Shoot the moon C&C Please.

[Bad Andy]

This is my first decent shot of the moon. (Turns out getting better glass helped). Tell me what I did wrong, and what I can do better. Thank you for your help.

f/8.0, 1/200th second, ISO 200. 70-200 with teleconverter. Cropped, and reduced noise with Topaz.

-Andy

 

[480sparky67 66]

Wait until the moon is highest in the sky... you'll get better resolution since you're not shooting through so much atmosphere. Also, that will 'rotate' the moon so "North" on the moon is towards the top. Just by the image, I can tell you took this soon after moonrise, so "North" is to the left.

 

[Bad Andy]

We are expecting rain later tonight, so I wanted to shoot while the sky was clear. I got lucky as it opened up between some clouds. But great advice to try in the future, when I try next time.

-Andy

 

[480sparky67 66]

There's always a next time.... that train runs on a fairly regular schedule.

You might also want to try stacking multiple images.

 

[photocist]

Try using the moon to accent a shot, rather than the shot be the moon.

 

[480sparky67 66]

Try using the moon to accent a shot, rather than the shot be the moon.

One trick to doing this is....... stake your spot out.

Go out the night before at moonrise and check out possible sites. Find interesting foreground subjects, and figure out where it's best to shoot it from. You'll have the moon right there to help you find the 'right spot', it just won't be full quite yet. Plus, it won't be totally dark yet either. Come back the next evening, find your spot, set up and wait for the money shot.

Check online for lunar ephimerides (timetables) so you can plan when to head out.

 

[Bad Andy]

What do you mean by "stacking" images? Is that the same as HDR? Over Expose, Expose, and Under Expose? Or is it something different?

 

[480sparky67 66]

It's similar to HDR, but all the exposures are identical.

It basically takes the detail from each image, merges them into one, and creates a single image based on the detail included in all the images.

Single-frame image:

Same shot, but 17 stacked images: