Photographer Captures Colorful “Moonbows” That Occur at Waterfalls in the Moonlight

The majority of us have heard of rainbows, but what about moonbows? Brian Hawkins, a photographer, most definitely has. In fact, he has been documenting these moonlight rainbows since 2011. Yosemite National Park is where he spends much of his time because there, waterfall spray is exposed to enough moonlight to produce this unique occurrence.

Hawkins has mastered the art of foretelling these moonbows to the point that he’s even created a useful website to disseminate his knowledge. This is due to the fact that, despite moonbows occurring just as frequently as rainbows, it may be more difficult for humans to perceive them in low light.

In reality, he says, it is easiest to view them when the moon is about full, on a clear night, and close to a waterfall’s mist. “I advise checking when the moon is two days away from becoming completely full. Moonbows during a supermoon are much more dramatic if you are fortunate enough to catch them.

What photographers might anticipate when they observe this unique event is very well described on Hawkins’ moonbow webpage. This is significant since lunar rainbows don’t first appear as one may anticipate.

According to him, moonbows “usually appear as a gray arc in the mist of the waterfall, dull and colorless to the human sight.” “This is due to the fact that low light situations impair the sensitivity of human color vision. The image that follows mimics what our eyes perceive as they take in a moonbow for the first time. The colors will become more visible with enough time to acclimate to the low light, albeit not as vividly as they do on a camera.

With his brand-new stunning short video, Hawkins provides us a behind-the-scenes look at these lunar rainbows in motion. It is very amazing to see the colors dance in the moonlight as the falls are on show. He started working on the movie in 2016, and the finished product was well worth the wait. Additionally, it provides more proof of Hawkins’ expertise in moonbows during the previous ten years.