I spent the past couple of nights trying to find the right timing, location, and conditions to show the alignment of the planets Venus and Jupiter with the capitol building in the foreground for context. Clouds got in the way for a couple of nights in a row, but tonight I solved that issue somewhat by choosing a lower vantage point. It seems that no matter what, when the planets approach the horizon some distant clouds creep in and block them from view.

The funny thing is, while I tried very hard and somewhat patiently to get a shot of them close to the capitol, I think I like the distant shot even better. Ideally I’d choose a point in between, but there isn’t one with sufficient elevation to look over the treetops.

Some things just never line up quite the way you’d like, and in my case I think this event is one of them. I’d like to be able to get a distant shot of the capitol with the planets beside it while their alignment is as close as possible, but available vantages and prevailing sky conditions have conspired against me. Oh well, I think I got a couple of decent shots. It’s time to move on to another challenge.