ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

When I looked up the time for the moon rise this evening, it was about 45 minutes after sunset. I knew that would present problems with light. I brought along a speed light that I had mounted on a tripod off camera. By the time the moon did come up, it was already pretty dark and I had to change my thinking about the shoot. These images are what I came up with. I'd be interested if you think any of these are worth while. I like the last one.
Erich

#1 Did not want it to look like I used flash. The figure is not as dark on my monitor.

(Download)

#2 Local teenager. He was interested in what I was doing. I invited him to have his pictue taken.

(Download)

#3 Color shot

(Download)

#4 black and white conversion

(Download)

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Erich the BW has a great ghostly feel to it with a touch of mystery and is a very satisfactory image indeed. You asked a straight question of whether the others were worthwhile. Worthwhile for what would be my honest and blunt answer to that. They look what they are which is experimental images that did not quite work. Work in progress, which Im sure you will build on and get right. Not sure what advice you were hoping to get about them mate but they look like delete in camera shots to me.
On a happier note to walk away with the BW displayed here I think means you had a very successful evening. If that is you in the shot suggest Levi's for the next shot. Them Wallmart denims do your street cred no good at all!!!

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

It is me and I agree with you about the color shots. I was thinking that the light would be about the same as the night before. It was not. By the time the moon came up it was really dark. That changed my thoughts about the shot completely. I decided to go with the shot facing away from the camera and then crop so that the moon and the subject become the only two elements that the viewer has to worry about. I'm glad you liked it. It is the only shot of the evening that I really liked. Levi's be damned. I'm too old for street cred.

P.S. Now that I know the moon will be coming up in that area, I'll have about a month to think about how I can improve the composition and light and such. Thanks for the advice. BTW first couple of shots do look like experiments that just did not work. Now I can plan on how to make them work. That is almost as much fun as coming up with a good result.
Erich

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

No one is too old for street cred Erich!! Us wrinklies can still look cool. In fact we are cool cos we have so much life experience the young would love to have.
So ditch those baggy Wallmart denims and invest in some 501's.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The b&w is very interesting, Erich! I like it.

Check your app for moon location next month. It moves quite a bit each month, just as the moonrise/moonset times vary as you found. From my balcony, in November the moon rises from the north/northeast and in April from the southeast. If it doesn't cloud over completely within the next two hours I'm going out for moon set shots

I'm pm'ing you an edit on the teen shot. That could be great fun to play with. I like his pose a lot.

Dave Chinn

Erich, I like the concept of your attempted achievements. I'm sure the more you practice with different camera settings, I have no doubt you will accomplish your goal. I really do like the first one of yourself and the second one of the teen. However, they are both out of focus. It is so hard to focus night shots, especially of yourself and trying to prefocus. You have to place something to focus on where you will be in the photo to get a focal point. If it were me (and I'm sure you have) I would take a variety of shots at different camera settings and try to get the ISO down as low as possible to eliminate any noise created by high ISO, but the main issue is focus. A good base image out of the camera will make your post processing so much easier and with better results. No matter what anyone will/can do in post processing will not gain a sharp in focus image. I'm sure you know all of this but sometimes a reminder doesn't hurt.
Dave

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I hope you don't give up on the possibilities pointed to by the first thread. I thought the combination of bench (and sitter), bridge, moon and water could have been made to work well. It's not just a bench shot or just a moon shot or just a bridge shot. It's a combination that had the potential to work well. An uninterrupted view of the bridge could on its own have been quite pleasing, but it has all of the other elements to support it. I think you could have used the bridge as the basis for the shot as a whole and it would have provided the context for including the other elements. You'll have endless opportunities to pursue novelty shots as well, but the good old traditional stuff became traditional for a reason, and different combinations are a way to breathe new life into the tried and tested.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Got the pm. might play with that photo. I also do like the black and white. Crazy how the moon is all over the place and the sun seems to be more constant. Or maybe I've just been starting to take notice.
Erich

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

The focus was indeed an issue. When I checked the focus on the camera screen, it looked ok so I kept f/16 to get myself and the moon sharp. Then, when I got home and I had a real monitor to work with I realized I missed it by a hair. In the shot of my back, I shot at f/ 16 and moved a few feet farther away from the camera. That put me in the range of the dof so that I would not be out of focus. You are right about these shots being tough. When the opportunity presents itself, I'll try again. It does hone the skills. Thanks for looking.
Erich

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I have not given up on that bridge. I also will try that bench again. This time, however, I wanted to use the tree and a sitting pose. That, as we saw, did not pan out so well. Thank you for the encouragement.
Erich