Photographing the moon

[AndWhyNot]

Having shot the solar eclipse at Glastonbury Tor earlier this year, I figured I'd go for the pair and revisit for the lunar eclipse. I wanted something other than a simple moon shot and knew the vantage points & angles would give a chance to include St Michael's Tower.

This first pic was shot on an A7s w/ Canon 100-400L. ISO sensitivity was 25,600 and I was fortunate to catch someone's torchlight on the face of the tower which made a big difference to its appearance in the frame. There were about 150 people there, maybe more, so a short burst of frames would usually result in catching some stray light from people atop the hill.


Re-entry

Whilst I roamed with the 100-400 I also had my second A7s shooting much wider (35mm) to timelapse the change in illumination from full moon to blood moon and back out again. It made an interesting comparison. The full sequence on flickr is 37 seconds and consists about 1300 frames over 3.5 hours, each at ISO1600 for 10 seconds. Attached are the first and mid-point frames as a comparison.


Penumbral


Totality

Again that midpoint frame picked up someone's torchlight. I started the sequence as bright as I dared, sensing that it would get properly dark at totality. In the end I was glad of being at a place with some light pollution as it meant the hill & tower were defined just enough against the background sky. Away from the photo aspect, it was an interesting experience as a hush descended over the people on the hilltop at totality. Apart from one woman who was howling as if possessed. It was starting to get light as I packed up and then grabbed a couple of hours kip before heading home.

[ExPat2B]

Managed to miss the eclipse due to a fog bank. Mutter. Its been today before I can even bring myself to look at the test shots I took earlier that evening. Here is my attempt to get as much sharpness and dynamic range without compromising fine detail.

Moon_Extreme by Nature Ist, on Flickr

[rich888]

ExPat2B said:

Managed to miss the eclipse due to a fog bank. Mutter. Its been today before I can even bring myself to look at the test shots I took earlier that evening. Here is my attempt to get as much sharpness and dynamic range without compromising fine detail.

Moon_Extreme by Nature Ist, on Flickr

Brilliant photograph of the moon and the detail is quite outstanding.

I took several photographs of the moon a few nights ago using my 700D and 55-250mm lens and really don't think it has the necessary reach for optimum focus. Has anyone on here used a telescope and a DSLR to achieve the necessary magnification?

In the meantime I've uploaded one of the pics on the moon I took and am somewhat intrigued by the plume of white hot gasses or 'other' shown to the middle left as outlined in the photo, has anyone else taken a few sharper photos?

[jmorgan]

Probably Aristarchus.

It does that.

Edit. Through a scope with a DSLR strapped to it (lens replaced by the scope not the lens looking into the scope). As focusing can be a bh (for me!), two images stacked to get the detail half usable image. Aristarchus top left.

Bit of the Moon by Jeff, on Flickr

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 25th January 06:50

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 25th January 06:52

[K12beano]

Move over Ansel Adams - you never did "Moonrise Over the P Off Tower"......

[maccboy]

rich888 said:

I took several photographs of the moon a few nights ago using my 700D and 55-250mm lens and really don't think it has the necessary reach for optimum focus. Has anyone on here used a telescope and a DSLR to achieve the necessary magnification?

This was taken with my 70D and 55-250mm:




It was a full moon the following night but full cloud too!

[rich888]

maccboy said:

rich888 said:

I took several photographs of the moon a few nights ago using my 700D and 55-250mm lens and really don't think it has the necessary reach for optimum focus. Has anyone on here used a telescope and a DSLR to achieve the necessary magnification?

This was taken with my 70D and 55-250mm:




It was a full moon the following night but full cloud too!

Very sharp pic, are you using a tripod or just bracing yourself when taking the shot. I have mounted my camera on a tripod but find it difficult to manually focus and I noticed the shutter speed looks plenty high enough to hand hold the camera. Am sure I was using f5.6 or thereabouts at ISO 100.

Yes I noticed it was full moon yesterday but also very cloudy which was a shame because I was quite looking forward to having another go at taking the shots.

[maccboy]

rich888 said:

Very sharp pic, are you using a tripod or just bracing yourself when taking the shot. I have mounted my camera on a tripod but find it difficult to manually focus and I noticed the shutter speed looks plenty high enough to hand hold the camera. Am sure I was using f5.6 or thereabouts at ISO 100.

Yes I noticed it was full moon yesterday but also very cloudy which was a shame because I was quite looking forward to having another go at taking the shots.

I didn't use my tripod, just handheld. It wasn't planned, really. I just had a look out and thought I'd give it a go!

[missingman]

It's probably been mentioned but full moons don't always produce the best images as the shadows aren't anywhere near as strong as at other times.

1/4 to 1/2 full is always worth a go.

[Cainey]

Here's one I took some time ago...

Canon EOS 7D EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm

[kevin63]

This is my attempt with my Nikon D7100 and Nikon 80-400mm lens.
DSC_4010 by Kev, on Flickr

[rich888]

missingman said:

It's probably been mentioned but full moons don't always produce the best images as the shadows aren't anywhere near as strong as at other times.

1/4 to 1/2 full is always worth a go.

Thanks for the tip, will wait till we have a clear sky then give it a go.

And to the two previous posters, nice sharp pics of the moon, seems like a longer lens is the best bet, though that will have to wait for a while.

[ecain63]

Halo moon

IMG_9595 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

IMG_8814 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

Some other moons:

Full (ish)

IMG_9554 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

Part Moon

IMG_9464 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

OTT Moon

IMG_9533 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

Tree moon:

IMG_9028 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

IMG_8998 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

Moon:

IMG_8827 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

Cloud moon:

IMG_8811 (2) by Edward Cain, on Flickr

[rich888]

Looks like it's a full moon tonight and clear skies so might be a good opportunity to take a few pics.

I've tried taking a few photos tonight with the 700D and 55-250mm lens and this is the best I could come up with at f8 and 1/250th (is cropped!).

[Dogsey]

How about photographing by the light of the moon?


Cannop Pond by moonlight by Mike Gardiner, on Flickr

[GravelBen]

Dogsey said:

How about photographing by the light of the moon?

That works too!

Olivine Ice Plateau by night by Ben, on Flickr

[rich888]

It's time to resurrect this thread due to the fact that tonight is the longest lunar eclipse of the century, and will see the moon turn a deep shade of crimson, making it appear as if it is drenched in blood, aka the 'Blood Moon'.

So whip out your cameras and zoom lenses, read a few tips and tricks on here, and get shooting from about 8:30pm tonight.

[Zad]

It looks like the storms will hit here around then

[AdamIndy]

I'm going to have a go later with my 1000D and 55-250 so long as the cloud allows. It will undoubtedly be crap and I may post the blurry results later!

[Zad]

The International Space Station is due to make a few passes this evening too.
https://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544