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02-28-2010, 10:01 PM   #1
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Moontree
Lens: 28mm Camera: Samsung Gx-1S Photo Location: Pennsylvania ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: >6s Aperture: F11 

Okay, so there's this tree that I've been eyeing up for the last few years and last night i happened to drive by it with the moon overhead and just figured i had to try to get the shot. So i went home and grabbed my tripod and came back. I used an old Sears 28mm lens (all i had with me were that lens, and a 135 and a 200) and had taken exposures of 10 seconds, 20 seconds, and 30 seconds. there are 2 major issues i have with the image. The first and most important is the over exposure of the moon itself. the second is the flare from the moon.

my big question is this...what could i do to get a long enough exposure so the tree and sky are visible and interesting, while at the same time not over exposing the moon? one answer could be to take two images...one exposed for the tree and one for the moon...and then attempt to blend them together but i don't know that my pp skills are up to that challenge. Also, i took this shot at f/11 but could have gone down to f/22. Would it have been beneficial for me to have stopped down (is that the correct term?) further?


Had i planned this better, i most likely would have used one of my 50mm or 55mm lenses and in a perfect world probably would have gotten closer to the tree itself (it's on private property and i was standing on someone driveway when taking the shot).

any and all comments are appreciated! Thanks for your time :-)



02-28-2010, 10:20 PM   #2
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I like the shot and the composition. If you can time it....closer to the tree...? I love the effect of the moon shining on the road...
02-28-2010, 10:25 PM   #3
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Interesting shot!

And it presents an interesting problem that I would like to learn how to solve as well.

If I was there with my K-7 I probably would have tried some shots with HDR, spot metering, and exposure bracketing and then seen what worked out best.

Did you try any of that?
03-01-2010, 01:50 PM   #4
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It looks like you had a filter on the lens. Whenever flare could be a problem always shoot without filters.

03-01-2010, 08:59 PM   #5
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Looks like a filter gave you a ghost below and slightly left of the moon. I played with your image but couldnt help the moon at all. Next time try two shots.
03-01-2010, 10:13 PM   #6
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indeed there was a filter on the lens...in my haste i hadn't realized it was on there and so never thought to take it off.


drifter...i'm embarassed to admit this...but i don't know what it means to "spot meter" something. i read the term "metering" at least a million times a day on this forum and still have no idea what it actually means. i think i have an idea...and i believe all i have to do is hit this handy dandy little button on my camera and it automatically sets the exposure time for me...so if this is the case then no. i just set up the cam and picked my own timed exposure (10 second, 20 second, and 30 second exposure). although i do believe i did, give the little button a push at first just to see what it would say.

had it been a shot with much more available light, then yes i would have spot-metered. As far as your other questions, auto bracketing and HDR, no i did not. i'm not a huge fan of HDR and my dslr doesn't do it in camera as you seem to suggest yours does.


I will be trying this again soon, with the lens cap off. maybe also i venture a little further onto the driveway...although i don't really think that's a good idea.
What i should really do i just stop by the farm and ask for their permission to take the photos. certainly no harm in doing the right thing!
03-02-2010, 06:58 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by irishwhite Quote
indeed there was a filter on the lens...in my haste i hadn't realized it was on there and so never thought to take it off.


drifter...i'm embarassed to admit this...but i don't know what it means to "spot meter" something. i read the term "metering" at least a million times a day on this forum and still have no idea what it actually means. i think i have an idea...and i believe all i have to do is hit this handy dandy little button on my camera and it automatically sets the exposure time for me...so if this is the case then no. i just set up the cam and picked my own timed exposure (10 second, 20 second, and 30 second exposure). although i do believe i did, give the little button a push at first just to see what it would say.

had it been a shot with much more available light, then yes i would have spot-metered. As far as your other questions, auto bracketing and HDR, no i did not. i'm not a huge fan of HDR and my dslr doesn't do it in camera as you seem to suggest yours does.


I will be trying this again soon, with the lens cap off. maybe also i venture a little further onto the driveway...although i don't really think that's a good idea.
What i should really do i just stop by the farm and ask for their permission to take the photos. certainly no harm in doing the right thing!
Spot metering is just what it sounds like. You (the camera) picks a spot to meter on. Like choosing the moon to meter on. If you've selected average than it takes all (most ) of the sensor and averages the light to come up with an exposure.

In the little bit I played with this I did get something that I really liked. Except for the moon

03-02-2010, 07:24 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by graphicgr8s Quote
Spot metering is just what it sounds like. You (the camera) picks a spot to meter on. Like choosing the moon to meter on. If you've selected average than it takes all (most ) of the sensor and averages the light to come up with an exposure.

In the little bit I played with this I did get something that I really liked. Except for the moon
Feel free to share if you'd like! As far as pp goes...i'm not a huge fan of overly processing an image unless necessary. One could argue that this photo needs it, i'm sure...but i certainly prefer to capture the image as i imagined it without the use of too much photoshopping. That being said, i think this is mostly due to my own lack of skill with photoshop as opposed to a fundamental rule on what a photo should and should not be. Maybe it's just not possible to output the image i see in my mind without blending two photos together.
03-02-2010, 11:32 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by irishwhite Quote
Feel free to share if you'd like! As far as pp goes...i'm not a huge fan of overly processing an image unless necessary. One could argue that this photo needs it, i'm sure...but i certainly prefer to capture the image as i imagined it without the use of too much photoshopping. That being said, i think this is mostly due to my own lack of skill with photoshop as opposed to a fundamental rule on what a photo should and should not be. Maybe it's just not possible to output the image i see in my mind without blending two photos together.
All I really did was adjust the exposure in Camera Raw. Well that and messed with a few of the other sliders. But the moon was too blown. And of course now that I think about it I probably could drop in one of the moon shots I have. Maybe if I have time tonight. Never can tell.
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