Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks for the "education" on moon photos. A lot of that makes sense and agrees with my observations. Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Adler" <rgacpa at yahoo.com> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 1:32 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee > It's raining cats and dogs! But there are other dates. A piece of software > called The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) is very useful. > Per Jeff Sullivan: > > "If you catch the moon rising a short while before sunset, the landscape > starts > brighter and ends up darker than the moon, so at some point between > moonrise and > twilight, for a few minutes the moon and landscape are in balance in a > single > exposure. For a few minutes on either side of that ideal illumination, > minor > editing techniques can salvage a successful result. Taking this approach, > I > don't worry much about exposure at all, I can work that out in real time > as the > light changes. I do use automatic exposure bracketing to provide a range > of > exposures to use (especially after the sweet spot of balanced light, when > the > moon gets too bright and it might be important to have one exposure for > the moon > and one for the landscape). It is important to keep exposures short, and I > regularly review results on my DSLR's LCD. > With the goal of shooting during a balanced moon/landscape exposure in > mind, the > day before the date of the full moon often offers the best opportunity for > landscape photography, since the moon comes up earlier and can clear the > horizon > while there's enough light to properly expose the landscape. Given that > the > horizon is rarely at zero degrees in elevation, this also give the moon > time to > clear surrounding terrain as sunset color approaches. The moon is often > just a > few hours from full (say 99% full), essentially indistinguishable from a > full > moon to most viewers of the resulting image (and the image is pretty > likely to > be compelling enough to make any noticeable difference completely > unimportant). > > Back in December I suggested the best dates for moonrises in 2011 on my > blog, > with approximate times and compass bearings noted as well (accurate for > mid-California): > > Put Sunset Full Moon Rise Dates on your 2011 Calendar > http://activesole.blogspot.com/2010/12/put-sunset-full-moon-rise-dates-on-your.html > > > While the best sunset moonrise dates tend to occur a day before the full > moon, > you can also catch the full moon setting at times close to sunrise. The > best day > for that tends to be the day after the full moon. In this way you can > feature a > nearly full moon in images taken eastward or westward. Crescent moons can > also > be caught close to sunrise or sunset. To research these dates in advance, > try > the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site, which provides sun and rise and set > times > for towns close to your shooting location. > > Plan Ahead for Great Full Moon Rise and Set Shots! > http://activesole.blogspot.com/2006/11/plan-ahead-for-great-full-moon-rise-and.html > > > The moon position also oscillates from south to north and back with the > seasons, > so for advanced users (not in intimidated by installing software), The > Photographer's Ephemeris (already mentioned) enables you to see sun and > moon rise/set angles on a Google Earth satellite image, and see how those > angles > (and elevations) change from one moonrise to the next and at any given > time of > day. You can even seen when the moon will clear the horizon. All of this > enables > you to choose a shooting position which lines the sun or moon up with > specific > landmarks, and to determine which month of the year enables particularly > favorable compositions/lineups to occur: > > Anticipating Sun and Moon Position for Moonrise > http://activesole.blogspot.com/2010/03/anticipating-sun-and-moon-position.html > > TPE is also available (for a fee) for iPhones, so you can check details > from the > field, but only when (IF) you get AT&T or Verizon service coverage. > > There are only few full moons per year, even fewer that you'll have clear > weather to shoot, and they're a nice addition to many landscape > photographs, so > it makes sense to plan ahead and make the best of those few great > opportunities > that you have. > > Jeff Sullivan > Moon (and sun) > Gallery: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/sets/72157623567602630/show/ > > > " > > But most times it's just easier and smarter to lean against the wall, hold > your > camera up and shoot! > Bob Adler > Palo Alto, CA > http://www.rgaphoto.com > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Sent: Fri, March 18, 2011 10:11:13 PM > Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee > > Thanks, Bob. I appreciate the heads-up on the date of the full moon. It > was > just too high here to include any landscape features. Maybe you will get > lucky > on the West Coast. > > Jim Nichols > Tullahoma, TN USA > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Adler" <rgacpa at yahoo.com> > To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> > Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 11:45 PM > Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee > > >> Man that is sharp! I think I see an abandoned Hassy there... :-) >> Great capture. >> Tina taught you well! >> >> Bob Adler >> http://www.rgaphoto.com >> >> On Mar 18, 2011, at 8:25 PM, "Jim Nichols" <jhnichols at lighttube.net> >> wrote: >> >>> Bob Adler mentioned Thursday that the moonrise can be seen around >>> sundown in >>>California on March 19th, so I started looking here. In the East, it >>>rises too >>>early in the day to make a useful photo. I noticed tonight that it was >>>approaching an overhead position and I had a clear shot, though there was >>>a >>>slight haze around the moon. Not trusting the weather forecast, I >>>decided to do >>>my thing tonight. >>> >>> After trying several tripod shots that were disappointing, I decided to >>> go to >>>the old standard approach, which Tina Manley mentioned sometime back. >>>Camera on >>>Manual, ISO 200, Sunny 16 exposure, manually supported, but leaning >>>against a >>>wall. I gave up trying to manually focus, and set the scale at infinity. >>>This >>>was the best of five shots. >>> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Moon+Over+TN.tif.html >>> >>> E-510 with Leica Telyt-R 250/4 >>> >>> Comments and critiques welcomed. >>> >>> Jim Nichols >>> Tullahoma, TN USA >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >