Shooting The Moon
A few years ago we experienced an uncommon, celestial event. This was when our moon turned “red”. If you didn’t catch it you certainly missed out on an amazing, humbling scene. It was one of the most beautiful things in nature I have ever seen.
Let’s take a look at some pictures of the moon. Of course it doesn’t truly demonstrate how it looked in real life, but you will get an idea. The truth is that the moon lost a lot of its two dimensional aspect and really looked like a true three dimensional object hanging in the sky. The moon actually looked like a ball, rather than a flat disk. It looked as if you could have just got a really long ladder and climbed up and had a walk on the surface it appeared that close.
Here is a stunning image taken by Jenny Rollo:
It’s quite breathtaking actually. She said:
“These are rather grainy as they were taken with 1600 ISO using just a camera and tripod, but it gives an idea of the lunar eclipse over Sydney last night (28/8/07).”
If you are taking moon pictures in the future you’ll quickly realise that your ISO is very important to be aware of. Just to reiterate again, the Iso is the digital cameras light sensitivity. The more ISO you have, the more sensitive to light your camera will be. You may experience a bit more digital noise so you have to weigh up which give you the best image.
In a nutshell you’ll need a telescope and an attachment for the camera. It’s all in the lens and the exposure which is why the lens is just the beginning. Moon Photography requires a lot of patience especially in situtaions like this where the moon was not as bright white as it usually required some exposure settings that were not as high as what you would use for a normal full white moon. This may have been taken with the shutter speed left open for a while. I would have guessed anywhere between 20 seconds and five minutes or longer.
Normally the moon is very bright if it’s a clear night. You will have to meter off the moon and you’ll find your camera may suggest somewhere between 1/125 and 1/500. If you are not sure then try some exposure bracketing to help.
In the mean time don’t stop looking at the beautiful night sky. You may be surprised at what you see; falling stars, a shift in position of the moon and constellations and even a satellite of two. They may for excellent time lapse shots. Never underestimate the sheer beauty and brilliance of the night sky. It offers us a chance, as photographers to capture the distant past and marvel at the place we live in.
Not impressed by the Universe? Then take a look at this, it’s from the Hubble Telescope:
This is the Spiral Galaxy M81. Just to give you an idea of the sheer size, you would have to expand this photo to an 8×10 print. Then to find Earth, you’d have to take a magnifying glass just to get a glimpse of Earths region and then maybe, just maybe see earth as a tiny spec.
How To Take The Most Breathtaking, Brilliant And Incredibly Stunning Photos Every Single Time You Press The Shutter Button In 7 Days Or Less Even If You Know Nothing About Photography And You’ve Never Used A Digital Camera Before
Lighting is one of the most important factors in taking photographs of natural subjects. Unlike with studio shots where you control the lights and the shadows, taking photos outside is a little bit more complicated. In addition to not being able to control your subject, you also have to take into consideration the elements especially the lighting.
Of course for the seasoned photographer, natural light is no longer a hindrance. In fact, most photographers use light to create great effects and put color into an otherwise drab picture. Hence there are photos that play up the shadows or those that capture the different colors of the sky. This is especially true with landscape shots or those that capture flowers and other objects in the environment.
Light can have a lot of sources. In the morning, there is the sunlight while in the evening, there is the moonlight. There is also what photographers call the natural light, which is not as direct as the two previously mentioned. One can use any of these sources of light. The trick is to know how to use it by angling the camera and the subject to achieve the exposure that you want.
This is often done by studying the effect of the light and its corresponding shadows to your subject. For instance, if you want a more dramatic effect, some photographers will use shadows as their main light instead of the natural light.
There are four main directions that photographers must learn in order to take advantage of the light outside. Overhead light for instance has high contrast and harsh shadows. This is achieved when the light is directly above the subject like when it is noontime. Using lights at the front will result with a flat shot.
This is usually seen with shots that use flash in the camera. Often, pictures shot in this direction will lack depth and dimension. Light at the back, on the other hand, may require an additional fill or reflector at the back to bring out the color of the subject. Often, with a light at the back, the shadows may ruin the photo.
Shooting with the light at the side is perhaps the most recommended when it comes to the direction as this will bring out the texture and the shape of the subject that one is using. For instance, with a light on the side, there will be parts that will be highlighted and parts that are not.
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Amy I tried photographing them earned several times but my pictures always came out blurry. I was using a telescope and mounted my digital camera to it but the picture is still didn’t look right. Any ideas why this may have been a poor result?
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This was a great post.. You capture the moon in such great light and with very beautiful detail. It’s amazing how we can see something all the time, even in different forms and yet, it’s still so breathtaking when you capture it a certain way. There are many times I look up in the sky at night and I am truly amazed how different each moon is each week. Great pics!
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Shooting the moon is hard.
Good job, as always!
I love the Moon and photographing it too.
I’ve tried to shoot the moon on many occassions and they’ve just never turned out. Apprecaite your great tips, keep ‘em coming!
My partner and I have photographed and played around with this and found it really enjoyable. I do love my photography.
Amazing stuff thanks
Shooting the moon is not as easy as it seems! I set up a mount on my telescope and it took ages to get it right.
I love shooting the moon.
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