Backyard Moon

[Ollokot]

Took this image last night, critique and thoughts would be most welcome
Best Wishes

Pat

[Shadowman]

Here's one I shot last week with a 300mm lens.

[Shadowman]

Took this image last night, critique and thoughts would be most welcome
Best Wishes

Pat

Regarding your request for critique, great atmospheric foreground and background, however it competes with the image of the moon. What was your shooting conditions and what equipment did you use? See the attached link for the group's long running efforts at moon photography.

moon photography

[Donald]

Pat

If you haven't done so, you should do a search on here for the various discussions that have taken place about shooting the moon. There are some real experts on the subject lurking about who, I'm sure, would be be able to give you a better critique that I can.

Another one in addition to that above supplied by John, is here.

[rick55]

Is it possible the title is misleading? If you're trying for a crystal clear shot of the moon, or a shot that shows the moon with some clouds or fog for effect, the threads that John and Donald referenced should be very helpful.

If you're looking for a Ghosties and Ghoulies effect, then perhaps the moon is a little too much: maybe even try cropping 20% of it, to make sure it's clear that it's part of the overall scene, not the subject. I rather like it for that kind of shot, although I'd probably prefer the moon to be a little more in focus: given a choice I'll give up focus on the mist rather than the moon.

Cheers,
Rick

[bucketman]

Hi Pat
Nice photo. I think somewhere I've read if shooting the moon go with a really low ISO. Could be wrong an 800 iso seems high. Again I dont know. The guys here will tell us both. The only problem is you and me will read their advice and it will go cloudy for weeks. But you get that.

[bucketman]

And heres one I done a while back

[Ollokot]

Thanks Folks,
I tried to produce a soft misty looking affect.The shot was taken from the backyard, 400mm,f/11, 0"8,and iso800. An atmospheric feel was what i was hoping for and as you say John the moon competes with that.
Much obliged to you all for your comments, I,ll go back to the drawing board and try again some night if conditions allow

Best Wishes to all

Pat

[Nass]

Hello,

This was one I did a month or so ago. I wasn't after the atmospheric look though. On Flickr I have also included some tips about moon photography.



Re - Pat, it looks as if you might have shifted the camera during the exposure?

[Ollokot]

Re - Pat, it looks as if you might have shifted the camera during the exposure?[/QUOTE]

Hi nass with wrestling with the tripod and camera in the confines of the backyard I'v no doubt something shifted, almost pulled a muscle

Pat

[Nass]

Ouch . yeah it looks like there's a double edge thing going on there. I don't know what your cam is, but if you have a "delayed" shot setting that'll help. Cheers, Johan

[Geoff F]

Yes, Pat, that does appear a touch 'noisy' to me. Choosing the correct settings depends on what was your intention. And with that scene, I would try for an atmospheric rather creepy moon.

Using F11 is the usual recommendation for getting fine detail on the moon's surface, but from my experience, clouds passing in front of the moon need to be treated more like a normal landscape.

Which means dropping the ISO to something like 400 and setting a shutter speed to suit the speed of the clouds. The aperture becomes whatever is appropriate. Using a smaller lens and cropping to size may help to give you more appropriate settings.

But you do need the exact weather conditions to be ideal for a perfect image. I have managed some reasonably acceptable results from stormy conditions where there has been a good 'ring around the moon' and the moonlight has illuminated the clouds just right. But it is uncommon to frequently get those perfect conditions; it is just a case of waiting and hoping that you have your camera ready when it occurs.

[Ollokot]

Hi Geoff
Thanks very much for your informative reply. I thought a touch of noise might give me the impression I was looking for but realise now it dosent work.
Here's hoping myself and camera are at the ready when the right time occurs.
Best Wishes
Pat

[Donald]

Hello,

This was one I did a month or so ago.

Nass

That is a beauty.

[Geoff F]

Here is one that I produced previously, Pat



I suspect you intended something along those lines.

[ScoutR]

Took this image last night, critique and thoughts would be most welcome
Best Wishes

Pat

Hi Pat: Except for the technical issues which have already been mentioned, I really like what you are trying to do here. This is more the type of moon shot that I would like to try for also. Atmospheric - I know with my camera and my lens that I am not going to get the perfect sharp detailed shot like some of the ones you have seen here, and in a way that is not really what I want. I'm looking for something more moody and you are on the right track. I'm not a big fan of noise, but in this shot it does not really bother me. The main problem to my eyes is the movement due to the slow shutter speed and camera shake, and the exposure on the moon could be darker (I think)
I also think that atmospheric shots work better with something in the foreground. That's just me though. If your shot was nice and sharp I think it would be very effective.

Just so you don't feel so bad, I'll show you one I did the other night, and perhaps we can both learn from it.

I like this shot, but as you can see I had technical difficulties too. It was not a planned shot. The full moon peeped through while I was driving home so I veered off on the back roads hoping I could get a shot of the harvest moon with the fields in the foreground. By the time I found a spot, the clouds had moved in and I waited and waited but it looked like the moon was not going to come out again.

I took a shot anyway. I aimed my car so the headlights gave me a bit of light on the harvested cornfield and tried unsuccessfully to use the car as a tripod. LOL it was running - so obviously that does not work. I knew that, but it was dark and out in the boonies, so I wanted to be prepared for a quick get away if anyone came along.
Here is the shot.


Nikon D3000: 18-200mm:1.3s: f5.6: ISO 800: 105mm: Spot metered the moon -1EV
I had to do heavy noise reduction on this due to underexposure. I also brightened it up a bit.

Here are the lessons leaned for the next try

1. A tripod is essential. Everything in this is blurred and I have the same double edges on the corn stalks that you have on the moon. This shot was taken a f5.6 and ISO 800 and the shutter speed was still 1.3s.

2. I think with this shot I should have used Matrix exposure mode. I'm never sure about that, but this was very dark and very noisy - Comments welcome on this kind of exposure. I spot metered on the moon and still had to compensate -1EV to get rid of the blinkies. That part does not made sense to me, but that's how it works with my camera.

3. Pick a spot beforehand. I believe Colin said when he does his night shots, that he goes out while it is still light and gets everything set up and then waits. Very good idea, it's really hard to see or focus on anything when it's dark.

4. Sometimes the subjects just don't cooperate. I want to get a shot with the harvest moon over the crops - preferably the standing corn which is still there now, but because of the darkness, I took what I found first. Now I will probably have to wait till October, and by then I'm sure the corn will not be standing.

Anyway Pat, I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I got the feeling we were both after the same type of moon shot. I hope by posting my attempt that it might help with yours.

C&C welcome
Wendy

[Ollokot]

Hi Geoff,
Thank you for showing that impressive shot,and yes I had intended something along those lines.

Hi Wendy,
Like yourself it was not a planed shot,I had to go into the backyard for something and there it was,the ensuing panic and confrontation with a tripod in the dark (no backyard light) did not help with composition. " LESSON LEARNED".
I like your shot as it portrays the kind of moody atmosphere I suspect we are both trying to achieve.
The metering mode I used was Center-Weighted,not sure if it worked,perhaps with less panic and more time taken more shots with different metering modes would reveal the optimum one.
I totally agree with your list of lessons learned, as for hijacking no such thing has taken place.Thanking you for your reply, it is of no doubt a great help.

Best Wishes
Pat

[Geoff F]

And I found it helps to take a lot of shots with different amounts of Exposure Compensation.

[Nass]

Donald: thank you