Shooting the moon... who can shed some light?

Hi All,
Any expert moon shooters? Shed some light on the settings you use/prefer.
Absolutely none of my moon shots come out satisfactory. BLAH!
I am determined to get some good moon shots through this weekend, while it is clear and fog free.

Any help and advice is appreciated.


Thanks!
VillenaDeCorte

Hi Villenedecorte,

I'm not an expert on moon shots, but first off you need a long lens. I use a Sigma 70-300 mm to get my moon pictures, and I usually set the lens to about 275 mm.

Second, I have found that manual mode works best for me. This moon picture was shot last night at f/8, 250th sec., ISO 100. The moon moves relatively fast so you've got to use a fast shutter speed to avoid blur. Also remember that a moon shot is also considered a "daylight" shot, so set your camera accordingly.

A tripod is a must and a remote shutter release is also helpful, although before I had a shutter release I just used the timer on my camera.

Third, in PS you want to convert your image to b/w (unless there is some colorful elements to your shot) and adjust contrast, levels, and even curves if need be.

Hope that helps.

Ray

Quote:

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Originally Posted by villenadecorte

Hi All,
Any expert moon shooters? Shed some light on the settings you use/prefer.
Absolutely none of my moon shots come out satisfactory. BLAH!
I am determined to get some good moon shots through this weekend, while it is clear and fog free.

Any help and advice is appreciated.


Thanks!
VillenaDeCorte

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But he covered it pretty well. Tripod, cable release, start with the sunny f16 rule, and brackett. The moon is a fairly easy target to shoot. Add an interesting foreground object (buildings, mountains, trees) and you've got a nice scenic shot.

Let us know how your shots come out!

I did have tripod and manual mode setup, but I definitely need a bigger lens.
Great pic Shrack!

VillenaDeCorte

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Originally Posted by Speed

But he covered it pretty well. Tripod, cable release, start with the sunny f16 rule, and brackett. The moon is a fairly easy target to shoot. Add an interesting foreground object (buildings, mountains, trees) and you've got a nice scenic shot.

Let us know how your shots come out!

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that the photo tech (if you're shooting film) know's how to adjust your picture during priting. I work in a lab and our fuji frontier has a bad habit of trying to combine the moon and sky light and then averaging them out. The result is a nasty/grainy/gray sky and a way over exposed moon. The tech has got to know to darken it or else you'll get one ugly picture. No auto mode allowed. Just another tid bit o knowledge.
Justin :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by villenadecorte

Hi All,
Any expert moon shooters? Shed some light on the settings you use/prefer.
Absolutely none of my moon shots come out satisfactory. BLAH!
I am determined to get some good moon shots through this weekend, while it is clear and fog free.

Any help and advice is appreciated.


Thanks!
VillenaDeCorte

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Below is a lunar eclipse I shot on the beach (I slowed the shutter, used a tripod and patience, and took several shots with various configurations and filters):
http://bizfx.com/photography/assets/.../db_lunar1.jpg
Unfortunately, I can't remember what my exact settings were, but they all came out quite well and I think the tripod had a lot to do with it. I will say this - the slower the shutter speed, the brighter the photo - but keep the tripod super steady and pray no wind sweeps sand at you while you are trying to keep it still and stable!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by villenadecorte

I did have tripod and manual mode setup, but I definitely need a bigger lens.
Great pic Shrack!

VillenaDeCorte

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Thanks. Say, something is gonna happen tonight that only happens "once in a blue moon"...yep, there's gonna be a BLUE MOON tonight! Check out this link: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...l_bluemoon.htm

So get out your cameras, boys and girls, and post your blue moon pics here.

Ray

I was working last night, and missed the "moonrise", it was HUGE and pink, for a full hour, only i was "sans camera" and had about 3 hours to go before I would be back at the house. UGH! So I am hoping for the same event this evening.... I've been peering over my back fence to catch the rise, hopefully between 7:30-8 like last night.

Janie- Great shot! Love it, and thanks for the advice. Those were how mine were coming out, unintentionally, which is cool- however I just wanted the steady shot.
I love your reflection in the water below.

I will be at it again tonight.

Cheers!!

VillenaDeCorte

QUOTE=schrackman]Thanks. Say, something is gonna happen tonight that only happens "once in a blue moon"...yep, there's gonna be a BLUE MOON tonight! Check out this link: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...l_bluemoon.htm

So get out your cameras, boys and girls, and post your blue moon pics here.

Ray[/QUOTE]

My "Blue Moon" was orange tonight. ;)


OK, here's the story. I ran out to pick up my son from the movies, and threw my camera and tripod in the back seat. On my way, I suddenly saw this moon shimmer into view. I got to the top of a hill and pulled over to the side of the road to get some shots. (Poor kid, had to sit at the movie theatre and wait for me...)

But I forgot to throw my cable release into the car with the camera! I doubt I'll get an absolutely clear one in the bunch.


Anyway, this is one of my first shots. It's a lousy exposure, but I think it's neat.

hehe, actually, I did a bit of photoshopping here to commemorate our "blue moon" evening. I shot this (and a few others) on the top level of the Kaiser Permanente parking structure in Woodland Hills. My wife works at the hospital there and suggested that's where I should take my shot.

Ray

Very awesome shot. I, however, have a beef with the Bay fog this lovely evening. I went back to my spot from last night to shoot the moonrise, only to find overcast foggy junk!
BLAH! Hours later, the moon resurfaced but not what I wanted.
boohoo.

VD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by schrackman

hehe, actually, I did a bit of photoshopping here to commemorate our "blue moon" evening. I shot this (and a few others) on the top level of the Kaiser Permanente parking structure in Woodland Hills. My wife works at the hospital there and suggested that's where I should take my shot.

Ray

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May I please post a few more I took tonight? I just need to share my Blue Moon night:


This first one is soon after the moon has risen. To the right of it is a famous church in the area, Holy Hill.

This next one is a bit later, when I caught the moon reflecting off a small pond I drove past.

And third is my very own blue moon. :)

photo number two

and my very own blue moon...

These are all great KB... what settings/lenses are you using?
VD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kellybean

and my very own blue moon...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by villenadecorte

These are all great KB... what settings/lenses are you using?
VD

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Here's the settings for all 4 shots I posted in this thread:


~orange moon
Tv(Shutter Speed) 2
Av(Aperture Value) 5.6
ISO Speed 200
Lens 75.0 - 300.0mm
Focal Length 240.0mm
Image Quality Fine

I sharpened it slightly in Photoshop.
--------------------------------------------------------
~Holy Hill
Tv(Shutter Speed) 2
Av(Aperture Value) 4.0
ISO Speed 400
Lens 75.0 - 300.0mm
Focal Length 75.0mm
Image Quality Fine
--------------------------------------------------------
~moonwater
Tv(Shutter Speed) 2.5
Av(Aperture Value) 4.0
ISO Speed 200
Lens 75.0 - 300.0mm
Focal Length 75.0mm
Image Quality RAW
--------------------------------------------------------
~blue moon
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/160
Av(Aperture Value) 7.1
ISO Speed 200
Lens 75.0 - 300.0mm
Focal Length 300.0mm
Image Quality RAW

I did a bunch of photoshop work to this one, sharpening, adjusting in channel mixer, and converting to a duotone for the color. :)

I like the second one a lot, however it would also look great as a composite. Select and copy the moon from your third photo (after you've converted it to an golden colored duotone) and paste it onto the second photo, reduce the size of the moon to fit, and you'll have an awesome composite. :)

Ray

Wow, Penny, the moon sure looks BIGGER in the mountains, hehe. Did you use Gene's 500mm on this shot?

Ray