the time of the full moon.
Unfortunately, I have only managed to take two photos I am satisfied with.
The success rate is low for the effort involved, so the shooting is not going well.
Up until now, I have been relying on luck when taking photos. However,
I plan to conduct a more scientific analysis of factors such as the orientation of the waterfall,
the topography of the shooting location,
and the position of the moon, to increase the success rate of capturing the moonbow before resuming the project.
The attached photo is taken with a wide-angle lens to find the rainbow's location at Wishbone Falls.
The filming was done using several cameras,
one for the production and one for looking for rainbows.
I will introduce the actual process of taking photos.
First, I look at Google Maps to find waterfalls that seem to receive direct sunlight.
In New Zealand, which is in the southern hemisphere,
rainbows can be seen at waterfalls facing west, north, and east.
For example, at "Marokopa Falls," the waterfall faces west,
so it seems likely that a rainbow can be observed in the evening.
Next, I search online to see if there are any photos of rainbows at that waterfall. It's relatively easy to find photos of famous waterfalls, but for lesser-known ones, I may have to visit the location in person to find out.
Once I arrive at the site, I use an app to check when and where the sun and moon will rise. This is the app I often use:
By using this app, I can determine the best time to see a rainbow, whether the sun or moon will be obscured by the mountain,
and whether it would be better to visit during a different season.
For example, here's a screenshot from a location scouting session at a waterfall in Arthur's Pass National Park in August.
At this time, the sun is hidden behind the trees, but we can predict that it will be out on January 9th.
In New Zealand, August is winter, so the sun's position will be higher during the summer months, like January.
Additionally, using this app will show you the expected position of a rainbow at that time.
I've wanted an app specifically for lunar rainbows, but the developers have told me that while it is technically possible to create one, there is no demand for it, so it's not worth developing. There may indeed be no demand, but if someone were to make such an app, my project would likely become much more efficient.
The app's interface looks something like this:
If there were rain or other conditions conducive to a rainbow, it would indicate that a rainbow would appear at this specific time and position.
In cases where it is difficult to get close to the waterfall, I sometimes use a drone to check if a rainbow will appear.
However, many waterfalls are located within national parks, so there are limited opportunities to fly drones.
I often pinpoint the waterfall on a map and spend four hours walking round-trip to see it,
only to find that capturing a rainbow is impossible. In contrast,
using a drone for reconnaissance would take about 15 minutes.
In New Zealand, you can check where you are allowed to fly drones using this app:
Although the process can be complex and costly, you can obtain permission to film even within national parks if you go through the appropriate procedures.
This is a photo of "Marokopa Falls" that I took in the evening during my road trip in 2021.
This waterfall is spectacular and is one of my favorite waterfalls.
During the daytime, I search for positions and locations where a beautiful rainbow might appear in the photographs.
Rainbows tend to look stunning in places where there are a lot of water droplets in the air and the background is dark.
Additionally, I use an app to predict when it might be possible to capture a photo during a full moon.
In this way, I also take photos of daytime rainbows while conducting location scouting.
During the location scouting, the staff and I captured the beautiful scenery of the South Island.
During the daytime shoot, we battled against the water spray and wind. This footage has sound.
In February of this year, I attempted to capture a lunar rainbow at Marokopa Falls during a full moon.
After a six-hour drive from Wellington, I walked to the waterfall,
only to find that the trail had collapsed, making it impossible to reach the planned shooting location.
As a result, I spent five hours in the middle of the night on higher ground,
trying to capture the shot while monitoring the moon's movement.
Unfortunately, I was unable to capture a rainbow and returned home.
The entire journey took 30 hours from the time I left my house.
I was shooting alone this time, but since there are no snakes or dangerous animals (such as bears) in New Zealand,
it's relatively safe to be in the forest at night.
However, the ground is muddy due to the waterfall's spray,
and the long hours of shooting, while both the equipment and I get wet, is quite challenging.
I used an iPad during the shoot to check if a rainbow was captured in the photo.
A rainbow appears when the angle between the moon, camera, and waterfall is 42°.
Finding this angle is always difficult, no matter how often I try.
There is a trick to it, but it would be nice if an app could find it for us.
For my shooting equipment, I rely on this familiar combination:
Mamiya RZ67 + Phase One IQ100
There are still many projects for which this camera combination is the best,
but considering the total quality of this waterfall project,
it seems that I should change the setup in the future.
Capturing rainbows is quite challenging,
as they appear the same size and with the same perspective regardless of the distance or angle from which they are viewed.
Due to the size relationship between the waterfall and the rainbow,
I use telephoto lenses. However, this often limits the shooting locations and makes capturing the image at the appropriate focal length challenging.
- The RZ and multiple telephoto lenses are heavy.
- Focusing in the dark is challenging.
- The images are more prone to blurring.
- The equipment is vulnerable to water.
The RZ and multiple telephoto lenses are heavy.
Focusing in the dark is challenging.
The images are more prone to blurring.
The equipment is vulnerable to water.
I also tried using a Sony camera with a Tamron 150-500mm F/5.6-6.7 lens on this occasion.
Fuji or Hasselblad medium format mirrorless cameras might also be a good choice.
It's fun to consider the best shooting equipment for each project.
Around 2 am
Regardless, I probably couldn't have captured the rainbow from the desired angle due to the limited shooting locations this time.
I'll try again next time.