Outdoor Photographer Mar 2019
outdoorphotographer.com
How to SHOOT the MOON
BIG MOON LANDSCAPES.
How to add a looming lunar accent to your scenic photography
Gary Hart
www.garyhartphotography.com
THE RIGHT LENS
Photograph at 16mm focal length, moon appears as a tiny dot.
Photograph at 200mm or longer.
400mm is preferred for the moon to jump out of the frame for Gary
His big moon lens is 100-400mm zoom - can PULL BACK TO FIT a foreground subject.
A bigger moon, he adds a 2X teleconverter = 800 mm
Bigger still - use his APS-sensor body - can zoom to a 1200mm equivalent.
At 600mm, your moon dominates the frame
Advised to shoot a large moon with a striking foreground (landscape) - otherwise viewers do not know whether you were standing beside your garbage cans in your driveway.
DISTANCE YOURSELF
Position yourself further back from your foreground subject, the longer will be your focal length you can use and the bigger the moon. Problem in finding a vantage point.
A little easier is to photograph a big moon with smaller foreground objects e.g. solitary tree
KEEP IT SHARP
When your foreground is an oak tree on a hill that's a mile away, you need to consider the HYPERFOCAL distance.
E.G. at 800mm, f/11, full-frame sensor, the hyperfocal distance is a mile-and-a-quarter. Focus on the tree, the moon is soft. Focus on the moon, the tree is soft. If you focus a little more distant than your closest foreground subject, IMMEDIATELY review and MAGNIFY the resulting image to check its sharpness.
If not sharp, remove the camera from the tripod and focus on something that is the right distance (even if it out of your frame). Be sure to use back-button focus or focus manually.
Sort out your focus BEFORE the moon arrives.
A tripod and remote release (camera' self-timer) are essential for sharp long-telephoto images. Best not to extend the tripod's center post.
If using DSLR, use mirror lock-up or shoot in live-view mode to eliminate mirror-slap.
A SHUTTER SPEED necessary to avoid blowing out the highlights n the moon will be fast enough to freeze the moon's motion, even at extreme focal lengths (ie. 1200mm). Longer focal length - vibrations more sensitive.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Extreme telephoto images that include both the moon and a foreground subject is only possible when the moon is right ON THE HORIZON, making proper timing critical. The best time to photograph a full moon on the horizon is the 15-minute window on either side of the official (flat horizon) sunset, when the moon stands out nicely against the darkening sky but enough light to capture the foreground detail without losing lunar detail. Monitor your blinking highlights to avoid clipping the moon.
For a crescent moon, 30-45 minutes before the official sunrise or sunset.
Coordinating the moving parts - moon phase and altitude, foreground subject alignment, subject distance and timing- require precise planning and plotting.
Countless apps e.g. The Photographer's Ephemeris and PhotoPills give access to moonrise and moonset data and maps for any location on Earth. A learning curve is needed.
If the moon is blown out, the image is a failure.
PLAN AHEAD
The margin for error increases as the focal length increases, planning for a big moon image to be done months in advance. Criteria are prominent subjects that stand out against the sky, distant east- or west-facing vantage point.
Then plotting is done. Mark his calendar for the day he wants to be there.
IT'S TIME FOR ACTION
Google search or smartphone app to know when the next full or crescent moon is.
Download app like the Photographer's Ephemeris to become familiar with it.
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PHOTOS IN MAGAZINE
Foothill Moonrise, California
Align moon with the solitary hill top oak tree.
Sony a6000, Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3. Exposure 1/8
sec, f/11, ISO 400
Supermoon, Half Dome, Yosemite
Sony a7RIII, sony FE 100-400mm f/4-5.6 GM OSS, Sony 2x teleconverter = 800mm focal length. Exposure: 1/8 sec, f/11, ISO 400
Moon rise behind Half Dome mountains
New Moon, California Setting moon, a pair of trees atop a hill in the low foothills.
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. Exposure: 1/6 sec, f/11, ISO 400.
Crescent
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My New Zealand moon taken during daytime
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www.instagram.com/toapayohvets
19 Jun 2022.
COMPARE THE SHARPNESS OF THE MOON IMAGES TAKEN IN 2022 AND 2018.
Practice makes perfect. I show my 2 images of the moon seen at daylight in Singapore in 2018 and 2022.
In 2022, I place the camera on top of another DSLR camera. Both cameras are placed on the ledge on the partition wall of The Esplanade car park entrance. The DSLR Canon EOS 90D 18-200 mm lens camera points at the moon skywards.
I then touch the LIVE view LED screen. That means no clicking of shutter and much less shaking of the lens.
I will say that the 19 Jun 2022 image of the daylight moon is much sharper than the 2018 image which would be handheld or placed on a car roof top. The shutter button would be pressed to click...causing vibrations and less sharp image of the moon.
A tripod is best for moon photography but I seldom use it.
Moon at 8AM over the Esplanade carpark
I put my camera on top of another DSLR camea
to stabilise the shooting camera.
19 JUN 2022: ADVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. How to video the daylight moon.
SINGAPORE - moon seen in daylight, above Esplanade Theatre 8 am Sunday 19 Jun 2022
It is NOT possible to create a NON-shaky video just by handholding the DSLR Canon EOS 90D AND FOCUSING on the moon high up in the sky. Same applies to moon digital images handheld --- no sharp images.
TIP:
I balance and stabilise my camera ONTO the side of another camera, POINTING one camera at the moon. I place cameras on the ledge of a low wall at the entrance to the Esplanade carpark staircas, so that the video footage will not be shaky. Making videos with hand holding can be very SHAKY due to hand movements trying to focus the moon high in the sky.Because of the Earth's rotation, the moon is above the horizon roughly 12 hours out of every 24. Since those 12 hours almost never coincide with the roughly 12 hours of daylight in every 24 hours, the possible window for observing the moon in daylight averages about 6 hours a day.The moon is visible in daylight nearly every day, the exceptions being close to new moon, when the moon is too close to the sun to be visible, and close to full moon when it is only visible at night. The best times in the month to see the moon in daylight are close to first and last quarter, when the moon is 90 degrees away from the sun in the sky.
UPDATES AND MORE INFO AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2019/04/3283-photographing-moon.html
YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAYLIGHT MOON AT ESPLANADE TODAY:
Video is muted as it is noisy
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