15 posts :: Page 1 of 1
Will be big and bright tonight, according to data the moon will rise at 445pm and set around 645pm, where in the AV would be the best spot to photograph the moonrise, and what camera settings should I use??
The AV Astronomy club usually goes out to Saddleback Butte state park. I went out there once on my own and it's quite dark. You will have to pay for a camping slot but you can also get away cheap for the entire night by paying only for parking which I think is $5.00 bucks? As long as you are not setting up a tent, etc, the park ranger isn't going to get out of sorts. Then, you have a decent picnick table to set your stuff out on, your vehicle is right there next to you, and bathrooms are close by.
Light noise is still an issue if you shoot to the west as you try to get above the lights of Lancaster and to the south as you gaze out into far east Palmdale/Lake LA but even then, it's not too bad. Shots to the east from the park and to some extent to the north are usually pretty dark as Edwards AFB doesn't throw out that much light at night.
Don
Light noise is still an issue if you shoot to the west as you try to get above the lights of Lancaster and to the south as you gaze out into far east Palmdale/Lake LA but even then, it's not too bad. Shots to the east from the park and to some extent to the north are usually pretty dark as Edwards AFB doesn't throw out that much light at night.
Don
But....
Don't go by yourself.
Don't go by yourself.
But....
Don't go by yourself.
Exactly.
I've been in worse places in the world so it doesn't bother me. However, it isn't someplace a single female should be at zero dark thrity at night.
As a matter of fact, I might head out there tonight. I want to test the Sigma 500mm on moon shots.
If it's available, it usually is, I like slot #3.
Don
Actually I live out in that nape of the woods, and yes... I wont go alone..I was actually thinking about dusk for the moonrise..camera settings anyone...
ISO 100, f8 - f11?
After thinking about it, I will head out there tonight.
Hey, Glenn, you up for a photo op at Saddleback? Anyone else?
Don
After thinking about it, I will head out there tonight.
Hey, Glenn, you up for a photo op at Saddleback? Anyone else?
Don
Youre exposure is going to depend a lot on what you're are taking a picture of and how dark your surroundings are.
If you're just shooting the moon, u don't need to worry about surrounding ambient light since you are going to be shooting daylight exposure to bring out the details on the surface. I'm sure you just don't want a big ball of light. If that's the case then just shoot it in your backyard. It wont make a difference.
If you are standing on the moon, the exposure is about the same as if you are standing on the earth during the day. That's what you are going to expose for. Use the sunny 16 rule to get your exposure in the ballpark.
http://www.camerareview.com/templates/sunny16.cfm
At that exposure the background will just fall to black. The light of the moon and the darkness of the evening will be out of the dynamic range of the sensor, so depending on what you are exposing for, one or the other is going to be under or over exposed.
Local ambient exposures (Hills/Mountains) will blow out the moon and just make it a white ball unless you double exposure it and combine in PS.
You most likely will pick up some stars at moon exposure since they are either reflecting the sun (Planets) or producing their own light (Suns) which is about the same as our sun only one hell of a lot smaller. In general, to see stars in your shot at moon exposure, it will depend on there size and brightness. The smaller they are the further they are, the dimmer they are. Stars (and the sun) are actually blown out highlights at ambient exposure. It's like seeing detail on the sun (sunspots). You need a neutral density filter to get the brightness down to the range the sensor can handle. The rest will fall to completely black.
All this boils down to massaging your exposure into something that will encompass what you are trying to capture in your image and understanding what's possable in one exposure. Hope this all makes sense. Good luck !
By the way, You're going to be shooting manual exposure .......
If you're just shooting the moon, u don't need to worry about surrounding ambient light since you are going to be shooting daylight exposure to bring out the details on the surface. I'm sure you just don't want a big ball of light. If that's the case then just shoot it in your backyard. It wont make a difference.
If you are standing on the moon, the exposure is about the same as if you are standing on the earth during the day. That's what you are going to expose for. Use the sunny 16 rule to get your exposure in the ballpark.
http://www.camerareview.com/templates/sunny16.cfm
At that exposure the background will just fall to black. The light of the moon and the darkness of the evening will be out of the dynamic range of the sensor, so depending on what you are exposing for, one or the other is going to be under or over exposed.
Local ambient exposures (Hills/Mountains) will blow out the moon and just make it a white ball unless you double exposure it and combine in PS.
You most likely will pick up some stars at moon exposure since they are either reflecting the sun (Planets) or producing their own light (Suns) which is about the same as our sun only one hell of a lot smaller. In general, to see stars in your shot at moon exposure, it will depend on there size and brightness. The smaller they are the further they are, the dimmer they are. Stars (and the sun) are actually blown out highlights at ambient exposure. It's like seeing detail on the sun (sunspots). You need a neutral density filter to get the brightness down to the range the sensor can handle. The rest will fall to completely black.
All this boils down to massaging your exposure into something that will encompass what you are trying to capture in your image and understanding what's possable in one exposure. Hope this all makes sense. Good luck !
By the way, You're going to be shooting manual exposure .......
I have to agree... never go out there alone. Also, be very careful if you venture off on any of those dirt roads out there. We did once, in search of the perfect spot for moonrise, and got the Suburban stuck, but good in the sand. The "nice" road turned a corner, and BAM, we were stuck. Paul came to rescue us in the 4WD truck, and almost got that stuck while trying to pull us out. The park has nice dirt roads.
Again, I have to agree.
The roads can be a real poser once you go out of the general camping area.
I used to be the co-instructor for AV High's Cadet Corps some years back. The main instructor and I took the class out to Saddleback for a weekend military-style outing. Scouting the park prior to our outing, we ran across roads - like the one headed west from the south end of the camping area - that if you didn't have a 4x4, you were asking for trouble. That's when we decided that no vehicles would leave the general camping area, day or night.
The roads within the park are pretty good given they are dirt and sand. Most are hard pack with some gravel. I'd stay on the main roads, however, especially the one connecting the camping area to the ranger station/office.
Don
The roads can be a real poser once you go out of the general camping area.
I used to be the co-instructor for AV High's Cadet Corps some years back. The main instructor and I took the class out to Saddleback for a weekend military-style outing. Scouting the park prior to our outing, we ran across roads - like the one headed west from the south end of the camping area - that if you didn't have a 4x4, you were asking for trouble. That's when we decided that no vehicles would leave the general camping area, day or night.
The roads within the park are pretty good given they are dirt and sand. Most are hard pack with some gravel. I'd stay on the main roads, however, especially the one connecting the camping area to the ranger station/office.
Don
When the moon, Jupiter, and Venus were aligned last month I had good results by switching the metering method to spot from matrix and metering on the moon. On my camera the metering spot is the focus rectangle. I got a proper exposure of the moon. Of course everything else was underexposed.
When the moon, Jupiter, and Venus were aligned last month I had good results by switching the metering method to spot from matrix and metering on the moon. On my camera the metering spot is the focus rectangle. I got a proper exposure of the moon. Of course everything else was underexposed.
That's why light from the city doesn't mater when just shooting just the moon. Where it comes into play is when you are shooting long exposures. The light from the City will definitly make a big difference then. The astro club needs the darkness to capture the dim cosmos.
Thanks everyone, maybe tommorrow..i never made it out there...
I didn't make it out there either. My active duty son called and that took priority.
Don
Don
Actually the shot i have in mind is when the moon is just coming above the horizon, so it would have been light outside. I wanted a joshua tree in the foreground. No city lights involved. So really I wouldnt be pointing at the moon itself, the moon would be part of the scene...or would it be better to focus on the moon? The moon was extremely bright last night, so i assumed that it would have been like trying to take a picure of the sun..overexposure.and as a novice shooter..that's where i start loosing my ground, so maybe i will go tonight.
Sorry I missed the discussion yesterday. I saw the moon this morning while feeding the horses and it was beautiful over the early morning mountains. The shot I thought about at the time was with the moon right over the top of the Tehachapi's from somewhere along Tehachapi/Willow Springs Road, starting from first light to sun-up. But I was already way too late for that. Maybe next month.
15 posts :: Page 1 of 1
Next Competition
Date: 19-May
Venue: AV Senior Center
Theme: Birds
Submission Deadline:
12-May 11:59PM
12-May 11:59PM
