WPC 1539 - Blood Moon* CRITIQUE: Albuqshutterbug 's WPC Entry has been selected for the Photo Critique Forum* to find out what could have done to make it better. Be nice, but be honest...

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Albuqshutterbug's WPC Entry has been selected for the Photo Critique Forum* to find out what could have done to make it better.

Be nice, but be honest as this may help everyone with their craft. Thank you everyone!

From WPC 1539 - Blood Moon* RESULTS http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/photo_contest_ratings.jsp?pcnum=189

* If you are new to the Photo Critique Forum please read the Section Rules http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-279264-1.html
.

Blood Moon through an 8" SCT. The extra 14% of the super moon filled the field and I had to constantly tweek to keep the image center. I square cropped to trim the dark edges. This is a 10 second exposure on a tracking tripod and the color has not been enhanced. What a great night.

(Download)

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Capture-wise I would say "mission accomplished". Edit-wise I would say it would be more realistic if it was desaturated a bit, and it would benefit from a bit more space all around the moon. Perhaps realism wasn't a main concern.....

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

R.G. wrote:

Capture-wise I would say "mission accomplished". Edit-wise I would say it would be more realistic if it was desaturated a bit, and it would benefit from a bit more space all around the moon. Perhaps realism wasn't a main concern.....

I tend to agree. I am posting the original shot for comparison. I must have bumped the brightness while preparing to crop.
As you can see the extra 14% size of the super moon made cropping difficult and I may have been better off leaving it uncropped.

uncropped

(Download)

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Albuqshutterbug wrote:

......As you can see the extra 14% size of the super moon made cropping difficult and I may have been better off leaving it uncropped.

Depending on your software there should be some way to extend the canvas on any side that needs it. The good news is that plain black will be a satisfactory colour for the new area.

I don't think brightness is a concern, but the saturation seems a bit unrealistically high.

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

R.G. wrote:

Depending on your software there should be some way to extend the canvas on any side that needs it. The good news is that plain black will be a satisfactory colour for the new area.

I don't think brightness is a concern, but the saturation seems a bit unrealistically high.

Thank you. I also shot at 10 and 13 seconds. Those were quite blown.
I was trying to avoid processing but realize maybe a small drop in exposure might have helped the detail.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Albuqshutterbug wrote:

.....I was trying to avoid processing but realize maybe a small drop in exposure might have helped the detail.

A bit of Clarity (or whatever equivalent you have) would help with the details. And if you were feeling adventurous you could try to even out the lighting - the bottom half is a bit on the dark side (needs Shadows lifted) and the top half is a bit on the bright side (needs Highlights lowered). And after that it might need a touch more Contrast.

charryl Loc: New Mexico, USA

I agree with R.G.'s comments but will add some other thoughts. This is a good moon capture but, frankly, that's all it is. If you wanted to achieve that, then good enough but it does need more "room" around it. Even looking at the cropped version, the edges of the moon on the top and bottom are too close to the edge. Framing would overlap the image. I, personally do not mind the uneven lighting; in fact I think it adds to the image. I think, however, that as an image that is both pleasing and interesting, there should be something that gives context or perception. What you got was a good image of the blood moon. Pretty, but frankly, not one that I would hang on my wall.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Frankly, I like the uneven lighting. That's how it was. Trying to even it out would make it look false, I think. Just my opinion - for whatever that's worth!

smith934 Loc: Huntsville, Alabama

R.G. wrote:

Capture-wise I would say "mission accomplished". Edit-wise I would say it would be more realistic if it was desaturated a bit, and it would benefit from a bit more space all around the moon. Perhaps realism wasn't a main concern.....

Did you read the OP? He said no processing was done. How much more "realistic" can it get?

R.G. Loc: Scotland

smith934 wrote:

Did you read the OP? He said no processing was done. How much more "realistic" can it get?

I have seen photos of the blood moon taken by professional photographers and they don't have colours as vivid as this one. Cameras vary greatly in the way they render colours, and the fact that it's a jpeg image means that it's been processed (as part of the conversion process).

If the moon was part of a scenic image with landscape elements I would say the vivid colours and uneven lighting were appropriate. However, as presented it's more of a documentary-type image, so I would assume that trying to achieve maximum drama wasn't an objective. There are times when drama, contrast and vividness are appropriate, and I would say this isn't such a time.

smith934 Loc: Huntsville, Alabama

R.G. wrote:

I have seen photos of the blood moon taken by prof... (show quote)

Sorry for the post. After I read he may have bumped a setting, I tried to delete the comment but due to admin not implementing that feature, for some unknown reason, I could not.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

smith934 wrote:

Sorry for the post. After I read he may have bumped a setting, I tried to delete the comment but due to admin not implementing that feature, for some unknown reason, I could not.

The OP does say that "the color has not been enhanced" and he reduced the exposure by reducing the shutter speed, so you are right in saying that PP was not used. He also says that he used a tracking tripod (which allowed such a long exposure time), so maybe that accounts for the extra vividness. It's also possible that his location provided better-than-average conditions, so perhaps you are right - the shot is indeed realistic. But I would still say that this one is noticeably more vivid than any of the others that I've seen in the media.

Erdos2 Loc: Vancouver, WA

For me the photo seems a teeny tiny bit out of focus. My first thought was how tight the crop was, so like others, I wish there was a little bit more black border around it.I think the color is ok, if that is what you saw.

If part of the question is about winning competitions, a single photo of just the moon, no matter how well done, is not likely to win. The moon, probably the single most photographed object wordwide, is not enough all by itself. It has to be something different. This is partly due to familiarity and partly because any contest like this will have a multiple photos that are similar and will divide up the votes of those who like this type of photo. (The numbers are against you)

Jerry (wishing I had the equipment and skill to do a photo of the moon this well)

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

charryl wrote:

I agree with R.G.'s comments but will add some oth... (show quote)

Thank you very much for the frank comments. I would have loved to have had more border but with this moon it literally overfilled the viewfinder making it difficult to center exactly as seen in my uncropped version. I agree this is not a wall hanger and was mainly playing with my exposures on the tracking tripod to see how well the longer exposure worked. It would have also helped if my focus had been a bit tighter. SCT telescopes are notorious for having the mirror move a bit as the mount tracks. I missed it but saw the results in the longer exposure where I was pulling in stars. They were soft. You can also see the stars in the uncropped shot near the upper right and middle left.
They are not pinpoints as they should be.
Thank you again.

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

R.G. wrote:

But I would still say that this one is noticeably more vivid than any of the others that I've seen in the media.

I agree and it was for this reason that I entered it into this weeks photo challenge.
One thing to consider is that most media shots will not be of this duration or at this magnification.
That is also a challenge since the scope has to be properly aligned to eliminate drifting.