brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Here is another one of my Moon shots that I took earlier this year... after awhile they all look alike... taken with my Canon 60D and Tamron 150-600mm lens at 600mm + 2.0x and 1.4x stacked Kenko TCs... I provided two densities of the same shot..

Check the "Download View + Magnifier"... Rotated for better "Download View"

(Download)

Check the "Download View + Magnifier"... Rotated for better "Download View"

(Download)

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Hi Bruce, still doing your great stuff never get tired of looking at it.

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Craig for taking the time to look and comment on my photos. much appreciated.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

Awesome Bruce as usual! I haven't had many clear skies here lately. Send a few this way without snow tho.:):)
Erv

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Bruce, Lunatic? Perhaps we all are. I am going to have to get back at it. I finally got the magnetic LCD viewer and will have to try again. Did I tell you about the rubber band trick to stop lens creep? Gary

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Moon Photography Primer More or Less...

Hi Gary... I used the old form of "Lunatic" meaning "obsessed with the Moon or Moonstruck"... it later became defined and associated with being "insane or crazy"...

Yes you mentioned the rubber-band workaround but I haven't had that problem yet... maybe my zoom will loosen up after more use and I'll need a rubber-band to keep the zoom from creeping at that time.

Good on getting the magnetic focusing hood... you should also turn the image-stabilizer on and press the shutter button halfway down to activate it when manually focusing the lens... it will greatly reduce the image jitters and make it easier to focus accurately... also check your focus periodically to make sure the focus hasn't changed because of the Moon's distance from you... the Moon's distance from you decreases as the Moon climbs to the highest point in the sky and then the distance increases as the Moon starts it's decent towards the horizon...

If you have the articulate screen you will have to keep the screen side facing outward to attach the sticky metal frame that the magnetic hood magnifier attaches too... with the focusing hood's metal frame attachment you wont be able to turn the LCD screen inward because the metal frame attachment won't fit into the LCD screen's recessed storage space.

Also pick a time when the Moon is in the early stages before full Moon (Waxing Stage) and after full Moon (Waning Stage), and when the Moon is high in the sky (less atmosphere to shoot through) to get the best lunar details... take many shots over an extended period of time to increase your chances of getting a quiet time to reduce any atmospheric shimmering which can deteriorate image quality...

Also try to stop the lens down 1 or 2 stops from wide open and shoot at 1/100th second or faster and adjust ISO as needed... a good photo software program can eliminate or reduce any image grain that results from higher ISO settings. I also used a RF remote to trigger the camera shutter...

One final recommendation from me, I know there are more out there from others... don't fill the frame completely with the Moon... if you fill the frame with the Moon you will continuously be making adjustments of your camera to keep the Moon in frame or you will be losing a portion of the Moon because of its movement out of the field of view... I usually leave extra room around the Moon and I set my camera so the Moon travels from left to right... I then position the Moon on the left side of the camera's frame view so when the Moon travels to the right there is ample room to keep the Moon completely in frame for a longer period of time and requiring much less re-positioning of the camera to keep the entire Moon within frame. there are probably other techniques that I have forgot to mention so if you come up with a question let me know and I'll do my best to get an answer.

A lot of the above mentioned techniques can be avoided if you are lucky enough to have a tracking device for your camera... i.e., a clock driven telescope mount that you can place your camera on... but it takes a lot of setup time each time you want to take astronomical photos unless you have a permanent mount setup... to be so lucky....

Good luck Gary and good shooting... I look forward to your Moon posts... don't worry if your initial shots don't turn out as good as mine.. it takes patience, practice, and good technique... soon your photos will be better than mine... any camera better than the Canon 60D can get better results... also use a good post processing software program...

P.S. I probably forgot something or wasn't clear enough in my description above... :(

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Bruce, Thanks, I am still learning, just need to get up early and shoot. It has been cooler here, so the skies are generally clear, so should be able to get good results.
One question, Also pick a time when the Moon is high in the sky (less atmosphere to shoot through), isn't the moon closest when near the horizon? Thanks, Lunatic Gary

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Erv... we have a trace of snow on the ground this morning... supposed to get more later today and.through the night.. won't know for sure until tonight... the weatherman doesn't seem to get it right here often... we are located in a turbulent area and weather is sometimes hard to predict. It might be due to the seven hills that Cincinnati is built upon...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

No Gary the Moon isn't the closest when it is nesrest the horizon... the atmosphere is thickest at the horizon and it appears larger due to increased light refraction from the thicker atmosphere...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

P.S. The Moon is closest when it is the highest in the sky...