The Moon

Msmoto

OK, as one who is rarely satisfied, and the shot from last night was with a bit of haze in the evening air, I have gone back to this and made some improvements...specifically, less noise reduction, slightly higher contrast. These things are so very difficult to have the type of quality I want. SO, here is the link to the "improved" version. A matter of personal preference I believe.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/9127511651/sizes/o/

And, at some point in the future several of us are working on a project to have a very high resolution image of the moon specifically requested by an individual.

NSXTypeR

Tried my hand at shooting the moon with a lens that was far too short. I kept white balance in auto. No tripod.

The weird thing was that the color shifts a good amount.

When the moon is quite bright, it can be surprising- you can use quite high shutter speeds. My only concern is trying to get realistic color out of these photos- since the colors can change so much, how do you guys correct for it?

Msmoto

The moon as I understand it has no color. So it is up to the photographer to decide what he/she wants it to be. Atmospheric conditions may give it a color, but this is all subjective.

BigDog

Since we don't have a Moon thread on the new site - here we go! Post photos and all the camera info!

D800 - Tokina 300mm f2.8 w/ 2x teleconverter (Kenko) @ f/8, 1/80th, ISO 100


For full moon I have always heard (and it works as a starting point) to shoot it at ISO 200, 1/250th, @ f/5.6. Depending on the season, light pollution, not a full moon, limitations on lens, etc. that moves a bit. That has always been where I start from and have good luck. I always shoot manual for it as well. The Moon tricks even the best meters.

Wow, great capture. Tried the same several nights ago and the results were disappointing.

Photobug

Very nice picture BigDog. Like it.

CEBlueclouds

Posted this on pad in Oct last year. Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6, 1/125s, ISO 200, f/8, -1/3ev...manual exposure

Vipmediastar_JZ

The moon as I understand it has no color.

im adding that to the what have you learned at NRF. I never actually stop to think about that.

PB_PM

Not so sure that the moon is colourless.
(Image is from the NASA database)
http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/AS16-117-18841HR.jpg

The colour of the moon depends entirely on the minerals exposed in a give area, in the same way that the colour of the earth depends on the area you look at.

TaoTeJared

Wow, great capture. Tried the same several nights ago and the results were disappointing.

Thanks @BigDog! I have taken moon photos for years and probably took 400 that night alone. That was the best one that I have taken to date. I deleted about 2,000 photos of white dots after I finished that one

Tried my hand at shooting the moon with a lens that was far too short. I kept white balance in auto. No tripod.

The weird thing was that the color shifts a good amount.

When the moon is quite bright, it can be surprising- you can use quite high shutter speeds. My only concern is trying to get realistic color out of these photos- since the colors can change so much, how do you guys correct for it?

The color shifts dramatically depending on the altitude. That is due to the amount of atmosphere you are seeing it through - just like the sun is warmer during rise/setting. Also what changes the quality is the air quality, pollutants, dust, location of where you are at, etc, etc. I'm with @Msmoto, I think it is all subjective. One night I was driving past a methane refinery and the moon had a unsettling greenish-blue color to it. In the Fall where I'm at it is the Harvest Moon - deep red-orange when the fields are being gathered.

Msmoto

@Vipmediastar_JZ

Re: the moon color… I believe I learned this from one of the principle investigators at Three Collage Observatory, which just happens to be where we are working on a Nikon "F" mount so as to be able to use the DSLR Nikons.

Ref: http://physics.uncg.edu/tco/

pizzathief

Here is my attempt at get a moon picture last night. Using the Nikon D5300 with 18-55mm lens. Now I just need to save up for a lens, any suggestions for a lens that goes up to 300mm? Don't think I can go more than that on a DX camera.

spraynpray

"Don't think I can go more than that on a DX camera."

Why not? The new Tamron 150 - 600 zoom?

Photobug

Yup Spraynpray on the new 150-600 Tamron. I have got to dig out the moon pictures I took last year with my 200-500 Tamron.

HipShot

Anyone shooting the moon tonight?

PB_PM

Local weather forecast calls for clouds and possible showers.

tcole1983

Snowing and cloudy here :-(

TaoTeJared

I just did a quick edit but this is what I got tonight.

proudgeek

Nice TTJ. You seem to be the only one in the country under clear skies last night. Nothing but rain here in the Northeast.

rmp

Great shot TTJ! But, why di you get the only clear sky?

MightyY

Great shot. I was very bummed when I woke up at 2AM to still see cloudy/rainy skies. Just have to wait 6 months for another opportunity.

Golf007sd

Thanks for sharing...well done. Personally, my tail was fast asleep...hehe.

SquamishPhoto

Clouds here rolled in just before it started.

heartyfisher

Taken with my mobile phone :-) Great shot TTJ !

TaoTeJared

Thanks everyone. It was Clear and cold! The snow melted, wind stopped, frost set in and the heavy clouds rolled out around midnight. I thought this area would be covered as well, but it blew through. I was just glad the wind died down. It had been blowing at 50mph gusts for two days.

HipShot

I tried.