Assignment 15- Moon Shot(As a reminder, the assignment rules were posted in the previous assignment).
I usually don’t put up 2 assignments at once, but Dodie had a question about moon shots, so I thought I’d go ahead and post this assignment since I had it ready.
One of the shots that beginners always seem to have on their “checklist of shots I‘d like to take”, along with flowers, landscapes, and night shots is a moon shot. Luckily for you, with some preparation and simple camera settings a moon shot isn’t hard to take at all.
Of course the first thing you need is a clear night and a full (or almost full) moon. (Duh!) Next, you have to have a tripod. You’ll also find a small flashlight will come in mighty handy (unless you know all your camera buttons by heart since you‘ll be working in the dark).
Finally you need a camera that:
1) you can select the metering mode
2) you can set it for aperture priority
3) you can set the EV (exposure valuation)
4) has a self timer
5) has a telephoto lens.
So you’ve got your clear night. You’ve got a bright moon surrounded with black sky. The moon has to be exposed correctly or you’ll get nothing but a white circle in black. Put your camera on the tripod and set the camera as follows:
* Spot metering. We want to meter just the moon. The meter will turn it close to 18% gray. Guess what- the moon is about 18% gray!
* Av (aperture priority). Set the lens to as wide-open as you can (small f-numbers). Let the camera figure out the shutter speed.
* Turn on the self timer. Camera shake could be a problem even with a tripod.
* Turn off the IS (image stabilization) if you can.
* Use the biggest telephoto you have OR zoom out as much as you can if you have a P&S.
Get the moon in the center of the picture, press the shutter down to focus and set the shutter speed, take the picture using the self-timer. Now, take another one, but set the EV to -1. Another one, but EV at -2. (Don’t be surprised if -2 comes out the best.)
Now I have a pocket-size P&S, but mine has a 6X zoom instead of the “usual” 3X. Here’s my “EV-2” shot using the above settings, sharpening, and cropping:
I also have another camera, but it has a 20X zoom on it (560mm). Same settings, processed, and this is a 100% crop:
Now these are “straight” shots. If you want to include some foreground (like shooting through a tree, etc.) please feel free.
THE ASSIGNMENTYou assignment is to post a (processed!) moon shot where you can see details of the moon. The shot should be a clear shot of the moon, but you want you can shoot through a tree branch, over a rooftop, etc., just don’t obstruct the moon itself.
Good luck, and a K for those who complete the assignment!
