Post your lunar landscapes (the moon)

[Speed]

Actually, I was thinking about it some more and realized that I had tried to photograph the lunar eclipse (last year?) with myN80 and 75-30mm. Not one picture came out. I was on my way to the same result when I had the bright idea to look at the first dozen or so pictures I took with the D70 and realized that there was just a really bright white spot where the moon should be.

I can't remember ever seeing the moon so low and so bright as it was over the last two days. Is that some kind of lunar phenomenon?

Anyway, here's what I used: D70, Nikon 300mm f/4 lens, Tamron 1.4x SP teleconverter and Vivitar tripod I got at Walmart. I set it to spot meter on the moon (matrix didn't work) and set it to aperture priority at f/11 (f/16 with the teleconverter) and 1/320, ISO 400 or maybe 800, can't remember. Used the self-timer. Cropped about 60%.

You know inquiring minds wanted to know. OK, I wanted to know. ;-)

As for the moon being so large and bright. This past full moon (28 Oct) was the Harvest Moon. I know the closest full moon was several months ago, but as I recall, the Harvest Moon is a bit closer to earth than most of the year.

Used the D70 (OK, so that was a no-brainer). 300mm f4! Alright. Nice lens. Teleconverter. I suspected as much. Self-timer. You are on top of it!

A couple of thoughts for future shots. When shooting the moon itself, I don't bother trying to meter it. Even with my spot meter on the moon, my N80 constantly over-exposes it. Go to manual mode, then use the sunny f/16 rule as a starting place (f11 with the teleconverter). With your D70 you can check the image right away and know whether you've got it or not.

Use the lowest ISO available to you. The moon is a very bright subject. Shutter speeds are going to be fairly high. I find that 1/250 to 1/500th of a second usually gives me the best results, regardless of the film being used. 100 speed or 400 speed, those shutter speeds usually give me the best result.

Try some shots tonight if you can. Use manual mode, f11, and try those shutter speeds. Then show us what you got. Happy shooting!

[opus]

This past full moon (28 Oct) was the Harvest Moon.

Speed, where are you that you've already experienced all of October already??

[Speed]

Speed, where are you that you've already experienced all of October already??

But Oooops! :-(

Of course I meant September!

;-)