Moon Photo Tutorial

Several have asked for a tutorial for taking moon photos - so here we go.

First you need your supplies - a camera - a tripod and a moon.

One day last week we went for a ride in the sunshine and I noticed the moon was out - so hoped it would be visible from our deck when we got home - and there it was - so I've got my moon.

The camera - Canon PowerShot 30SX IS - which will zoom to 140X - and a tripod 

A tripod with a very long neck is helpful - so you don't have to bend  too much 

An articulated view finder screen is a must for me when photographing the moon 

The tripod must also tilt - so you can aim at the moon 

Turn the camera in the general direction of the moon 

Find the moon - this might take a little doing in the daylight - as it doesn't show up at first on the screen 

Take a test shot of the moon - just to make sure you can see it.

Zoom in - focus - and shoot!  That's about all there is too it. I use the auto setting for night shots in a dark sky - and scenery setting for daylight - my camera does the rest.

The most important item is a tripod - with such a high magnification your breathing and slight body movements are also magnified and blurry pictures are almost a guarantee if you don't have the tripod 

A helper was needed for this tutorial - to take the pictures of the big camera I used my little hot pink camera - she's a helpful little camera and stronger than you think - I dropped her in a bowl of ice water one time (trying to take pictures of blanching peaches for peeling) and after quickly removing the battery and the card and using a hair dryer on her, she lived in a bag of rice for over a week - and was good as new.  She mostly lives in my pocket - for those spur of the moment photos.

And now some other moon shots - taken on other days

The darker the sky - the better the craters show up in the photos

Taken by my friend Franni, in Florida - we have the same camera

 

One of my first moon shots - it was the harvest moon and dozens of photographers gathered at a lake just blocks from our house - we waited and waited - our cameras on the tripods - trying to guess exactly where the moon would rise. Don spotted it first - and he wasn't even taking photos.  Such excitement - the moon rises fast and you have just a few moments to get the effect of the color and the size of the harvest moon.  I caught it just as it came up over the  nearby hills - and the next shot it was already above the trees.

Nearly night sky

Daylight moon

And a couple more of my favorite moon collages

The moon rising over our roof

 I hope this answered your questions - if you have more - feel free to ask.

Mosaic Monday