Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Needs just a little detail in the bridge and trees to work fully. Try Nik Detail Extract but watch for the noise it may introduce. Then layer mask and brush original sky and moon back.

Nightski

Billy! HI! :-) Hey ... guess what .. I made my first adjustment mask last night. LOL ... then I didn't know what to do next ... more tutorials tonight!

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Aw I'm proud of ya gal!!!!!!! Keep at it. Practice will make it second nature.

Nightski

I'm working on it right now. :thumbup:

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

There's a lot to like here - sharp detailed moon in all its glory, rich blue sky, silhouetted bridge and tree. I agree with those who've said they'd like the sky lifted just a bit so the bridge detail can be seen. You can do rather heavy noise reduction on the sky if you need to by just selecting it and treating it on its own layer. I do see the little halo edge on the left of the moon, not sure what it is, but it doesn't ruin the image for me. If CA, perhaps if you try to deal first thing in the processing journey, maybe it'll diminish more?

I do think you should experiment with crops, as others have said. There's more than one that will work. Try one that breaks all the rules, more of a square with moon/tree/bridge, taking real estate mostly from the left evan if the moon ends up close to middle. I see this so much as a graphic type image, with the shapes telling most of the story. This one makes me jealous, I have so much trouble getting decent shots of the moon.

Nightski

I very much like the square crop idea, Minnie.

xxredbeardxx Loc: San Clemente CA.

I like this very much.
I'm not a big moon shot lover for the same reason that I don't care for
sunsets unless there's something in the foreground too like a palm tree.

I like that you have the bridge and the tree silhouette in the photo.
It makes it feel less like a planetarium photo and more like something you can walk
out onto your porch and see with that special someone perhaps.
After all, we all want to share the things we love.
That's why were here.

GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

Sandra, I guess the silhouette part of the image doesn't work for me. Not sure I'm right, but here is my take on silhouettes: I think it needs to be recognizable - not just a black area of your photo. How many of us would have guessed it was a railroad bridge if you didn't say so? I wonder how these kind of shots would break down percentage-wise. Perhaps 50% would be silhouettes of trees, old barns a distant second choice. But both are recognizable and "place" the moon (or whatever the main subject is) in relation to something.

I wish I had one of those unique trees you see in every African sunset shot - only here on my farm. That way I would always have a place for my sunset or moon silhouette shots. Since I don't, I find these shots take a lot of pre-planning on my part so I know exactly where I want to be when the event happens. (Except I refuse to wade into salt water bays. :thumbup:

By the way, your moon has a wonderful detailed richness due to your proper exposure.

Nightski

This is where a fresh set of eyes can really help. Something has bothered me about this image, but I wasn't sure what. Partly it's the tree ... it's an ugly scrubby tree .. but what you have just said nails it. I know it's a railroad bridge, but it doesn't look like one. This was not a planned shot. I was on my way out to my running spot and saw it. I do have another one that I took minutes later. I caught the moon right inside the arched gateway of a corral. But it has a metal shed in the frame too. It couldn't be avoided.

GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

Perhaps you can take your tremendous moon eclipse and combine it with some other silhouette shot. (I'm not a big proponent of that, btw.)

Or, plan a trip further west for April 4. There is a total lunar eclipse that morning but the moon will have set here in the midwest by the time it becomes a total eclipse at 7 am. (we will get to see a partial which might work for you.) But why not go out to Yellowstone or someplace where you can get a spectacular foreground or silhouette?

Install the Photographer's Ephimeris on your smart phone so you will know exactly where the angle will be to set up your shot. That's how I set up my time lapse of the eclipse last October.

Nightski

I have the photographer's ephemeris. I've been planning my next full moon shot with it. March 5th. :-) I'd love to go out west, but I already have a camping trip planned to the black hills in June. :-(