Tell me what you think about this picture... This was my first time trying a picture of the moon. The moon was nice and bright outside tonight, so I thought "why the hell not".
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First try at the Moon
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Not bad - quite good actually.
Was this shot with a telephoto lens, or did you use a telescope (and if so, eyepiece projection or prime focus)? Also, any processing?
Was this shot with a telephoto lens, or did you use a telescope (and if so, eyepiece projection or prime focus)? Also, any processing?
Thanks for the compliments...
Process was rather simple actually. Taken with a Nikon D80 and a 70-200mm VR Nikkor lens (nothing special).
f/16
ISO 160
Focused in at 180mm
Exposure time .008 secs (1/125)
As for the processing part, I had to crop the shot quite a bit. Then just some slight adjustments in Aperture (brightness, definition, exposure) and that was about it.
Here is the original for comparison:
Process was rather simple actually. Taken with a Nikon D80 and a 70-200mm VR Nikkor lens (nothing special).
f/16
ISO 160
Focused in at 180mm
Exposure time .008 secs (1/125)
As for the processing part, I had to crop the shot quite a bit. Then just some slight adjustments in Aperture (brightness, definition, exposure) and that was about it.
Here is the original for comparison:
Was the moon genuinely that hue of orange (due to poor atmospheric conditions), or perhaps it's a white balance issue? I ask because typically the moon appears pure white.
It is perhaps due to white balance issues... I definitely didn't think of white balance, so that was set on auto...
Amazing how small the photographed moon looks, isn't it?
Was it shot in RAW? If so, the white balance it easy enough to change.
This one wasn't shot in RAW. I only shot one in RAW and that one didn't come out good at all (I wasn't using a tripod, I simply stood next to my car and used the roof of it to try and hold the camera still). Here it is with a little desaturation:
does the rule of 1/3 apply to moon shots??? lol
Nice, LOL.
That's a great first moon shot btw. I'm still using my kit lens 18-55mm so I have to crop BIG TIME to even get some resemblence of the detail of the moon. I hope to get a telescope from my wife so I can use that - I'd love to do more astrophotography.
yah my photography professor tells us all the time, never place an object in the center of the picture blah blah blah. I was just wondering if this applies!!
I find it very surprising that with such a small aperture (high value), high shutter speed and low ISO speed you can actually get a well exposed picture of the moon. I mean it's not all that bright, is it?
never really dabbled myself on the moon i just experienced the limitations of night photography quite often lately. but i guess that's the difference between night photography (classic low light sceneries) and astrophotography, right?
That 's a great centre shot! Did you use a tripod?
This is one of my first shots with a 300mm lens. Not as much cropping, but still doesn't look as big as in real life, close to the horizon
ƒ13 1/80 sec, ISO 400, 300mm
This is a fireworks shot from this past summer, taken from 10 km up the coast.
ƒ5.6, 10 sec, ISO 200, 300mm
Both taken on a tripod, although not as necessary for the moon pic.
This is one of my first shots with a 300mm lens. Not as much cropping, but still doesn't look as big as in real life, close to the horizon
ƒ13 1/80 sec, ISO 400, 300mm
This is a fireworks shot from this past summer, taken from 10 km up the coast.
ƒ5.6, 10 sec, ISO 200, 300mm
Both taken on a tripod, although not as necessary for the moon pic.
Very Nice. Here was my first attempt from a while ago (Nikon D40 with a Nikon 70-300mm, afraid can't remember the other settings). Not had much of a chance to have a few further goes.
Moon was a bit too full on this one as you can pick out a lot more detail on a half moon due to the shadows.
Moon was a bit too full on this one as you can pick out a lot more detail on a half moon due to the shadows.
Yep. Take a look at brad.c's pic. something more about it just "works". part of that is the off-center placement of the moon.
I was introduced to photography way back in high school at the same time I was in a regular old 'art' class. The rule of thirds was explained so much better and made more sense in painting than it did in photography but it is all about the exact same thing. In a painting you can add lines and take liberties where the photo just records what is there. Composing the shot is about placing the camera in a spot to utilize what is there in a way that you would want to have painted it.
When you look at a picture, if you are studying it or just 'taking it in' your eye will want to do some very predictable things. They will zoom right in to a bright spot, or an eye, or some very obvious focal point. If that point is in the middle the eye tends to just wander around the center of the photo and the subconcious is displeased by all the left out space. A properly composed photo/painting not only places this focal point off to one side but also utilizes color/contrast/shadow/texture or other objects and lines to "guide" the eye around the photo. This is the basis for the rule of 1/3s. Some other things to think about is where to put the subject (which 1/3). You really want to have things pointing in toward the photo rather than off the side. With a moon shot it should be easy to make a few copies and re-crop to have a centered one, and then 4 with the moon off to each corner and then stand back and see which one you like the best... it likely won't be the one with the centered image.
Love the fireworks! especially the smoke produced by it.
Between Canon 400D, 450D, Nikon D40, D60, Sony Alpha 200, 300, 350. Which one is better at taking low lighting condition (or dark condition) and possibly under those yellow lighting (commonly found in hotels)?
Between Canon 400D, 450D, Nikon D40, D60, Sony Alpha 200, 300, 350. Which one is better at taking low lighting condition (or dark condition) and possibly under those yellow lighting (commonly found in hotels)?