[stormtech]

Looks like it is going to be nice weather Saturday night for this years Super Moon. I wish I had a better view of the sky for this - will have to settle for some shots through the trees. Anyone else find a difference with the Super Moon for their moon shots?

Most "super" supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 | Tonight | EarthSky

[Eulogy]

It'll convert your 500mm into a 560! Well..it'll look that way, anyhow.

[scratchpaddy]

It'll convert your 500mm into a 560! Well..it'll look that way, anyhow.

When you put it that way, it sounds so... anticlimactic.

I feel your pain about the trees, Stan. I still haven't gotten used to all the sky out here! I wasn't exactly in the boonies around Atlanta, but there was no escaping the trees. Or, worse, the streetlights. Or the haze.

Here, I could drive up South Mountain (there are three lookouts you can drive to, each about 1,000 feet above the city) and get a really nice view of it. I have a Russian 1000mm lens that I have yet to get a good shot out of. It's just so long! I'm torn between concluding it's a bad lens, or a really hard-to-use lens. Maybe I should try again?

[Eulogy]

Here, I could drive up South Mountain (there are three lookouts you can drive to, each about 1,000 feet above the city) and get a really nice view of it. I have a Russian 1000mm lens that I have yet to get a good shot out of. It's just so long! I'm torn between concluding it's a bad lens, or a really hard-to-use lens. Maybe I should try again?

Anything that's MF over 200mm is going to be a pain to nail the settings on. Hope you have a really good tripod. (Also, try shooting faster than 1/50, even with a tripod, the earth/moon's rotation can blur up a shot from such a large lens)

[stormtech]

When you put it that way, it sounds so... anticlimactic.

I feel your pain about the trees, Stan. I still haven't gotten used to all the sky out here! I wasn't exactly in the boonies around Atlanta, but there was no escaping the trees. Or, worse, the streetlights. Or the haze.

Here, I could drive up South Mountain (there are three lookouts you can drive to, each about 1,000 feet above the city) and get a really nice view of it. I have a Russian 1000mm lens that I have yet to get a good shot out of. It's just so long! I'm torn between concluding it's a bad lens, or a really hard-to-use lens. Maybe I should try again?

After looking at your set of photos from your horseback ride, I remember seeing sky from horizon to horizon - very different for me. Between the canopy of trees in the warmer months, to the tall mountains all around me (I am in a sort of bowl), I really do have a limited view of the sky. In the winter months I don't see the actual sun until around 10:00am, and loose sight of it around 3:30pm. I'm so used to it I don't even think about it until I think about things like shooting the moon after reading that article.

I could wait until the moon is visible, but then I would be shooting pretty much vertically. So, just for kicks, I'll get some shots before bedtime through the trees. I won't do that with my Q @1650mm I don't think since I won't be able to see much of any detail in the moon anyway.

[scratchpaddy]

Anything that's MF over 200mm is going to be a pain to nail the settings on. Hope you have a really good tripod. (Also, try shooting faster than 1/50, even with a tripod, the earth/moon's rotation can blur up a shot from such a large lens)

I have a Manfrotto 3021 Pro with a 3030 pan-head. I believe it's sturdy enough, but the lens is big enough to inspire doubt in any tripod. I've seen what you mean about shutter speed firsthand. When you have such a narrow field of view, you can see the moon moving across the frame. Give it a minute, and the moon's escaped out of the frame. Gotta find it again!

After looking at your set of photos from your horseback ride, I remember seeing sky from horizon to horizon - very different for me. Between the canopy of trees in the warmer months, to the tall mountains all around me (I am in a sort of bowl), I really do have a limited view of the sky. In the winter months I don't see the actual sun until around 10:00am, and loose sight of it around 3:30pm. I'm so used to it I don't even think about it until I think about things like shooting the moon after reading that article.

I do miss the shade, but I love the view too much to want to go back. I didn't think much about the lack of sky, either, but it was quite a shock when I saw the plains of Oklahoma for the first time three years ago. It made me dizzy.

[JimJohnson]

Sadly this part of the world is forecast to have rain. So all I can do is kibitz on everyone else's technique.

For folks who have never shot the moon, remember that while you might be standing in the dark, the moon's surface is in full daylight. Ideally you would use ambient light meter to check exposure, but that has been rather difficult since December 14, 1972, which is the last time anyone was on the moon. So your best bet is to shoot fully manual, including focus, estimating for a full daylight scene and use exposure bracketing. Set your aperture to a mid-point for your lens and use a fairly high shutter speed. There are a number of exposure tables available via an Internet search, but middle of the road for a full moon is ISO 400, f/8, 1/250.

If you live in the United States, the Navy can tell you your local times for sun or moon rise and set for any given date based on your address. If you live outside the United States, you will need to know your latitude and longitude:
Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year

[Venturi]

From last night: 1/60s, f/11, ISO80
[ K-5 + Tamron 75-300/4-5.6 + Vivitar 2X TC ]

[JimJohnson]

From last night: 1/60s, f/11, ISO80
[ K-5 + Tamron 75-300/4-5.6 + Vivitar 2X TC ]

Yep. doing some math in my head, that is a smidgen more than 1 stop less exposure than my example. (did I say that right?) I like your rendition.

For grins and giggles, I borrowed your posted image and brought it in to Adobe Camera RAW. I am guessing you took this not too far after sunset/moonrise, which accounts for the more yellow appearance. I bumped exposure up by 1 stop and tweaked the white balance. Literally 10 seconds work. It looks about the same as the iconic photos seen in glossy coffee table books.

[6BQ5]

Sadly this part of the world is forecast to have rain. So all I can do is kibitz on everyone else's technique.

For folks who have never shot the moon, remember that while you might be standing in the dark, the moon's surface is in full daylight. Ideally you would use ambient light meter to check exposure, but that has been rather difficult since December 14, 1972, which is the last time anyone was on the moon. So your best bet is to shoot fully manual, including focus, estimating for a full daylight scene and use exposure bracketing. Set your aperture to a mid-point for your lens and use a fairly high shutter speed. There are a number of exposure tables available via an Internet search, but middle of the road for a full moon is ISO 400, f/8, 1/250.

If you live in the United States, the Navy can tell you your local times for sun or moon rise and set for any given date based on your address. If you live outside the United States, you will need to know your latitude and longitude:
Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year

This will be my first time taking serious pictures of the moon. I was thinking of trying the multiple-exposure function of my K-30. How would that work? From what I understand reading the manual the camera takes multiple pictures, "stacks them", and creates a composite. Noise gets averaged out. Details get averaged in. Is that right? Can I get away with a faster shutter speed (underexposed) and have a high shot count? I don't want motion blur from the motion of the moon/earth.

Or, is HDR capture better? I think that captures underexposed, just-right-exposed, and overexposed.

Thanks!

[JimJohnson]

I recommend exposure bracketing. See page 91 of your manual.

[pakinjapan]

Awesome moon, Venturi!
I envy those with longer lens. my longest lens is 100 wr.
1/100, f11, ISO80

[6BQ5]

Here's my first attempt tonight.

400mm Tele-Lentar lens plus 2x teleconverter.

[bigted]

Thanks for posting this and for everyone's replies. Tonight, I did my first moon shot and here it is:

[Paleo Pete]

Here's my best shot from last night. Vivitar 200mm M42 on a K30, ISO 200, f8, 1/500 handheld.



I have some others shot at ISO 100 later, but they're still on the camera...I wasn't going to edit pictures that late at night...

I wish this damn thing would upload as sharp as it actually is...