1st Moon Shots

[daltoned]

To-night I spotted the Moon clear in the Sky over Dublin. Although still only getting to grips with new camera and lens, rushed out and tried a few shots. It was very windy, hence some movement in shots even with tripod. Here's 2 for review and comments welcome.
EddieD

[gjtoth]

To-night I spotted the Moon clear in the Sky over Dublin. Although still only getting to grips with new camera and lens, rushed out and tried a few shots. It was very windy, hence some movement in shots even with tripod. Here's 2 for review and comments welcome.
EddieD

That must have been some wind, Eddie! heh First one is good considering the conditions and it's your very first time. Did you do any PP on them?

I really anxious for the warmer weather so I can get out there and give that a go.

My hat's off to anybody venturing out in adverse conditions for ANY reason. Well, if I WORE a hat, it would be off, ok? :D

[daltoned]

Hi Gary, No PP on the shots, just size reduction to get them uploaded on the forum. Wind was high enough, gusting strong to gale 7/8.

[gjtoth]

Hi Gary, No PP on the shots, just size reduction to get them uploaded on the forum. Wind was high enough, gusting strong to gale 7/8.

Surprised YOU didn't blow away, Eddie. Have rocks in your pockets?:D:D

[daltoned]

Ye, will do,

EddieD

[dkippen]

Eddie -

I like the first, shows more of the moon texture.

[Snappers]

I like the first one too Eddie.
I saw my chance the other morning but something esle came up and I was not able to take any pics, tonight I could not see the moon at all!

[daltoned]

Thanks for comments, also for Andy, looks like there's some fine weather this weekend so we might get more chances for moon shots.
Eddie

[ladyups]

To-night I spotted the Moon clear in the Sky over Dublin. Although still only getting to grips with new camera and lens, rushed out and tried a few shots. It was very windy, hence some movement in shots even with tripod. Here's 2 for review and comments welcome.
EddieD

I think you did great! I've shot a few of the moon but still working on getting better shots. I'll have to try them again with my new 'sturdier' tripod.

Mary

[LensBaby]

They are very nice. I like the first better.

[Snappers]

You were right Eddie, the skies were clear tonight but my camera was all packed up for my holiday, did you manage to get any shots?

[daltoned]

Not so over Dublin, very hazy and Moon was much later and last night sky was clear but moon must have been very late or gone further south. Will have to wait till next full moon.
EddieD

[Snappers]

Cant see the moon either here today. Mind you it is throwing it down with rain, I do not hold out much hope for the rest of this week either.

[jonrayner]

Good shots Eddie, especially the first one, what kind of a lens were you using?

[daltoned]

Moon shots taken with Sigma 70-300mm APO DG, on Pentax K10d. This lens is also available for Canon cameras. First with fairly std setting and no 2 with couple secs delay. So far I very pleased with it although I'm sure I need to learn a lot more about proper use.

[dkippen]

Okay - next full moon, I'm giving it another try.

[Snappers]

OK I finally got a little shot of the moon, It was not a full moon unfortunatly but as I was thinking about taking it a plane flew by and left a trail, I noticed afterwards that the moon then just sat on the trial.

http://www.proudphotography.com/forum/gallery/files/7/4/8/moon.jpg

[LensBaby]

I like that...it looks like the moon is sliding down the trail!

[Snappers]

I like that...it looks like the moon is sliding down the trail!
It does dosnt it. I never thought of it that way.:)

[gjtoth]

Looks like you need to have a chinwag with the boys at Upper Heyford, eh? heheheh Nice shot.

[ladyups]

OK I finally got a little shot of the moon, It was not a full moon unfortunatly but as I was thinking about taking it a plane flew by and left a trail, I noticed afterwards that the moon then just sat on the trial.



:D looks like super man flew though to catch the moon and keep it from falling over...excellent shot, Andy!

[Snappers]

Thanks Mary, It was one of those shots where I was in the right place at the right time with my equipment already set up. I took several pictures of this but each picture I took, the moon moved so eventually, the plane trail was above the moon. It was wierd because you look at the moon and you do not think it moves (well not much anyway) but by taking sequencial (spelling?) pictures you can really see how the universe moves around. Cool. I must get out more at night :D

[Snappers]

Looks like you need to have a chinwag with the boys at Upper Heyford, eh? heheheh Nice shot.

Do you think, if I speak to them nicly, they will do a few flybys for me :D Nice low ones too so I can get a great shot of the plane, It may rock the windows a little but heh, who cares as long as I get my shot :D:D

[gjtoth]

Do you think, if I speak to them nicly, they will do a few flybys for me :D Nice low ones too so I can get a great shot of the plane, It may rock the windows a little but heh, who cares as long as I get my shot :D:D

Never hurts to ask. :D

[Snappers]

I have a couple of friends in the RAF, I'm sure if I brought them a pint they may let me have a few pics! I was reading a write up I think it was in one of the magazines with regards to taking pictures and when you should ask permission etc and how not to get yourself arrested and one of the items was taking pictures of government buildings or indeed militery installations, so perhaps it would not be such a good idea as I wont get many good pictures from behind bars!! There again, that may make a good picture, looking out through the bars into the big wide world outside, with three square meals a day and a playstation to play on in my room what more could one want :D

[gjtoth]

I have a couple of friends in the RAF, I'm sure if I brought them a pint they may let me have a few pics! I was reading a write up I think it was in one of the magazines with regards to taking pictures and when you should ask permission etc and how not to get yourself arrested and one of the items was taking pictures of government buildings or indeed militery installations, so perhaps it would not be such a good idea as I wont get many good pictures from behind bars!! There again, that may make a good picture, looking out through the bars into the big wide world outside, with three square meals a day and a playstation to play on in my room what more could one want :D

It would be interesting to get shots of your trial at the Old Bailey.... heheheheh Be sure to post some, ok?

[daltoned]

Great Shot Andy. As others have said, looks like Moon sliding down the trail,Do you by any chance know of a meteor show tonight.

[Snappers]

Sorry Ed, I have not heard anything about a meteor show tonight however whilst trying to search the internet for news of this I came across this link which I think is an excellent site if you want to look at the night sky.
http://astronomy.libsyn.com/index.php?post_year=2008&post_month=02

[daltoned]

Thanks Andy for link, lots of data there.
EddieD

[janine]

i like your pic andy - very fairy tale

[ladyups]

You guys are so funny...I didn't have time last night to reply to any new post but my hubby was beginning to think fell out of the boat when I was reading last night. I was laughing out loud at the conversation between Gary and Andy..

Andy, I read once where you can put your camera on a LONG exposure, say 2 hours (I'm not sure how to do that, I'm guessing you would use the bulb exposure setting) and when you finish you can see the star trails as the earth rotates. I'm going to give that a try once the weather warms up and I can stand to be outside at night.

Thanks for the link....a lot of interesting reading. I just love this group!

[gjtoth]

I was laughing out loud at the conversation between Gary and Andy..

Thanks for the link....a lot of interesting reading. I just love this group!


What's so funny? We were serious! Right, Andy? Yeah... Right... It's always fun until it happens to you. :rolleyes:

[Snappers]

Yeh I was serious! Just need to find the nearest camp to me.
After all, how else am I going to get several months off work to catch up with my reading :D

[jonrayner]

Just found an article in the latest edition of PhotoPlus magazine titled, Ten ways to improve your Moon Photography:

1. Use a telephoto lens - The moon is an average of 238,000 away, so it can appear dissapointingly small in the photos you take. The longer your lens's focal length the better. Even with an 800mm lens the moon still wouldn't fill the frame.
2. Pick a sturdy tripod - It's had to keep a telephoto lens steady when shooting handheld, so a tripod is a must. Buy the sturdiest tripod you can, but don;t extend the legs too far - tripods are sturdiest when they are fully compressed.
3. Shoot on clear nights - Clouds are the enemy of lunar photography. With an overcast sky, you can't see the moon at all - but even the slightest wisp of cloud can obscure detail.
4. Freeze the moon - The earth rotates every 24 hours, and that rotation is significant. With a 50mm lens any shutter speed of 1/15 sec or less will blur the moon. Use a 100mm lens and it's 1/30 sec, 200mm needs 1/60 sec and a 400mm 1/125 sec.
5. Like a day at the beach - You may shoot the moon at night on earth, but on the side of the moon we can see it's daytime. A full moon is highly reflective, like sand on a beach, so use the old-school 'sunny 16' rule of exposure, setting your aperture to f/16, and shoot in manual mode. However beware that...
6. Less is more - the 'sunny 16' only works for a full moon. As it changes from full to crescent, the exposure required increases. Choose f/16 for full moon, f/11 for a half moon, f/8 for a 1/4 moon, f/5.6 for big crescents and f/4 for a thin crescent. This is just a rough rule, so 'bracket' your images, taking more shots at narrower and wider apertures to give a choice or exposures
7. Superfast shutter speeds - Select a shutter speed number that is the same as the ISO. We'd recommend ISO 400, so set a shutter speed of 1/400 sec. Remember you want the moon to be correctly exposed. It doesn;t matter how dark or light the sky appears.
8. Keep your focus - You can't just switch to manual and turn the lens to the infinity mark. With telephotos, the exact point the focus ring needs to be turned to will depend on the temperature. Use autofocus to get the image sharp, then lock the focus by turning the switch on the lens to M.
9. Consider exposures - If you want to shoot a landscape or city scene with the moon in it, you can't expose correctly for the two elements with one shot. Let the moon overexpose. Alternatively, capture the the elements seperately. The exposures will be different and the moon looks better when bigger.
10. Caught by moonlight - Try leaving the moon out of the shot. A bright moon can be an effective light source. Use your SLR's bulb setting on M, and try long shutter speeds of between one and two minutes.

I have not tried any of these things myself, but I hope it helps those budding lunar photographers out there!

Jon

[ladyups]

Thank you, Jon...for this great information...I plan on printing it out and adding to my course book so I'll have it the next time I'm trying to capture that big white circle in the sky.

[jerryph]

At the top of this thread, the first shot is the nicer one but its a bit blurry. The second one is very over exposed and blurry too.

Moon shots are difficult at first becuase we think that its night, we need to up the light coming into our cameras. Fact is, we need to often keep lowering the light (using a smaller aperture or increasing shutter speed), step by step until we get a nice clear shot of the moon.

The second thing is stability. A tripod is a must. If you do not have a tripod, here is a hint... lean yourself and the camera against a tree, wall or sit on a picnic table with your elbows forming 2 of the legs of a tripod and your body forming the third, as you bring up the camera to your eye and keep everything firm and as motionless as you can.

I took these shots at the lunar eclipse we had recently:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/2289849364_9a850b30bf.jpg

Big size HERE (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/2289849364_4b48ac017c_o.jpg).

[Snappers]

Thanks Jon for the great Info, I have printed this and will add it to my folder as Mary said. I hope to put this into practice when I go on my Photography holiday in two weeks time.

[dkippen]

Jon

Thank you for the post - another topic for my "book" to read up on.

Andy - you just came back from holiday, where are you going now??

[Snappers]

Heeheheheh, I know. I had 4 days to use up before April otherwise I would lose them so I am off to a place called Conwy in North wales just before easter. I have several sites I want to visit there and hopfully if the weather is right, take some photos. One of the places is a mountain with snow on :D

If the snow won't come to me, I'll go to the snow!;)