Pulling my hair out

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Mike150

Senior Member
I've seen absolutely spectacular photos of the moon by people here in Nikonites. I've been trying to do the same but nothing I do produces anything near the crystal clear shots of the others. This example is probably one of my best attempts. D60, 55-200 zoom (@200) ISO 200 - F11 - 1/1000 Its' one of the few that show surface details.

Moon 2-16-11 (2 of 2).jpg

Mediocre is probably the best description I can give it. Now the reason I'm pulling my hair out involves the question How do others do such spectacular work when I can't. I'm taking these after it gets completely dark, because of the moon doesn't clear the treeline while it's still daylight. I'm just looking for suggestions. Do all of you make extensive photoshop changes? I don't have Photoshop and have no clue how to use it, but if that's the case, I'll buy it and go to the local Community College for a class. Should I be taking these while it's still light? Perhaps I just have Crappy Hardware? Or perhaps I'm not not meant to be a good photographer?

Any help or comments (even bad ones) would be appreciated.
 
Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
Mike150 said:
55-200 zoom (@200) ISO 200 - F11 - 1/1000
Click to expand...

Here is the problem. You're not letting in enough light @ ISO 200 and 1/1000, so your moon doesn't show much contrast and shape. When shooting at night, you really have to open things up and let the light in. A couple things:

It's going to be darn near impossible to get a good shot of the moon without a tripod. Because your shutter will be staying open longer, the slightest movement will blur your photo. Second, if the D60 has Bulb mode, use it. Bulb mode keeps your shutter open for as long as your holding down the button. 2-3 seconds should be plenty for the moon on a clear night. Even if there's no Bulb mode, you should still be able to do this.

Adjust your ISO for more light sensitivity as well. ISO 200 is for noon on a sunny day, not shots of the moon at night. You can probably leave it @ 200 and get away with it, but if there are still light/clarity issues, make adjustments.
 
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Joseph Bautsch

New member
Are you using Aperture or Shutter priority or Manual Mode?? F/11 at 1/1000 seems to be be giving you an under exposure. Try adding a half stop at a time to the exposure, +EV, and see which exposure gives the best results. Even with a high shutter speed you should still tripod mount for a moon shot. You have a good shot there maybe some exposure adjustment in post processing will improve it. You have a very good start, nothing wrong with the equipment and nothing wrong with the photographer. A good photo management program will do everything you need, such as Lightroom III or Aperture III if an Apple user and won't cost you an arm and a leg. I don't even own Photoshop and also would have no idea how to use it if I did.
 
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JoeLewisPhotography

Senior Member
Anthony covered it.

But I will add this...a little post processing never hurt either. If your even remotely serious about being a photographer (on any level) you should familiarize yourself with photoshop. That shot, if done in RAW, could most likely become everything you want it to be (or close to it) with a little time editing. That's the beauty of it. Not every shot right off the camera can or will be exactly how you wanted it...but the ability to change it is nice.
 
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Ranie

Senior Member
Anthony Hereld said:
Second, if the D60 has Bulb mode, use it. Bulb mode keeps your shutter open for as long as your holding down the button. 2-3 seconds should be plenty for the moon on a clear night.
Click to expand...

If you use a long shutter on moon shots, there will be no details left. I do my moon shots @ F5.6-8 and shutter speed from 200 - 300. Depends on how saturated I want my moon to be. Handheld.
 
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Mike150

Senior Member
Thanks for all the Info. I'll try again tomorrow night. Official Full moon for Virginia is 8:36 AM on Friday. Fortunately, we're supposed to have Clear skies and mild temps for the next two days. I'll be out there tomorrow and Friday nights.

I apologize for not mentioning that I am using a tripod, and a remote shutter release. I'll try a few shots with all your suggestions over the next couple of nights. As far as ISO goes, the D60 starts getting really grainy when you go over 400, but I'll sample in that range too.

Thanks again, besides I have too many lumps on my head (thanks to my wife) and would look terrible with no hair. The lumps are from asking for money for camera equipment.
 
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Mike150

Senior Member
Well Thanks to ALL of you, I'm finally getting into the ball park.
This one was ISO 200, F6.3, Exp 1/500. I tried F6.3 and F5.6 with shutter speeds ranging from 1/200 to 1/500. It got chilly so I quit for a while. I did very little post processing. Added a little contrast, a little sharpening. I still think I have a bit of a focus problem. That I believe is my old bespecticaled eyes. I'm considering (money permitting) a DR-6 Right angle viewfinder. I figure I can focus while on 2x power then back to 1x to frame the shot.

Moon 2-17-11 (1 of 1).jpg

Now my wife just bought me a new Webber Grill. It will be delivered on Saturday so any of you in the neighborhood on Saturday afternoon is welcome to come by for a burger and a beer.

Thanks again everyone. I have LOTS of ideas to experiment this summer.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
That's a great capture, not bad for a moving subject a quarter of a million miles away! Was it shot in RAW mode? I think one of the things to remember is that the "clarity" of the sky (atmosphere), varies from night to night even without visible clouds. Might be interesting to find when the moon is closest to your location since the seperation can vary by up to 26,000 miles. Great when the hard work pays off!
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
FYI- On March 19th the moon will be at it's closest to the earth for this year (perigee) and will also be full on the same day!
 
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