November 13, 2009
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Weekly Photo Challenge, “The Moon”
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Weekly Photo ChallengeHeavenly bodies are fascinating, “the Moon” every bit as much as the sun. Both are studied from scientific standpoints while tales have been passed to us from the Greeks, Native Americans, the Orient and ??? about Gods and powerful others related to the existence of both. For the Photographer, the moon is of interest because it not only lights the night but can often be seen traveling the sky during the day. I have some photos displayed for both.
My Photos
1- This is one of a series of daytime moon photos I took in October of 2007, 6:30 p.m. We spent a big portion of our day at a Pumpkin festival and we noticed the daytime moon when leaving. This particular photo has been doctored. It was taken with my kodak DC4800 and was very dark in the shadow area and the birds (which I didn’t see when taking the photo) did’t show up well. I didn’t like the image as it was but am very happy with it now. I think it gives off a feel of the harvest with the bit of a moon hanging above the fields. I have seen some wonderful close up images of the moon and envy their bigness and clarity and the camera that took them, but for myself, I prefer the moon to be a part of a scene in a finished photo. With the lighting improvements, in my mind this image has greatly improved and has a nice amount of interest.
2- A cemetery we were taking photos in. We always find things of interest and the day got away from us. This photo was taken in early evening light at 8:00 pm in May of 2008. I brightened it up a little as it was so dark because of the dying day. We didn’t expect the full moon, floating above us for photos. It was a nice surprise to end our day.
3- After 8:00 p.m. July 26, 2008 on the drive from Rockford, Illinois to Cincinnati. The harvest moon was a really nice surprise looking huge when it first came up.
4- Cincinnati does not get hurricanes but September 14 of 2008 we got the unusual. Hurricane winds normally die down as they travel north. On this day we saw what was totally abnormal, 70 mile an hour winds off and on during the day. Power was knocked out in the storm path, some was out for weeks. As it was very hot, we spent the day on our porch watching trees sway farther than I had ever seen them. We took photos and ate canned goods directly from tins to avoid opening refrigerators. That night, I took photos like this one.
5- This photo is October 12, 2008, taken at Lake Isabella. I’m plugging in some of the particulars for it and the image below trying to sort out the extreme star around the moon. I’m pretty positive the fault was letting in too much light which allowed for the moon glow. I like the photos but would like more control than I have. Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1.3, Av( Aperture Value ) 7.1, Metering Mode Evaluative Metering, Exposure Compensation +2, ISO Speed 800, Lens EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Focal Length 28.0 mm, Flash Off.
6- Tv( Shutter Speed ) 0.6, Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0, Metering Mode Evaluative Metering, Exposure Compensation +2, ISO Speed 800, Lens EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 28.0 mm, Flash Off. Eventually I may be able to automatically know how to set things on the camera. That would be so nice. Practice is the key.Thanks always for your comments and
enjoy your photo takings.
Comments (22)
Wow, you are the best! Really lovely photo’s. I like the harvest moon but number 4 is by far my favourite. The clouds form a fantastic tapestry as back drop for the moon.
Very nice shots!
I like the moon over the hayfield a lot!!
Beautiful shots of the moon.
excellent photos of what is for me a difficult subject!!!
Really great shots Becca. No 3. is a rarity, so well captured,the mood in number four is really excellent! A rather eerie almost Harry Potter shot. Five and six are nice illustrations of that which would appear just after dusk, sort of twilight effect, think the one before the last has a distinct Christmas flair to it. Nicely done! ~ Tim
I love the color of the harvest moon! Gorgeous! My favorite is #4 though…the clouds really set a mood. I really need to work on figuring out how to take photos of the moon.
I love 3&4 really wonderful shots…. you are really a moon gal.
That red moon – not Mars is it???
@Zeal4living - You spoil me with your nice comments but this challenge would have been very hard for me a year or so ago. I’ve trashed many a moon shot I tried to take with a less adequate camera. I keep hoping I will catch better shots in the future. As for the hurricane moon, we sat outside for quite a while so I took a ton of it and was able to play with settings as we photographed. Thanks for the fun and looking and commenting.
@guestbrief - The hayfield shot was really terrible until I played some in Paint Shop Pro. The shadows were long and I was standing in them. Being able to doctor photos is a real help. I like the picture that finally emerged. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@stixandstonz2009 - Thank you and nice to see you are alive and well. I’m sorry I’m not attentive to all of everyone’s blogs but pretty much play with the challenge and entries for it, only. You were really going to be missed as you put in so many ideas for it. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@windupherskirt - I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned how cute I think your xanga name is, it reminds me of Marilyn. I think the answer for moon photos is patience to try settings. Better camera’s and lens do help but I’m still lacking a better distance lens. I think anyone can take good moon photos if they have settings to play with on their cameras. I’ve learned more with my Canon but think I’ll have to play with my older kodak to see if I can improve on shots with it. If it’s possible on it (3.1 megapixel), anyone can. I’ll let you know. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@tim_beddard - You are right about the one image, the star lends itself to a Christmas mood. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@WakeUpLaughing - The two shots you pointed out, Harvest moon and Hurricane Moon were, for me, very satisfying to photograph and be able to say I took them. The red harvest moon images I kept span 40 minutes of driving time, the first 3 large and red were taken snap, snap, snap at 8:08 pm the next two read 8:17 pm and the size was still there but the color was nearing normal. The final images are higher in the sky, smaller and nearly white so direction of the drive and drive time and whatever was in the air to affect the color was gone, just that fast. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@bumblefish - I won’t deny I like taking photos of the moon but really wish for a really nice lens that might just help all of my distance shots look better. MoonGal would be a nice xanga name. Thanks for looking and commenting.
@rojobe - Wouldn’t I love to have a camera possible to catch some of the other planets with some size. I think my harvest moon might be a challenger to Mars with iis wonderful color but it lost all the red in the end and went back to being the romantic light in the sky. Thanks for looking and commenting.
I really like that pumpin festival one! and the one with clouds!!
(tips hat) This are great. So many good shots for the challenge. I’ve been jumping all over Xanga from moon to moon. Thanks! Enjoy your moon no matter where you are, my friend.
Your photos are wonderful! I especially like the photo of the harvest moon, and the moon behind the clouds. Wonderful!
The red moon, the moon rolling in the clouds and the moon shining are thee interesting aspects that I like very much . All of three have their charms and the photos are beautiful .
On the first photo my attention has been caught by the flight of geese !!! perhaps it would be interesting to enlargethis part of the photo .
Becca , I thank you for your sendings via e.mails whom the last was abouut tips for health and other things .
I hope you are well or you go better and better . Janine is suffering of a fissured articular disc at her right knee . She goes like that trying to avoid a surgery , again !
Love
Michel
Hey, Becca, I’m not likely to have time to participate in this challenge, but I’ll tell you what I can about moon photos. The star-shaped flare around the moon in #5 is due to diffraction, which is often influenced by the aperture blades in the lens – one way to get rid of the flare, is to use the widest possible aperture for your lens, where all of the blades will be retracted to a round shape. However, what you really need, is a shorter exposure time. Considering that the moon is lit by the sun, it is many magnitudes brighter than the surrounding sky — but your camera’s meter sees the dark sky & tries to compensate by using a slower shutter speed. You have two options, 1) if your camera has a “spot metering” mode, you can spot-meter on the moon, and that will give you a shorter exposure, and should be enough to preserve some detail from the surface of the moon, or 2) you can use manual settings to force the camera to use a faster shutter speed. In short, use the “sunny f/16 rule.” See this webpage (and following) for an in-depth discussion. Or my old photo and post from an ealier Weekly Photo Challenge.
I particularly like your first photo in this series, the processing really worked to bring out the mood. Well done!
@brysta559 - Thanks for the very nice comment. Your moon images are so well done they can’t help but make me wish I could do something similar. I really enjoyed your series of the eclipse. It takes energy and more to do something that nice. Your outcome was well worth your time and effort.
@Jaynebug - Some years back I enjoyed the fun of a chat called Excite. It was the very best one to make friends and really enjoy their online company. You could actually moonhop together and it is such a shame something similar isn’t available to catch my fancy. The internet is becoming more expensive and I’m getting cheaper by the day. Thanks always for your comments on my page. It’s always a pleasure to read them.
@CelticDawn - Thanks so much for your comments. I’m glad you stopped by to check out my entry.
@fauquet - Michel, good always to read your thoughts. About those geese in the moon photo, they really are quite small and nearly an accident they were in the image. I don’t recall seeing them when I took the photo but I do recall the surprise I had when I first saw the image enlarged. I’ll give a look at the photo again to see if something could be done. About Janine, I totally understand her wanting to avoid another surgery. I am so tired of doctors and I crip away a lot just to avoid them. Will be stopping by, I know you have a new entry up.
@MattBarber - Hi Matt, thanks so much for your educational comment. I’m going to copy and try to understand your suggestions as I’m sure you know exactly what my photo problems are. My camera should have all the adjustments and if I can, I’ll give your thoughts a try soon. As so many of my photos are taken from inside a moving car I expect some problems but am pretty sure I can come up with something acceptable after some study. Thanks for your input and for taking your time to give it.
Becca
These are all so beautiful I can’t pick a favorite!
@saintvi - Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad I always check the challenge posts for late entries. I’m never sorry I do. I enjoyed your photos. Becca
RYC : Thank you for your so kind comment Becca and thanks also for your pleasant sendings . I am glad my posts make you think of the style of your mother .
This answer gives me the opportunity to taste again the mystery of the night with the moon in your photos .
Thank you
Love
Michel
Thanks for “mooning” us. These shots are wonderful.
@symbolreader - Hi, your visit was a surprise. I don’t think I knew you accessed these pages. I haven’t kept up with so many people for so long it’s shameful. I hope you and your children and grandchildren are doing well, especially you after your mishap with xrays. We have had a beautiful fall and am sure it was the same for you. We expect to be at Bunny’s home for Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to it but know all the fall colors are gone so the meal will have to provide the photos. Hoping you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I need to stop by your site. I think I remember the way. Becky
ps if you want to expose for the moon itself, you need to go the other route- exposure -2 not +2 more like 1/250th of a second, at iso 400 than 1/6 of a second at iso 800. For instance last night I snapped one at 1/250 f5.6 iso 800 that was perfectly exposed for the half moon. You can see all the detail. Now, the problem is, everything else will be dark, since the moon itself is so deceptively bright. So then you might want to take another exposed for the composition, and photoshop the two together. Like you say, practice practice!!
Happy Thanksgiving!