Full Moon, Textured!

[DGMPhotography]

Oh, okay. Yeah and I followed that rule anyway by turning up my ISO. I just need to reshoot (with and without tripod) to find out what really works.

 

[480sparky]

The pic I posted as an example was handheld. Depending on the phase of the moon, a tripod isn't always required.

Why should the phase of the moon make a difference? The amount of light reflected by the surface is always the same.

 

[TATTRAT]

The pic I posted as an example was handheld. Depending on the phase of the moon, a tripod isn't always required.

Why should the phase of the moon make a difference? The amount of light reflected by the surface is always the same.

There are several things that cause moonlight brightness to vary. The most obvious is the moon's phase. The brightness of moonlight varies by approximately a factor of 10 between quarter phase and full moon, based on a diffuse reflection and the geometry of the positions of the earth, sun and moon alone.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kitathome/LunarLight/moonlight_gallery/technique/moonbright.htm

 

[480sparky]

The pic I posted as an example was handheld. Depending on the phase of the moon, a tripod isn't always required.

Why should the phase of the moon make a difference? The amount of light reflected by the surface is always the same.

Depending on the effects you want out of the moon: more shadows/craggy edges/craters, a new moon, or quarter moon may be easier to get than a full moon, imo.

Still, the exposure will be the same.

 

[amolitor]

I think the exposure will in fact not be the same. The moon is not a flat disk.

 

[TATTRAT]

see above. I was trying to find the article I read a while back when I was having a time trying to get what I wanted out of a new moon.

 

[bentcountershaft]

The moon is not a flat disk.

Says you.

 

[Benco]

I think the exposure will in fact not be the same. The moon is not a flat disk.

Pish! next thing you'll be telling us it's not made of cheese.

 

[amolitor]

I think the exposure will in fact not be the same. The moon is not a flat disk.

Pish! next thing you'll be telling us it's not made of cheese.

Oh, it's made out of cheese alright. It just happens to be an enormous cheese shaped phallus, pointing directly at the earth, which is why it LOOKS round.

 

[480sparky]

I think the exposure will in fact not be the same. The moon is not a flat disk.

I KNOW it's not a flat disk. But the sunlight reflecting off of it is always the same.

If you stand perpendicular to a sunlit wall, you will have a certain EV, no? Does walking sideways and photographing the wall at an angle change the exposure of the wall?

 

[amolitor]

If you stand perpendicular to a sunlit wall, you will have a certain EV, no? Does walking sideways and photographing the wall at an angle change the exposure of the wall?

Interestingly, that depends quite a lot on the surface of the wall. To take an extreme case, a mirrored wall will act quite different from a textured and painted one.

 

[amolitor]

Anyways, read paragraph 5 of

Albedo: How Bright is the Moon?

which should be pretty clear.

The moon actually IS surprisingly evenly bright, if you google up "non Lambertian reflectance moon" you'll find some stuff. Rough surfaces, in short, tend to do sparky's wall thing -- doesn't matter what angle you're at, they're pretty much the same brightness.

 

[480sparky]

If you stand perpendicular to a sunlit wall, you will have a certain EV, no? Does walking sideways and photographing the wall at an angle change the exposure of the wall?

Interestingly, that depends quite a lot on the surface of the wall. To take an extreme case, a mirrored wall will act quite different from a textured and painted one.

The albedo of the moon is pretty consistent. The surface of the moon does not reflect half the light at quarter moon than it does at a full moon. See #4 here. Yes, there is a slight increase in EV at full moon, due to the reflective property of the dust on the surface, as evidenced by this image:

but for the most part, it's pretty steady.




(And yes, NASA images are public domain)

 

[amolitor]

You mean this paragraph?

But the moon has a very rough topography. Especially near and along the day/night line (known as the terminator), the lunar landscape appears riddled with innumerable shadows cast by mountains, boulders and even tiny grains of lunar dust. Also, the moon's face is splotched with dark regions. The end result is that at first quarter, the moon appears only one eleventh as bright as when it's full.

Discussions of this tend to be a mess, because people tend to be very unclear about whether they're talking about "ok, less total visible surface lit up" brightness or "each unit area of the lit up surface is less bright" brightness (albedo).

 

[480sparky]

You mean this paragraph?

But the moon has a very rough topography. Especially near and along the day/night line (known as the terminator), the lunar landscape appears riddled with innumerable shadows cast by mountains, boulders and even tiny grains of lunar dust. Also, the moon's face is splotched with dark regions. The end result is that at first quarter, the moon appears only one eleventh as bright as when it's full.

Discussions of this tend to be a mess, because people tend to be very unclear about whether they're talking about "ok, less total visible surface lit up" brightness or "each unit area of the lit up surface is less bright" brightness (albedo).

Key word: Appears.

Yes, there is less total light coming from a quarter moon when compared to a full moon, but the surface of the moon that is lit by sunlight is still under the same lighting conditions.

Another similar experiment: Place an item on a black cloth with a black background. Determine the proper exposure for the item. Now, cover half the item with a black cloth. Does the EV change for the uncovered portion? Answer: No.

Or: Place a speedlight on a stand and aim it at the subject. Stand next to the speedlight and set the camera for a proper exposure of the subject. Does your exposure for the side of the subject facing the speedlight vary simply because you walk to a point that's 90° to the line between the speedlight and subject?