The Moon Tonight; Blown out & Not

[DGMPhotography]

Hello,

So I finally got my hands on a tripod. I was actually able to rent it out from my school library for free. Anyways, I tried different things, but it was cold so I didn't spend too much time out there, but this is what I got. This first one is blown out, I know, but I've seen some cases where that looks okay. In fact, I would like this picture a whole lot if it wasn't for the lens flare to the right. And the second one is taken at fast shutter speed. C&C please!

 

[thetrue]

I really like the first one, with the exception of the lens flare to the right, but the second one kind of reminds me of a room painted black with a light bulb lit...was this with shutter priority mode?

 

[LaFoto]

The first is really "blown" but nice with the stars showing - if it weren't for the flare. But we agree on that.
The second is simply blown - no detail of the moon to be seen. Just a bright, white blob against an all black background. So while the first still has its merits, the second unfortunately is a blooper. You don't need any slow shutter speeds for the moon! It is really bright, only the sky around is not. The darkness of the sky will trick your camera into believing that it is dark, hence you need long shutter speeds. You don't. Which is why you could even take moon photos handheld, unless you zoom in far: you can take them at f8 1/125sec.

 

[Gadfly]

You're not going to be able to expose for both stars and moon. The moon requires a short exposure to capture well, while stars need a long exposure. If you want both in your shot you will probably have to layer two different exposures.

#2 is very noisy, probably due to high ISO.

I don't know what to tell you in regards to the flare.

 

[DannyLewis]

I shoot at 1/100 f7.1 ISO 100 and get some star action. But not on a full moon (to bright). The first is blown but kinda cool.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna try again in about a week with a crescent moon. Unfortunately, I live in the city so to get the stars I really do have to have a slow shutter speed which messes up the moon. If I did two exposures, I suppose I could put the stars and moon together; that would require a lot of Photoshop work, correct? Or maybe HDR?

 

[480sparky47 47]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna try again in about a week with a crescent moon. Unfortunately, I live in the city so to get the stars I really do have to have a slow shutter speed which messes up the moon. If I did two exposures, I suppose I could put the stars and moon together; that would require a lot of Photoshop work, correct? Or maybe HDR?

Take two shots and combine the two (copy & paste) in post.