I have been witness to eight total lunar eclipses during my almost 30 years as an amateur astronomer.   Each one I remember fairly vividly in one way or another.  Each one was different both in the way that the moon appeared as well as my personal experience in observing it.  This eclipse was no different in that it had its own look and the experience was unforgettable.

The eclipse of 2008 will stand out in my mind as being the coldest eclipse so far.  My first eclipse in 1982 may have been just as cold but I observed it from indoors.    By the time that I was done and the high clouds were starting to  move in the temperature had dropped to about zero degrees fahrenheit.    My equipment was not working well and neither was my body by the time it was over.  It became very tough to perform even the easiest of tasks such as switching camera lenses or to rotate the focuser on one of the telescopes.  I felt like a climber on Mount Everest struggling to move about.  It was worth it, however.   

As the eclipse progressed my visual surroundings went through an interesting transformation.  The surrounding countryside was bright when the eclipse began with the moon shining brightly on the white snow-covered landscape.  At totality my surroundings were very dark which made it seem that much colder.  Where I was once able to read text and see my observatory surroundings without any trouble  I was now in darkness and feeling very isolated.  There were no sounds to speak of except for the interuption of a passing car every now and then or the occaisional bark of a dog.  This was an eclipse for all the senses that is for sure.

Unlike the previous August eclipse, this one was well placed in the eastern sky  to view from my observatory.  I used an 8" f/6 reflector and a 6" f/8 refractor telescope to take pictures and a tiny 70mm f/7 refractor to view it visually.  The view with the naked eye was great.  Seeing the totally eclipsed moon suspended there in the constellation of Leo, the lion, with the planet Saturn nearby will not soon be forgotten.  It looked like a painting to me.  I wanted to take a wide angle photograph showing the moon in Leo but  the balance of the brighter moon (even during totality) and constellation would not work so I just stuck to telescopic images.  My best image taken of totality is below.

My first  eclipse was the lunar eclipse of December 30, 1982.  I observed nearly  the entire eclipse from indoors.   It was also a very early morning eclipse which meant that not a lot of people that I knew saw it.  I enjoyed viewing it with my mother and father who were early risers.  This eclipse was very dark.  I lost sight of the moon during totality.  Had I gone outside or had more observing experience I might have been able to see it.

I don't remember a lot about what the moon looked like during this eclipse because I hosted a star party and was very busy answering questions and "repointing" telescopes.  More than 70 people were in my backyard to view the eclipse through my 6" f/8 Criterion Telescope and binoculars.  I did not take any photographs of this eclipse.

Weather was good for this eclipse and I managed to get some shots of it using an old Albinar 70-300mm lens and my Nikon FG camera.  By today's standards the images don't measure up but at the time I was very pleased.  This was a fairly dark eclipse if I remember correctly.
 
 

I video taped this eclipse on a cold winter's evening and the weather was very clear.

This eclipse was well placed and timed in the evening sky.  The only bad thing was the cloudiness which interfered with any picture taking of the totality phase.  Below is my best attempt at the totality phase.

This eclipse was well placed in the evening sky but once again the clouds caused some troubles.

This eclipse occurred early on a hazy and warm morning in August.  Unfortunately the haze caused some problems with the photographs.  The moon all but disappeared into thicker haze long before it set below the horizon.  I think that if I had a choice I would rather that lunar eclipses occur during the winter months than in the summer due to photographic considerations.  The air is just more transparent during the fall and winter months.