Taking photos of Celestial objects

[kenoh]

I am outside and can’t see the moon. Darn!

Have you got Photopills? it is good for locating the moon and sun using AR

 

[jwolf6589]

This is a good list.

The moon is rather bright. Its surface is the same distance from the sun as a beach in the tropics on earth and it gets more light since the moon has no atmosphere. The surface is a slightly darker grey than beach sand, but not a lot darker. Hence the proper exposure is not much different that what that beach scene needs near noon.

Also, the moon is moving fast (well, it appears to as it's the earth's spinning that causes it). Don't use a shutter speed slower than 1/125-1/250; the higher the better. If you can't shoot on manual then use the longest focal length available and use an EV compensation of -2 to -4 stops if possible. Bracketing is a good idea.

In addition, try to choose a night when air is quite clear, with haze or clouds. The best images will be produce if you get far far away from any city lights and polution.

Set Powershot to manual mode and set shutter speed to 1/125. Unfortunately the moon was being blocked by a tree and I lacked a tripod so the shots did not come out well.

 

[mollyc]

Set Powershot to manual mode and set shutter speed to 1/125. Unfortunately the moon was being blocked by a tree and I lacked a tripod so the shots did not come out well.

all of us have attempted photos that don’t turn out. we ask questions, change our mindset, and try again.

the good thing is there isn’t a ton of difference between a full moon and one nearly full the next day. so you can try again tonight. 🙂

 

[jwolf6589]

all of us have attempted photos that don’t turn out. we ask questions, change our mindset, and try again.

the good thing is there isn’t a ton of difference between a full moon and one nearly full the next day. so you can try again tonight. 🙂

If the tree is not blocking the moon that is. But yes I am glad I have discovered manual mode on Powershot.

 

[jwolf6589]

Have you got Photopills? it is good for locating the moon and sun using AR

What is that?

 

[jwolf6589]

all of us have attempted photos that don’t turn out. we ask questions, change our mindset, and try again.

the good thing is there isn’t a ton of difference between a full moon and one nearly full the next day. so you can try again tonight. 🙂

I am glad I am not using film. Powershot is quite a good camera. Don’t know why some dislike it, hey my only gripe is that it lacks a mic port which my camcorder has.

 

[mollyc]

What is that?

it’s a star tracking app.

 

[mollyc]

I am glad I am not using film. Powershot is quite a good camera. Don’t know why some dislike it, hey my only gripe is that it lacks a mic port which my camcorder has.

ooh..the moon on film. there's a good challenge.

 

[jwolf6589]

it’s a star tracking app.

Never heard of it

 

[mollyc]

Never heard of it

that’s why it was suggested that you look at it

 

[bunnspecial]

ooh..the moon on film. there's a good challenge.

Moonrise Hernandez, NM

Rather famously, or infamously, grabbed as Ansel Adams was scrambling around looking for his light meter and couldn't find it.

He basically used the Sunny 16 rule to expose for the moon. The downside was that the bottom half of the image was SERIOUSLY underexposed to the point where the negative was reportedly a bear to print. Somewhere or another out there, there's a website that shows a contact print plus about a dozen different printings of it over a ~30 year period.

 

[mollyc]

Moonrise Hernandez, NM

Rather famously, or infamously, grabbed as Ansel Adams was scrambling around looking for his light meter and couldn't find it.

He basically used the Sunny 16 rule to expose for the moon. The downside was that the bottom half of the image was SERIOUSLY underexposed to the point where the negative was reportedly a bear to print. Somewhere or another out there, there's a website that shows a contact print plus about a dozen different printings of it over a ~30 year period.

see i would probably cheat and use my digital camera to figure out my settings then swap bodies. 😉

 

[mollyc]

for a frame of reference, here is an moon shot i took a couple of months ago. this is really the only good one i've ever taken. i'm sure others here have done a much better job.

600mm on a full frame, and then cropped some in post | iso 640 | f/18 | 1/250

 

[jwolf6589]

for a frame of reference, here is an moon shot i took a couple of months ago. this is really the only good one i've ever taken. i'm sure others here have done a much better job.

600mm on a full frame, and then cropped some in post | iso 640 | f/18 | 1/250

View attachment 2019669

Not bad. Can I get a equal shot with Powershot?

 

[mollyc]

Not bad. Can I get a equal shot with Powershot?

Not likely. Your sensor is too small to capture this amount of detail.

 

[mollyc]

but if you do get something tonight, would love to see your result tomorrow.

 

[jwolf6589]

but if you do get something tonight, would love to see your result tomorrow.

I hope to see a full moon.

 

[r.harris1]

I hope to see a full moon.

According to PhotoPills app on my iPhone, the moon will rise at 10:27 PM here in Denver and will be 96.6% full.

 

[jwolf6589]

Not likely. Your sensor is too small to capture this amount of detail.

Check out this shot. Anyone is free to get info to see that it indeed was captured with my Powershot and not stolen from the internet.

 

[kenoh]

What is that?

It's a photographer app that helps with all sorts of information. Worth looking at

 

[kenoh]

Check out this shot. Anyone is free to get info to see that it indeed was captured with my Powershot and not stolen from the internet.

View attachment 2019871

Well done. That is actually quite good.

 

[mollyc]

Check out this shot. Anyone is free to get info to see that it indeed was captured with my Powershot and not stolen from the internet.

View attachment 2019871

great job!

 

[mollyc]

This is an excellent example of how knowing how to use your gear is more important than the actual gear. Once you start to learn how to override the camera settings you can start making creative choices to direct the final image.

Did you use a tripod?

 

[jwolf6589]

This is an excellent example of how knowing how to use your gear is more important than the actual gear. Once you start to learn how to override the camera settings you can start making creative choices to direct the final image.

Did you use a tripod?

No I did not. Just had to hold it steady.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

No I did not. Just had to hold it steady.

Usually there is a fence post or car roof handy where you can rest the camera or at least your elbows.