Today's blog is going to be about photography so those less interested are free to check out. See you tomorrow....
This morning was my second attempt to nail a good moon picture but more importantly I was hoping to get some good starry sky pictures. Unfortunately neither quite worked out as planned. Hey, we all have those days where no matter how well you plan, no matter what your best intentions might be, it just ain't gonna happen. This morning was one of those times.
So first up, the moon shot. For my photo friends I'll cut to the chase - how to shoot. I've learned when trying to capture a good photo of the moon, here are your recommended settings. Adjust as needed.
ISO: 200
Shutter: 250
F-stop: 11
Auto-focus: Off
Again, you'll want to adjust according to the conditions and equipment you have. I shoot with a Canon 7D and these settings are a pretty good starting point for me. Also, I REALLY recommend a good tripod and a trigger release (wired or otherwise). Even though you're shooting with a relatively fast shutter you want to make sure you have a very steady camera. Plus if you're taking these shots early in the morning most likely you'll be freezing your ass off and thus shaking the hell out of your camera.
So here is an example of a shot I captured this morning. You'll note that to get that clear, crisp shot of the moon, everything else in your picture will be damn near black. If you try to expose for the foreground that beautiful moon will turn into a nice, white blob. The trick to getting a well exposed moon and foreground is to take multiple exposures, one for each subject (moon and foreground) and stitch the two images together using Photoshop or any similar post-production tool. Now for those with a keen eye you'll probably notice the problem I had with taking this moon shot. The moon isn't fully sharp. This is more an issue of money versus technique. I was using a very inexpensive 300mm zoom lens that basically sucks at taking tack sharp images. It usually does well in well lit areas at a very fast shutter (800 or above). The pros refer to a good lens as having "fast glass". I won't go into the technical details but basically the better the glass, the better the picture. When you look in a photo equipment catalog and see a 300mm lens going for $500 and another going for $5,000, now you'll know why. It's not to say the cheaper lenses have no value. You can still get some great images but eventually as you take your photography to new levels, you'll become more and more frustrated by the limitations and lack of quality that the cheaper lenses provide. So when it comes to getting photo equipment, spend decent money on a camera body but put your good money towards a very nice lens. If you're a Canon person look for the L series lenses and start drooling.
The other challenge I had this morning was trying to capture a good starry sky. I did my research and found some good info on the proper settings and techniques. There were several mine fields I encountered that I knew existed but thought I'd still give it a shot. The best environment, in my mind, is somewhere isolated, up in the mountains or in the desert, where there's little to no stray light from towns, cars or other illuminated objects. I was up on a hill overlooking Boulder, right next to Hwy 36 so there was plenty of stray light from the town and cars. Also, the sun was starting to makes its way up the horizon behind me so I was definitely shooting against the elements. As opposed to what I did, make sure you get an early start so you have plenty of time to set up and test your shots. I only managed to get one decent shot that consisted of a few stars, I think Orion's Belt. My Sky Walk iPhone app froze so it was of little use. But I'll keep plugging away.
The one good thing about the little adventure was that I was able to meet a couple of other fellow photog enthusiasts. Ed, from San Francisco, was there trying to capture his first moon shoot. We traded ideas and techniques and it looked like he got several good ones. It's always fun to meet other photographers. There's always something to learn and it's great meeting someone who shares the same passion as my wife and I do.
Not quite a full moon scheduled for tomorrow but Julie and I might make the trip any way to see what we get. Feel free to share your stories. I'd love to hear about your photography adventures. Visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/johnkarpphoto. Hope to see you out there!
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