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It’s a full moon today. So, here are a few tips to take great photos of the moon. Grab your camera and go out there.

The moon has always been a scene that attracts many amateurs and professional photographers. It’s without question the brightest spot in the night sky and maybe due to the lunar mystic or simply due to its beauty a magnet for cameras.

But photographing the moon is not as linear as it seems. The moon is very bright (more than you probably think) and getting the right exposure that avoids the flat look can be tricky.

300mm; ISO 100; 1/250s; f/11

Gear

• Tripod - Although it’s a quick exposure, you’ll get the best results setting your camera on a tripod. Remember that you want detail and any kind of motion blurring can ruin the shot.

• Telephoto lens - Ah, how nice and big the moon looks… So why does it come out so small in a photo? It’s like that… For a good moon shot you’ll need a telephoto lens. You don’t need an expensive one (I used the cheap but so far good Sigma 75-300 f4-5.6) but for good detail a minimum of 300mm is recommended.

• Shutter Release cable - Not really needed but recommended. The pressure of your fingers on the shutter button will increase the motion blur. To avoid this you can get a shutter release cable or do like I did (I didn’t had my cable with me) and use the shutter delay feature of your camera (I’m sure it has one). A 2 sec delay is more than enough to get your hands of the camera.

Get busy with that photo

One of the most common mistakes photographers make when first attempting to get lunar shots is underestimating the brightness of the moon. The first shots will almost undoubtedly come out overexposed with an ugly bright circle where the moon should have been.

Many photographers claim that since the moon is directly illuminated by the sun, setting your camera for a “daylight photo” can be a solution. Some also recommend following the sunny 16 rule (f/16 at 1/ISO) or the loony 11 rule (f/11 at 1/ISO). If you take a look at the photo above and the settings I used, none of these actually applied but probably due to the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs a huge amount of the light and this value varies according to the angle of the moon above the horizon. Using a “fixed” value does not work and you should experiment to find the best results. I tried the following the loony 11 but gave an overexposed moon with some detail loss in the brightest areas.

Start with the following settings:

• Aperture at f/11
• ISO 100 (you don’t want any noise on your photo and it’s so bright there is really no need to go above 100)
• 1/125 - 1/250

Now set your autofocus to point, aim at the moon, focus and turn the autofocus off. Don’t touch that ring anymore.

For good measure bracket your EV 1 or 2 units (if your camera allows you can get a few sequential shots with different EV values).

And that is it. Moon photos galore.

And more…

Now that you have your moon, it’s time to work on it in silico.

The photo above was only cropped. No other processing. So, you can see that is possible to get average moon photos just out of your camera. If you want to make it even better, try playing a bit with the curves on Photoshop. You’ll probably manage to give more texture to your photo by increasing the contrast between midtones and highlights. Somehow I liked the result as it is (albeit flat) and decided not to touch it anymore.

If you want a more natural texture with more shadows, giving the lunar landscape a more tri-dimensional feeling, try shooting the different moon phases and not only full moon. The different angles at which the sun illuminates the lunar surface can create astonishing effects.

Now, this photo was taken back in the end of April, but for what I can see, today is full moon or very close to it. So, why not go outside and be creative? Let’s hope there are no clouds wherever you are.

Got any more tips for good lunar photography? Share them with us…

In my last Web Shutter I referred an article at the photocritic.org talking about Minimalism in Photography.

Minimalism in photography is one form of expression (or school if you rather) that I’m extremely fond of. How, by reducing the information on an image, reducing it to the bare minimum, such big messages can be sent, such draw of emotions.

 This post intrigued me and inspired me to start a Group Writing Project dedicated to Minimalism in Photography.

So, here goes a shout to all the photography bloggers, photobloggers or just photography adepts to write about Minimalism in Photography or take minimalist photos.

Instructions

1. Write a post in your blog that talks about Minimalism in Photography (uses, how to’s, critiques, definitions, etc.) or post an image that can be considered minimalist and write a few lines about it (what drove you to take that photo, what did you intend with it, what message do you want to pass or elicit). DEADLINE: October 12th.
2. Leave a comment on this post with the permalink to your post or photo or contact me using my contact form and including the same information. 
3. Feel free to spread the word about this Project (not required but appreciated).
4. After the deadline, I’ll gather all the participants’ links and group them in one single post. You can then link to your favorites or simply reprint the list.

I’ll look forward to read and see what you have to share about Minimalism in Photography. Until then…

Ok, time to get this blog rolling again.

On my previous post, I’ve explained why I was absent for so long…  

Now it’s time to get my stuff together and bring the blog back to life again.

And nothing better for that than start with what has called my attention in photography lately.

Without further delays:

•  Haje at Photocritic.org has a very good article on how minimalist photography can be as or more powerful as photography that contains a lot of information. When less is more shows very good examples of using less information to highlight certain areas of your photos.

• Shutterbox Philippines reports a serious new firmware for Canon Digic II based point and shoot cameras.

How does it sound to have your camera shoot in raw mode, have a live histogram, a DOF-calculator, file browser, among others? Good, right? Go there and read all this firmware can do for your point and shooter.

• Casually, Trevor at Photowalking.org found out that he has a forum after all. Ok, maybe not one of the best things to have neglected for long, but if it grows it can provide a good place for photowalking discussions. Since I know that many out there are avid fans of photowalking, why not going there and talking a look around?

• Many photographers have considered, at one time or other in their careers, turning pro or at least turning photography into a business opportunity. Having a well set portfolio to showcase your work and approach potential clients is a must. If you are interested in this kind of approach, Photopreneur published 3 steps for a better photography portfolio that are sure to give you a better foundation instead of the “how the hell do I do this” way.

And that’s enough “linkage” for this week. Enjoy…