Anyone Interested in Photography Mini-Guide for Lunar Eclipse?

astrostu · Jan 9, 2008

Skyhawk said:
First off, to Astrostu, thanks much for working to put together a guide based on experience of how to shoot these things. I've done alot of night photography, but like another poster, quality wall-hanger-worthy "sky" shots have eluded me.

You're welcome.

I've gotten feedback from two forum members in terms of edits and suggestions and I'm working on a second revision that should be done by the end of the week. I'm trying to have this finished by the end of next week, in time for the full moon on January 22-ish.

And to both Astrostu and Garbz, those are fantastic photos! Incredible!

Thanks.

Finally, this might make a good TPF photo contest--pics of the lunar eclipse. Just a thought . . .

PM a moderator and suggest it. They may not like the idea for two reasons, though. First, it's not visible from all over the globe, so some people would be automatically excluded (China, Japan, Australia are all excluded from the one this February). Second, eclipse photos - other than size and quality - should look fairly identical, it would only be the composition of what you do with the final photos that is the artistic part that "unique-ifies" the final product.

BYoung · Jan 10, 2008

I can't vote since I'm new here yet, but I would love a guide. I have never had a chance to shoot something like this and would love a head start into knowing where to start.

photo_guy · Jan 10, 2008

Yes, a guide would be great to have for reference for shooting a lunar eclipse.

astrostu · Jan 15, 2008

Update: The guide is nearly completed. It comes in at 17 pages and is a ~2.5 MB PDF with illustrations and photographs. I don't expect this size to change significantly between now and when I release it.

When I release it, I will post a link on this thread to the PDF of the file (which will be hosted on my photo website, not TPF). My goal was to get it out before January's full moon so that you can practice photographing the Moon before next month's eclipse.

Josh66 · Jan 15, 2008

Awesome. Look forward to seeing it!

RyanLilly · Jan 15, 2008

astrostu said:
Update: The guide is nearly completed. It comes in at 17 pages and is a ~2.5 MB PDF with illustrations and photographs. I don't expect this size to change significantly between now and when I release it.

When I release it, I will post a link on this thread to the PDF of the file (which will be hosted on my photo website, not TPF). My goal was to get it out before January's full moon so that you can practice photographing the Moon before next month's eclipse.

YOUR THE MAN STU!

If this turns out the be as good as I think it will be, It could seriously be a chapter in a photography book, or lesson in a photography class. I'm quite excited, now I just need to find a good location to shoot.

nossie · Jan 17, 2008

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

astrostu · Jan 19, 2008

The Guide is in version 1.0 status and is posted HERE. Download your copy (2.5 MB, 18 pages) and let me know what'cha think. And it's out just in time for next week's full moon!

Antarctican · Jan 19, 2008

Yayyyy! Thanks!!

nossie · Jan 19, 2008

This thing is full of fekin words man! And since when does the sun go around the earth as shown in the first diagram? ;0)

Just had a glance and it looks rich with info. I'm gonna print it and read it tonight hopefully and give you some feedback.:thumbup:

astrostu · Jan 19, 2008

nossie said:
This thing is full of fekin words man! And since when does the sun go around the earth as shown in the first diagram? ;0)

"fekin?" Is there supposed to be an "r" in there?

Yeah, I was a little wary about including that diagram, but I made one that shows it Sun-centered and it's impossible to really tell what's going on. Just remember - everything's relative and that relative to Earth, the Sun does go around it. Think of that diagram as showing the Sun's and Moon's paths through the sky as opposed to in physical space. I've actually just made a slight change to the text there to try to make it clearer (updated to v. 1.0.1 at 6:50 PM GMT).

Alex_B · Jan 19, 2008

maybe include it in the tutorial section of the forum later?

astrostu · Jan 19, 2008

Alex_B said:
maybe include it in the tutorial section of the forum later?

Perhaps. I mentioned it to Terri but haven't gotten a reply yet. Probably because Terri's still working on converting the last guide I wrote for the site (general astrophotography).

Garbz · Jan 19, 2008

astrostu said:
Yeah, I was a little wary about including that diagram, but I made one that shows it Sun-centered and it's impossible to really tell what's going on.

Sounds a bit 1300s doesn't it ;-) Maybe you're not familiar with Copernicus who came upon the revelation that the earth actually orbits the sun :lmao:

Worked out well in the end. I would have still preferred to see it with 1.5line spacing to make it easier on the eyes. But a phenomenal effort on all involved.

astrostu · Jan 19, 2008

Garbz said:
Worked out well in the end. I would have still preferred to see it with 1.5line spacing to make it easier on the eyes. But a phenomenal effort on all involved.

I did increase it from 13-pt to 14-pt line spacing (so 1.167x-line spacing) but going to 18-pt would have forced way too much re-arranging to make the pictures fit right.