Here's Some More Night Shots

[Sharon]

Anyone like to give advice or comments on shooting the moon! I'm very new to this. But I keep trying. :)
Thanks. Sharon
http://www.pbase.com/shar/moon_shots

[Kid Moe]

Here is the dilemma. To make the clouds visible and the waves etc, you need a slow shutter speed. However, this causes the moon to wash out.

Solution: Take two pictures, one like you just did, and one with a fast shutter speed. Then you cut and paste the fast shutter moon into the slow shutter picture.
That way the moon has more detail.
--
KM

[Del K]

Sharon,

The moon will begin to blur at about 1/4sec. However, this puts you in the problem zone for noise reduction. Try just over one sec and see if the blurring is noticeable. My Jiffy Calculator says at ISO50 use 1/15 and f/8 to start, reduce by a stop for full moon and open up a stop for crescent moon. This is for the moon only! Same calculator says for moonlit seascapes use 15 sec at f/2. Try experimenting with these as starting points. (Might try exposing twice at 8 sec, then layer the two. Or, one at 8 sec then make a contrast mask.)

Wish I had more experience; I have not found suitable subjects in my area as you have. However, I have found that other night pictures using my calculator have been usefully exposed.

Del K

[Sharon]

Del and Kid Moe,
Thank you both for your suggestions and help. I'm not giving up until I get a decent shot. So I'll be back. :) Sharon

[Sharon]

Hi Del,
I looked through the rest of my moon shots and found a couple that were pretty close to the settings you suggested. I put all of the shots that I took that night on my site.
I am going back to try again this weekend, weather permitting. :) This time I will be more prepared.
I will also have the B300 lens with me. Anyone with suggestions to help me get good moon shots using it?!
Thanks to all. I'll be back the following Monday and let you know how it went. Hopefully with some good shots to share. :) Sharon
http://www.pbase.com/shar/moon_shots

[Del K]

Sharon,

Your moon shots at about 1/15 look like the right exposure time for the moon; reflection off the water looked good, too. That amount of light will not be enough for much else. I think you need to choose between moon sharp and moon blurred, with the trade-off in what else is in the frame, or collect some shots of the moon and overlay them in Photoshop with other subjects.

I have the B300, and I like it very much. The only consideration in using it with night shots is that you will have to either prefocus or use the LCD. You will get vignetting if you use it at other than almost full zoom or have a thick filter on its back threads. The vignetted shots are usable if you like them or can crop within the corners. I usually use full zoom, then use manual focus if the subject is very close, macro focus if moderately close, ordinary autofocus if the subject is far away. Distance extends depth of field. For landscapes, you can probably use autofocus or manual with the distance scale in the user's guide.

Looking forward to seeing some more pictures.

Del K

[Sharon]

Hi Del,
I haven't been here since my last post. I've been waiting for the air to clear. We've had fog every evening. But last night was clear and the moon was almost full so I gave it another try.
I used the B300 and the digital zoom. I think they are better this time. But I didn't take them over the water. It is difficult shooting the moon with the water and have both come out nice, as you pointed out. So last night I only shot the moon. It is fun and I am learning more about my camera each time.
I hope to be good enough at it by fall when the harvest moon will be huge over the water. I don't think I'll be able to use the B300 or the digital zoom for that because it is so big. But I do think that I'll be able to shoot it as it comes up over the water because it is orange and not a bright white. We'll see!
I will keep posting any new moonshots I get until then.
Thanks, Sharon :)http://www.pbase.com/shar/gallery/moon_shots

[Del K]

Sharon,

Try shooting around 1/15 or 1/30 with B300; should work well unless there are moving clouds, and those might give nice effects. As for the harvest moon, its apparent size is an optical illusion. You should still be able to use the B300. From what I have seen in your shots, I think a shot at 1/15 or 1/30 with water included might be nice. Sometimes we have to make do with what light we have, and take a lot of pictures, to turn up what we really like.

Del

[Sharon]

Hi Del,
I'm curious about your comment here...
As for the harvest moon, its apparent size is an optical illusion. You should still be able to use the B300.

Are you saying that the camera won't capture the moon the way that I will be seeing it? I didn't know that. Hmmm That's disappointing. :(
I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a good shot while it's so huge. Maybe even be lucky enough to shoot a sailboat in front of it as it rises.
Oh well, I will try and see what I get.

Thanks! Sharon

[gandini]

Sharon wrote:
Hi Del,
I'm curious about your comment here...
As for the harvest moon, its apparent size is an optical illusion. You should still be able to use the B300.

Are you saying that the camera won't capture the moon the way that I will be seeing it? I didn't know that. Hmmm That's disappointing. :(
I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a good shot while it's so huge. Maybe even be lucky enough to shoot a sailboat in front of it as it rises.
Oh well, I will try and see what I get.

Thanks! Sharon


I have often been fooled by the large moon. I once saw one in Australia at the crest of a road that appeared to be almost half my field of vision! The largest moon I have ever seen. I actually photographed it only to see in the print a regular sized moon. Put something in the foreground and it looks huge to the naked eye, but the camera never lies...

cheers,

[Eric F.]

HI Sharon:

I would like to comment on what Del said about the "harvest moon" appearing larger is a "Optical illusion".

I read somewhere that the large moon is an illusion because when it is full and close to the horizon that you have a frame of reference from the horizon. As the moon gets higher in the sky it has no frame of reference so it appears smaller to the eye. The article went on to say that to test this theory you can take a caliper and set it to each and the size will be the same. I have told this to quite a few people who remarked about the size of the moon and everyone thinks that I am a crazy know-it-all. They say that the atmosphere distorts the size, etc.

Boy how I wish I had saved the article because I have just about quit saying it, because I am starting to second guess myself. :P (that's not good for a know-it-all)

NOW DEL, comes and says the same thing and poof, now I think I am right again.:) GIVE ME SOME PROOF to save my sanity. Del, Please help me here! :)