22 degree Moon Halo

[RockNGoalStar]

Hi All,

Back from my trip to Sri Lanka... ...got a ton of photos that I need to process but it would appear that my PC has died since I was away I'll try to get up and running soon and post some pics up here, although I don't think I came back with many good shots tbh

I managed to process this one though and thought I'd post it here. I've never seen this phenomena before. Apparently caused by tiny ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting the light, there was a massive halo around the moon one night.

I was staying in a resort this particular evening and couldn't really find any decent objects for foreground interest, plus the moon was quite high up in the sky. So these bushes / trees had to do I'm afraid...

Nikon D90 | Sigma 10.0-20.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 10mm | f/5 | 30 sec | ISO 200



Hardly any processing was needed for this, other than to darken the trees slightly.

Thanks for looking

[dje]

I like it Tommy. Interesting shot of the moon and stars and the trees frame it nicely.

Dave

[FrankMi]

Very nice Tommy! You have more than enough there for a stunning image. Much more in the foreground and you would start to take away from the impact of that beautiful halo.

[Donald]

You've got yourself a good one. How did you light the trees? They're super.

Did you enjoy Sri Lanka? I hope it lived up to my enthusiastic comments.

[Polar01]

Very nice image you captured there Tommy, the effect you see is common in my parts of the woods (Canada), there are time when you get the same thing ice crystal high up and the sunlight catches them making for some very interesting effects in the sky. Again I think that you nailed that one.

Cheers:

Allan

[cliffmccartney]

Just beautiful Tommy.

The shot of the moon is terrific, but the trees in the foreground took this shot from very good to fantastic for me.

Very well done.

[RockNGoalStar]

Many thanks Dave, Frank, Allen, Donald and Cliff for your comments. Fortunately the trees were lit by a nearby light so I didn't have to worry too much about that. I'd have preferred to have been in one of the ancient cities and captured a buddhist temple or statue as part of the foreground, but unfortunately I was miles away from anything like this!

@Allan - yes, I believe you can get the same effect from the sun too. I looked this phenomena up online as soon as I saw it and found some stunning images (Google "22 degree halo"). You should try some images next time it happens to you up in "the woods".

@Donald - we had a great time, thanks Donald. My only disappointment is that I seemed to see all of the interesting architectural and landscape features at peak sunshine hours, making good photography difficult. Rarely was I at an interesting place during the golden hour for example. I therefore feel I didn't manage to make the most of the place from a photographic point of view, although I guess that wasn't the purpose of our trip. It's just that it is such a photogenic place with masses of potential for awesome photos. I just don't think I got any!

Ah well, it was a great holiday nonetheless. Massively interesting culture and people. Food was awesome and the sights and wildlife were terrific! Highly recommended!

[oldgreygary]

Tommy, agree with all the other comments. I do like the way it is framed between the leaves of the tree/shrub? Great and unusual image!

Cheers for now

Gary

[terrib]

Just want to add my congrats on a great image. It's really lovely!