This Incredible 'Moonrise' Video Is NOT a Time-Lapse

"..I ended up with was this wonderful performance of total strangers silhouetted against the full moon as it rose above the lookout."

We've seen a lot of time-lapse videos of celestial events. This video by astrophotographer Mark Gee is not a time-lapse, which actually makes it even more amazing.

The three minutes of footage Gee shot of a "moonrise" over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand, is a real-time video.

(Image: Vimeo screenshot)

"People had gathered up there this night to get the best view possible of the moon rising," Gee wrote in the video's description. "I captured the video from 2.1km away on the other side of the city. It's something that I've been wanting to photograph for a long time now, and a lot of planning and failed attempts had taken place. Finally, during moon rise on the 28th January 2013, everything fell into place and I got my footage."

The video has not been manipulated in any way. As Gee puts it, "it came off the memory card."

(Image: Vimeo screenshot)

But that's not to say it was an easy shot. Gee said it was a technical challenge to get the result he wanted. He used a Canon ID MkIV in video mode with a Canon EF 500mm f/4L and a Canon 2x extender II. In total Gee shot eight minutes of footage in total, he wrote on his blog, with a finished edited video showing the first three minutes of the rising moon.

On his blog he explained further that he had to factor in the weather, moon phases and location to set the stage for the moonrise perfectly.

"I didn’t know what to expect with the performance of everyone up there, but I couldn’t have directed it better myself, even though they had no idea I was filming them," he wrote.

"Thankfully it all came together, and what I ended up with was this wonderful performance of total strangers silhouetted against the full moon as it rose above the lookout," Gee continued.

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