Moon Shots For Mark (mdmc)

[Speed]

You asked for it, you got it.

First, a quick lesson in lunar viewing and photography. The best time to view and photograph the moon is when it is near first or last quarter (half moon). The reason is the angle of the sun. At first (and last) quarter, the sun is stiking the limb of the moon perpendicular (head on), while at the terminator line (the line where it goes from light to dark) the sun is striking the mountains, craters, rilles, etc, at nearly 90 degrees. This causes shadows and gives the surface some relief/detail/contrast - choose you adjective. This provides the best viewing and photographic opportunities.

My favorite moon shot is one of the moon at eights days old (one day past first quarter). It is sharp and detailed and I love the colors. I've got an 8 X 10 of it hanging on my wall in front of me. I shot it with Reala.

Now for the photo's. These are some that I had reduced for posting on PR.

The first one is a 10 day old moon shot at 7:30 in the evening. The sun had set, but the sky was still blue. The sky looks black in this one, but there's a blue tint on the moon.

The second one was shot one hour later. The sky was dark by then, and the slight color cast is gone. I shot these as an experiment, and I found them educational.

The third shot is a full moon shot. Notice that there is little detail. You can see all the features - craters, seas, mountains - but they look washed out. The most detail in this photo is on the right side, at the 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock position. What you see there are mountains and craters against the backdrop of space. The best time to shoot a full moon is when it is rising or setting. It has an interesting color, it is usually larger, and if you include an interesting foreground (landscape, house, tree, etc) it really accenuates the photo.

The fourth shot is an eight day old moon. Notice that I have a range of colors and highlights. The craters and mountains near the terminator line show plenty of detail, and inside the dark area of the moon, you can see the tops of some of the mountains and craters. As you move toward the edge facing the sun, the detail gets lost and washed out. This is an example of what looks acceptable to me. It's not my best one, but it's acceptable. I've got well over 100 moon shots on my computer, and I didn't want to spend too much time hunting for one particular shot.

One final note when shooting the moon. If you overexpose it, the details get washed out. If you underexpose it, it looks grainy. With 400 speed film, I usually shoot in the 250th to 500th of a second range. With a thin cresent moon, I'll shoot as slow as a 60th of second. Experience will get you in the ballpark, and with digital, you can get an idea of if you're close with the playback. Best of all, with digital, you can shoot all you want and not worry about developing costs. Shoot at low ISO's for the most detail, and I'll think you'll be surprised at how fast your shutter speeds still are.

Hope you enjoyed the shots, and found it educational as well.

[mjs1973]

Thanks for the lesson Speed! One questions, what type of focal length are you using? Are you using a large telephoto, or do you have your camera mounted on a telescope?

[Speed]

Thanks for the lesson Speed! One questions, what type of focal length are you using? Are you using a large telephoto, or do you have your camera mounted on a telescope?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. All four of those photo's were taken with my N80 attached to my Celestron C-8. It has an eight inch objective lens, and 2032mm of focal length. The N80 attaches where the eyepiece goes with a T-Ring and a T-Adapter. This type of setup is called "prime focus". It is also possible to mount the eyepiece and the camera behind that for even more magnification. That setup is known as "tele-extension".

With prime focus photography, the moon nearly fills a 35mm frame, as does the sun. With tele-extension, you magnify the image the image quite a bit more, and usually have to track the subject, as exposure times increase. For the moon or planets, times up to one second are usually sufficient. However, with tele-extension, you add more lenses, get less light, and don't get images as sharp as you see through the eyepiece alone.

Here's an example of tele-extension. It is a one second exposure of Mars, taken n September of 2003 when it made it's closest approach. I can assure you, looking at Mars through my eyepiece was a much clearer view.

[jar_e]

Beautiful shots. Very crisp and wonderful composition as they fill the whole frame. Beautiful shooting and wonderful setup.

Nice shots,

Jared

[mdmc]

Speed;
I really appreciate that you took the time to post these pics, and give a minni Masters class to boot! The pics you posted are as good as any, and better than most that I have seen.
Anyone who views this thread will benefit from it.
Thanks for going the extra mile,
Mark.

[opus]

actually, on my monitor the sky is quite blue in the first one. Very pretty. And in the second one it's darker but still blue, especially up next to the third one, which is pitch black.

[mdmc]

actually, on my monitor the sky is quite blue in the first one. Very pretty. And in the second one it's darker but still blue, especially up next to the third one, which is pitch black.

Kelley,
Tonight, as opposed to last night , I see the same on my moniter.
Dark blue sky.
Nearly black, but still blue sky.
Black sky.
Mark.

[Speed]

Beautiful shots. Very crisp and wonderful composition as they fill the whole frame. Beautiful shooting and wonderful setup.

Nice shots,

Jared

I appreciate the comments!

Glad you liked the shots.

[Speed]

Hi Speed:

Your moon shots are alway SO impressive. I can't hold a candle to them.

I posted about the only decent moon shot I've ever taken over on the "shadows" thread = here. I want you to know that I used your sunny 16 rule to get this shot and was very pleased to find your method worked like a charm the very first time I tried it. In addition to being amazingly sexy & handsome you're also very smart -- makes you dangerous, I like that! ;)

My Very Best to You,
Penny

"In addition to being amazingly sexy & handsome you're also very smart..."

Flattery will get you anywhere!

Thank you for the kind words Penny. You are such a sweetheart. So kind, so generous, so supportive. We are truly blessed to have you as part of our family!

[Speed]

Speed;
I really appreciate that you took the time to post these pics, and give a minni Masters class to boot! The pics you posted are as good as any, and better than most that I have seen.
Anyone who views this thread will benefit from it.
Thanks for going the extra mile,
Mark.

I was told by a fellow member of this forum, to pass on what I learned. I have learned so much on PR over the years, and if I can give anything back, it is my pleasure to do so.

Glad you liked the shots.

BTW, Saturn is my next target....

[Speed]

actually, on my monitor the sky is quite blue in the first one. Very pretty. And in the second one it's darker but still blue, especially up next to the third one, which is pitch black.

Wow, I'm impressed! I guess the detail is there after all. Then my monitor must not be calibrated.

Thanks Kelly, now I've learned something else! The learning never ends...

[Speed]

Penny, I got around to looking at your moonshot and it is great! Did you capture all that detail with the shot, or did you tweak it in PS to bring it out? I know you always shoot in RAW mode, so the detail was there, just wondering how much (or perhaps how little) you did to it.

Nothing to be coy about there, that is a great shot!

I'm glad I was helpful in you achieving it.

[Speed]

Actually, Robert no PS tweaking was required. I used your sunny 16 method that you had posted sometime ago and it just worked, first try. That shot was taken last year in Sequoia National Park using my 70-400 VR lens on the D70. And, you are correct, I always shoot in the raw. ;)

Love Ya Speed,
Penny

Woohoo!!!

Easy girl, I'm a happily married man. You shouldn't do such things to me.

;-)

Awesome catch Penny! Be proud of it.

[oOBrieOo]

Wow.. those are AMAZING!