Moon Shots For Mark (mdmc)

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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.