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moon shots
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Dec 2, 2017 20:05:59   #
tenny52 Loc: San Francisco
 
What are the better gears and settings for shooting the moon?
Moon with distant landscape?
Moon with people's face?
It would be nice with a demo picture.

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Dec 2, 2017 23:35:32   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
tenny52 wrote:
What are the better gears and settings for shooting the moon?
Moon with distant landscape?
Moon with people's face?
It would be nice with a demo picture.


The most important thing to remember when shooting the moon is to get the moon with color, not with blown highlights; the moon has both color and texture, depending upon how you shoot it. You need to have a vision prior to shooting it. I personally do not care for shots of just the moon; I like shots with some type of foreground, either a landscape or a building or sometimes setting the moon inside something. This takes some planning. I like the moon to look large, if that is possible, not a tiny round thing in the far distance although I have these type of shots, too. You need to decide what it is you like and want to do. You can get the rising moon with enough light when the moon rises as the sun sets, this happens every month but you need to look at sunset/moonrise statistics to figure out the best day and these charts give the information for sea level so you will need to figure out the timing where you get your shot. I recently spent two weeks in Venice and knew when the moon would be good to shoot and was able to get the shot I envisioned from the Accademia Bridge but if you were there you might have wanted to take the shot differently.



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Dec 3, 2017 00:20:28   #
tenny52 Loc: San Francisco
 
it is very artistic, I have never been able to shoot a moon that big respective to a building. Next time when I travel, I should bring my long lens which only a 70-200, should that be enough?
Did you use long exposure and long lens?

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Dec 3, 2017 00:31:19   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
tenny52 wrote:
it is very artistic, I have never been able to shoot a moon that big respective to a building. Next time when I travel, I should bring my long lens which only a 70-200, should that be enough?
Did you use long exposure and long lens?


I used a Nikon 70-200mm, one second exposure at f/8. PhotoPills is a smart phone app that can help you.

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Dec 3, 2017 01:19:50   #
tjim Loc: Far Northern California
 
I also like daytime moon shots. Often, in our area, the moon appears 3-4 times bigger just as it's cresting the eastern horizon.
This shot was taken right before dusk but the sun was still lighting the trees. The color version was not real attractive. But PP in BW made it acceptable.
Nikon D200, nikkor 75-300 @300, 1/350 @ f10 ISO 400


(Download)

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Dec 3, 2017 01:29:54   #
tenny52 Loc: San Francisco
 
Great big moon, looks like a good moon shot can be taken anywhere and anytime. I shoot with my D610, so the moon shall look further.

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Dec 3, 2017 02:32:21   #
tjim Loc: Far Northern California
 
tenny52 wrote:
Great big moon, looks like a good moon shot can be taken anywhere and anytime. I shoot with my D610, so the moon shall look further.


As far as the 610 with FF yes the moon may look further but you have MUCH better capabilities than I to PP crop.
But a good moon shot can not necessarily be taken anywhere anytime IMHO. There are a gazillion wonderful moon shots that all look the same. I think the advice Via and I both gave you is consistent.
Find the time the moon is at it's largest. Keep a close eye on the east. A foreground is an advantage. look for color and texture.
Here's a completely failed moon pic. taken at around 4:30 pm (Maybe 10 minutes after the sweet spot) also PP to BW.
Nikon D200, nikkor 75-300 handheld @300mm, 1/160 @f6.3, ISO 400. I took maybe 30 shots at 3fps to try to get an acceptable pic. The 610 could do much better. But even sharper there would be nothing to it.

Failed moon shot
Failed moon shot...
(Download)

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Dec 3, 2017 06:07:52   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
tenny52 wrote:
What are the better gears and settings for shooting the moon?
Moon with distant landscape?
Moon with people's face?
It would be nice with a demo picture.


I occasionally take a moon shot and save it for compositing with other images. i just did this one for illustration purposes. Took about 2 mins after finding the two images I wanted to use.


(Download)


(Download)

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Dec 3, 2017 07:31:42   #
mrova Loc: Chesterfield, VA
 
via the lens wrote:
I used a Nikon 70-200mm, one second exposure at f/8. PhotoPills is a smart phone app that can help you.


Two thumbs up for PhotoPills! Love how you can pinpoint any location and get exactly the direction where the sun/moon rises and sets.

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Dec 3, 2017 08:31:36   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
I feel the same as user via the lens: I want to capture the moon with landscape details, usually right at sunrise or sunset for the full moon. Here is a moonset shot from July 2017 and an older one + a link to a UHH discussion topic I hosted last year. The problem with some of the photos, especially when skies are clear, is they look like composites though they aren't

In the discussion topic you'll find many inspiring images and lots of tips:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-412050-1.html

-

At 125 mm, M4/3 mirrorless camera, equivalent to 250 mm on full frame. Sunrise is hitting the windows of the house because of a gap in hills behind me. Otherwise, just the top of the mountain and the moon were directly lit in that moment.
At 125 mm, M4/3 mirrorless camera, equivalent to 2...

Canon SX50 bridge camera, long zoom, cropped. Just after sunrise, but this tree was still in shadow of a hill.
Canon SX50 bridge camera, long zoom, cropped. Just...

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Dec 3, 2017 08:35:10   #
DNW
 
I love the first one! NICE! δ¿δ

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Dec 3, 2017 09:01:14   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
via the lens wrote:
The most important thing to remember when shooting the moon is to get the moon with color, not with blown highlights; the moon has both color and texture, depending upon how you shoot it. You need to have a vision prior to shooting it. I personally do not care for shots of just the moon; I like shots with some type of foreground, either a landscape or a building or sometimes setting the moon inside something. This takes some planning. I like the moon to look large, if that is possible, not a tiny round thing in the far distance although I have these type of shots, too. You need to decide what it is you like and want to do. You can get the rising moon with enough light when the moon rises as the sun sets, this happens every month but you need to look at sunset/moonrise statistics to figure out the best day and these charts give the information for sea level so you will need to figure out the timing where you get your shot. I recently spent two weeks in Venice and knew when the moon would be good to shoot and was able to get the shot I envisioned from the Accademia Bridge but if you were there you might have wanted to take the shot differently.
The most important thing to remember when shooting... (show quote)


Nice, but is that moon or sun?
No detail in the moon.

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Dec 3, 2017 09:23:42   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
Architect1776's comment brings up another point: haze and pollution can obscure the moon much more when it's close to the horizon, even if the atmosphere appears to be clear to the naked eye. Also, at the "near horizon" times, with a 200 mm lens you can see the moon moving quite rapidly!

Another older moonset in the morning, with the sx50:



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Dec 3, 2017 09:24:16   #
windshoppe Loc: Arizona
 
tenny52 wrote:
What are the better gears and settings for shooting the moon?
Moon with distant landscape?
Moon with people's face?
It would be nice with a demo picture.


I, too, prefer catching the moon with something in the foreground. Sometimes there's a bit of compromise involved in focus, exposure, etc. and a couple of shots work better than one. In this instance I was without a tripod and had to settle for selecting the best of several single shots.


(Download)

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Dec 3, 2017 09:48:52   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
Architect1776 wrote:
Nice, but is that moon or sun?
No detail in the moon.


Moon, lighting up the sky as it moved between clouds...can't help the weather sometimes, was happy to get it at all given the clouds that rolled.

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