I'm going to 'shoot the moon' for the first time tonight.
I don't know about other countries, but here in Croatia moon will be the brightest and the biggest in the last 18 years, and I'm planning to take some photos of it. However, I never did it, so I was wondering if you had any experience with it to share with me? Some tips, perhaps? :)
Here is a web site that helped me out: http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/howtophoto/.
Here is one of my moon shoots using the settings on this page. The best thing to do is practice at different setting and use a tripod and a remote or timer. The moon is very bright and moves fast.
Good luck and look at my other months. I tried to get a photo of the moon every month.
I have to disagree with @cirasj on the tripod - I never use one and when I've tried it was just frustrating....however, that doesn't mean not to try it. I just hate tripods!
The moon will be very very bright and full tonight and for the next few days, and the key is to shoot as though you are shooting in daylight. The light from the moon is just a reflection of sunlight, and it works the same way.
Settings:
Exposure:0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture:f/8.0
ISO Speed:320
Focal Length:300 mm
I have done some basic highlight and dark adjustments and some sharpening to this image, as well as about a 75% crop of the frame.
What lens will you be using?
I'm not sure what time it is where you are, but here in the USA, it is about noon on Saturday. Tonight is the Super Moon, which is why it will be so bright - it is closer to the earth than normal. This also means that at moonrise, it will be giant and orange and magnificent. If you haven't missed that already, get a good seat for it!
@sdpace - my tripod got somewhat wrecked the last time I borrowed it to a friend, I have to put a piece of folded paper to keep it firm, but I don't think it will be much of a help for tonight. It's 18:25 here, the moon will rise in about an hour. I'm going out of town half an hour earlier, on a hill (is that a good idea? :D).
I have only standard kit on Sony DSC-F828, 28-200mm, f 2.0-8.0.
@hehe1308 - so, basically, 200mm, ISO speed: 100, 200, aperture 8.0, exposure 1/60 - 1/125 (I got this from the link Joe gave me), point to the moon and hope that, if I miss it, I'll shoot for the stars? :D
@shiza yes, get out there as close to sunset as you can, and a hill is great! I did a hill last year without much luck (mostly because I didn't know what I was doing!) and am going to the lake on an eastward-facing beach tonight to shoot :) I'm really excited. Can't wait to see what you get!
If you use full zoom to 200mm and f/6 to f/8 with ISO 200-400 and shutter between 1/600 - 1/200 you should be good without the tripod. Just snap away adjusting as you go for the best shot you can get! Good luck!
@sdpace - boyfriend suggested he'll take me there with a car, because it's 20 min away from the town, and I have no idea what it looks like, but if it's full of trees or something, I might need some time to find a good spot. :D
thank you, good luck to you too (I can't wait to see what you got, that picture you gave me is really awesome :D)!
i only have a canon powershot p&s but i can capture the moon using manual setting, lSO of 60 and the faster shutter speed i can set the camera into. not so shabby most of the time:
good luck. i'll try again tonight if the sky clears.
But, as I said, I think I came too late to catch while it was really big and shiny, so I'll try again tomorrow if it doesn't rain. Although I'm not quite satisfied with the photos, I still had loads of fun while shooting it. ;)
@sdpace
Thanks for all the advice Stacy. I missed the moon rise last night as I was at work, but had a go when I got home at 9.30. Terrible angle as the moon was directly overhead. I have had a couple of attempts in the past, but because it was dark, I thought I needed a slow shutter speed and a tripod......I'm learning though, and used fast last night. Hopefully the clouds will clear today, and I'll have another go this evening, but earlier, with the settings you have suggested and hand held. Thanks again for sharing your tips.
I am frustrated that you all have great photo's. I want to get great photo's I have a Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR with 18-135mm Lens and last night when I used my tripod and tried to capture the moon, it would auto zoom and focus and would always go to fuzzy (for a moment as it adjusted) and then goes to NICE...oh wait, no, not good, it would then go to fuzzy and 99.999% stay that way! I tried to turn off auto focus but then I would turn it off and try manual focus, I could never got it to be ... well focused, I obviously don't know how to use it.
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Here is one of my moon shoots using the settings on this page. The best thing to do is practice at different setting and use a tripod and a remote or timer. The moon is very bright and moves fast.
Good luck and look at my other months. I tried to get a photo of the moon every month.
The moon will be very very bright and full tonight and for the next few days, and the key is to shoot as though you are shooting in daylight. The light from the moon is just a reflection of sunlight, and it works the same way.
Settings:
Exposure:0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture:f/8.0
ISO Speed:320
Focal Length:300 mm
I have done some basic highlight and dark adjustments and some sharpening to this image, as well as about a 75% crop of the frame.
What lens will you be using?
I'm not sure what time it is where you are, but here in the USA, it is about noon on Saturday. Tonight is the Super Moon, which is why it will be so bright - it is closer to the earth than normal. This also means that at moonrise, it will be giant and orange and magnificent. If you haven't missed that already, get a good seat for it!
This was my mega-moon shot from last year:
@shadesofgrey - thank you :)
@sdpace - my tripod got somewhat wrecked the last time I borrowed it to a friend, I have to put a piece of folded paper to keep it firm, but I don't think it will be much of a help for tonight. It's 18:25 here, the moon will rise in about an hour. I'm going out of town half an hour earlier, on a hill (is that a good idea? :D).
I have only standard kit on Sony DSC-F828, 28-200mm, f 2.0-8.0.
If you use full zoom to 200mm and f/6 to f/8 with ISO 200-400 and shutter between 1/600 - 1/200 you should be good without the tripod. Just snap away adjusting as you go for the best shot you can get! Good luck!
thank you, good luck to you too (I can't wait to see what you got, that picture you gave me is really awesome :D)!
good luck. i'll try again tonight if the sky clears.
P&S Kodak C-190 mounted on 4.5 inch Newtonian Reflector Telescope.
But, as I said, I think I came too late to catch while it was really big and shiny, so I'll try again tomorrow if it doesn't rain. Although I'm not quite satisfied with the photos, I still had loads of fun while shooting it. ;)
Thanks for all the advice Stacy. I missed the moon rise last night as I was at work, but had a go when I got home at 9.30. Terrible angle as the moon was directly overhead. I have had a couple of attempts in the past, but because it was dark, I thought I needed a slow shutter speed and a tripod......I'm learning though, and used fast last night. Hopefully the clouds will clear today, and I'll have another go this evening, but earlier, with the settings you have suggested and hand held. Thanks again for sharing your tips.