Trial moon shot
I went out last night around 10 Pm to experiment with a moon shot. There is no place nearby where I can get the moon and clouds without having a lot of trees in the way so I drove to a church down the road hoping to get something better.
As usual without advance planning something can mess things up. There were streetlights in the wrong place, of course power lines, and my flashlight had weak batteries. What I ended up doing was taking an over exposed image of the moon & sky and painting the church with light from my weak flashlight. The long exposure time overexposed the moon and sky and the cloud movement is very evident but I think have an idea I can improve on. I hope you can you see what I was trying to do. The red streaks on the right were cars passing by. I wonder if they knew what I trying to do?
posted by Paul Wood @ 2:41 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Nice to meet you today in Sessions, Paul! You've been working hard at your photography hobby and there is a lot of nice stuff in these blog pages. I particularly like your flower pictures which look especially satuarated and dewey - I guess the weather is partially responsible for that but I think you had something to do with it. I am a bit bored with sunsets but you do have some nice ones. I suggest you look for a strong shape to shilouette to give a little punch to your sunsets.
Hi Ron:
It was tough during May and June not to take wet and dewey pictures wasn't it? Ha! As you know when it is overcast the colors are really saturated.
I have a friend in Florida that has never been in this area but I think she knows Meenan's Cove better than most locals do because of the many pictures from all seasons I have sent her from the bridge and beach area. I have literally hundreds of sunset pictures from around here, all very different but similar nonetheless. I have some pictures such as you mention but I have not posted them yet.
Feel free to drop back here sometime next week and have a look at my Fundy Park pictures. I hope to have them posted by the first of next week. I have 450 images to sort through to narrow it down to my best 30. From them I think I can find a few worth posting here.
Thanks for your comments.
Paul...
Hey Paul,
Just browsed through your site....REALLY GREAT PICTURES!! I couldn't stop until I had seen all the pictures on your site...Great work, and most enjoyable to view...inspires me to try to see more than what I do when I look for a picture...and that is what it is all about..stirring ones emotions in some way.
Thanks,
Eric King
Hi Eric:
I obtain untold enjoyment from being able to share my photography with others. Some who visit here really like what I do; others breeze through my pictures and never return. I do not expect what I do to appeal to everyone and I am quite okay with that.
Some of what I post here are 'snapshots' of a place, thing, or event and are put here mainly for my friends and family. Other posts are more serious attempts at photography. All photographs here provide brief glimpses into my inner self so tread softly, I am still very young.
What I really appreciate and need is constructive advice from anyone that cares to take the time to comment. For everyone that has taken the time to stop and comment I thank you. I am still learning to see the beauty that surrounds us everywhere; you photographers know what that means. I will continue to learn to see and capture what I see as long as I can focus my camera and press the shutter.
Much of what I have learned has come about since I joined the Kennebecasis Valley Camera Club. My advice to anyone looking to improve their photography skills is to seek out and join a local camera club. You will find the friendships you make, and the sharing of skills amongst like minded members is priceless.
Paul…
Sometimes there are happy accidents and as much as you try to make excuses for your picture here, I think it's a great shot. But that's art for you! I agree that the red tail lights need to be cloned out, the wires, barely noticable. I like the light on the church and the over-exposed moon. There is foreground and background interest. There is something about the compostion that draws you in. And the fact that you posted this picture tells me you like it a lot more than you're letting on. I know. I never show anyone pictures I take that I don't at least like a little. And if people don't like them, well...they're just wrong! LOL! Can't wait to see your pictures from the weekend.
Rule
Hi Mrs. Rule:
We had a great time at Fundy. How many pictures did you take last week-end? I bet you got plenty.
I find it a bit frustrating when I have a particular end result in mind but can't produce it. This moon shot is difficult to capture a single image because of the high dynamic range of the scene. In order to correctly expose the moon and clouds around the moon I need an almost daytime exposure. My starting point for moon pictures is ISO 200, Shutter speed 125", Aperature F8 and adjust my settings up or down depending on the amount of light from the moon. You know how much of the church I would get with those settings. The next thing is to use a ND filter on the sky - don't have one and that would not solve the cloud movement problem. The easiest would be to shoot a couple of images with the sky properly exposed in one and the church exposed in the other and combine them in Photoshop but that is almost like cheating.
I want to do it in just one image. That means I need to have some way to light the church so that it has some detail without blowing out the sky. I was thinking of a silhouette of the church with the moon in the sky but the street lights close to the church have just enough intensity to turn the church an almost dark reddish color when I try that. I already tried. I could compensate by converting the image to black and white but I like the color of the clouds and sky. I'll figure it out and get it someday, but maybe not with this same church. I'll have to walk around some evening before dark and am thinking I may use the tombstones and part of the church away from the streetlights as a foreground. That way I may have a ghost of a chance of being successful.
I do like the image but I think it can be much better…
Paul…
Your shot turned out pretty good, from what I can see in the small image size on your blog. At least you're out experimenting with technique and having fun doing it.
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