Jeanne Loc: Denver

I shot this last night. It was at Red Rocks Amphitheater west of Denver. What I saw was the warm uplighting on the rocks, the backlit mountain silhouette and a crescent moon. What I got was this blown out, blurry blech. I now know the camera was saving more light than I was seeing because I couldn't see the whole moon or any stars in the sky!

Canon Rebel XTi, 18-55 kit lens, M setting, manual focus at infinity, ISO 1600, F-3.8 (as low as it would go), underexposed by one stop. Camera mounted on tripod and on timed shutter release.

Please help. How can I correctly capture shots like this next time?

Red Rocks Crescent Moon

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

What was your shutter speed?

architect Loc: Chattanooga

You don't say what shutter speed you used, but looking at the moon, I would guess as many as 30 seconds, as the unlit part of the moon has detail and the moon has moved in the sky noticeably. That could also explain the blown out light on the rocks.

You might have been better off using ISO 200 to reduce noise, and an aperture more like F8 to optimize the lens quality. But if that still required a long exposure, the moon would still show movement blurring. I always bracket my night exposures, as light meters are unreliable at such low light levels.

Jeanne Loc: Denver

My shutter speed was 1.6.

architect Loc: Chattanooga

Thanks for the information. That makes sense. In looking at your photo again, I see that what I thought was the moon's movement was simply flare from the overexposure. So my advice stands, and you should not have to worry about the exposure being so long that the moon moves during it.

Jeanne Loc: Denver

Thanks! I sure appreciate your advice. Might have to give this another try again tonight.

LarryD Loc: Mojave Desert

You simply over-exposed the image.. The moon is in direct sunlight, so any exposure longer than f16-ISO100-1/100 on a full moon will overexpose it.. You can get away with a bit longer exposure for a crescent.

Also, the moon moves pretty fast and even at 1.6 seconds you can see motion blur..

Don't just use M and guess at exposure.. Set your camera to spot metering and meter on the lighted cliff. Use that as a starting point and review a few images bracketed on either side of that setting.. If you try to expose the moon correctly you will get silhouette and no stars.. It's a bit of a compromise

architect Loc: Chattanooga

Good advice Larry. I have seen close ups of the moon shot at 1/125 sec without noticeable movement, but faster is better according to what I have read (one article said 1/350 sec with a 300 mm lens). With the moon the size it is in this image, the movement will probably not be noticeable at much slower speeds. Good idea on using the spot meter on the cliff as a start.

jokescache1 Loc: SW Utah

shoulda/coulda/woulda---yes not perfect,,but still a very nice pic..

coco1964 Loc: Winsted Mn

In photo class instructor said never go above 400 ISO when shooting the moon and lower is even better. Good idea presented on getting reading off of rock and then do some bracketing.................

alaskanfrog Loc: Alaska

night shots are probably some of the most challenging photos to take. Your ISO setting was too high and the shutter speed was too slow, resulting in a slightly over exposed photo. That's evident with the moon being blown out where it's glowing brightest. Most important of all, take your lens out of "Auto Focus" mode as cameras have extreme difficulties focusing in very low light conditions. Instead, focus your shot manually. Next, the tripod is good, so that's the right idea. But, make sure you are as far out of the equation as possible by using a remote shutter release to trigger and fire your shot.

Your best option is to use the lowest ISO setting on your camera(ISO-100) and set it for a timed exposure. The best way to learn how to do it correctly is to; experiment, experiment, experiment, and get familiar with what your camera can do and what it can't. Good luck on your next attempt...