Moon Cover

night with moonlight

Moon Cover

I have trouble photographing the moon. Any suggestions? It was a beautiful night. How can I show it?

Two stars and an Eclipsing Moon is the only other halfway successful attempt I’ve made. Is it just the camera or is there something I could do to get rid of the grainy texture?

Weather report from up here: It has been sleeting on and off with snow sticking and then melting.

Daily Photo #6

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13 Comments
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bluelaker4
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bluelaker4
15 years ago

All I can tell you is you need to have a really good lens and know how to set the settings, which I don’t know how to do. I can’t even get my little camera to stop taking videos instead of stills.

Staff
Member
15 years ago

mine has a switch on the right side up near the top that lets me switch from video to stills.

archiearchive FCD
Guest
15 years ago

I always wanted to be able to photograph the moon effectively and not just have a white or yellow blob. I finally gave in and admitted that I needed a much better camera system. I bought a “SLR” body with a 125mm lens which gave good results but I wanted more so I then added a 300mm lens to my inventory. Even then I was having problems obtaining clear images so I invested in a tripod (after experimenting with a tilted ironing board) and a remote trigger to completely remove “button-pushing shake) Now I can do the craters and get bits of cloud and all that stuff.

A bonus is that I can now also get close-ups of shy critters who don’t like to let people close to them.

Unfortunately it all came at a cost 🙁

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Archie, thanks. I’m willing (eventually) to buy a better camera. I know I need one to get the wonderful wildlife (just yesterday I had deer, coyote, redtail hawk and lots of songbirds in my sights but the photographs made them look like ants.) I guess I just have to accept that the moon is out of my range until I can afford a better camera and all the accoutrements.

Sandi
Guest
15 years ago

I like the pic you took. I think the mystery is shows would really be lost if you had too much detail. It’s beautiful and mysterious – I like.

alaskasteve
Guest
alaskasteve
15 years ago

Kym, I’m really enjoying your photos – i want to join you in the Daily Photo thing when I get back to the island! It will keep me focused . . . . great job, as always – cheers, steve

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Thanks Sandi. If you could have seen how breathstopping, throat chokingly beautiful it was, you’d know why I’m so disappointed.

Steve, I can’t wait to be seeing Daily Photos of your beautiful place. Have fun on your honeymoon.

BEN
Guest
BEN
15 years ago

Kym, Your photo is beautiful and dramatic. You were probably seeing much more detail which the camera missed. Digital camera chips will try to make sense of darkness and its called “noise” in the reviews. I bought a beautiful little Panasonic with a 10X lens and found I could not hold it steady enough to use the high power even in bright daylight. Very disappointing. Fortunately, the camera died suddenly and I returned it to Costco and bought a Canon with anti-shake (essential for my shaky hands). Your work is so good that I suspect your camera is quite nice. I encourage you to print and show some of your work and maybe to make cards. I can think of no better examples of the stunning place we live in than some of your landscapes and your wildflower pics are remarkable. I know there’s not time enough in the day for all of this. I bought a scanner that will digitze my film negatives and still haven’t figured out how to work it. Someday. For the long shots and the low light stuff, you need a tripod. I have a weird little one that wraps around fenceposts and sits on yhe hood of my car. Now if I could only remember how to do the shutter timer…

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Ben, thank you for the encouragement. I probably should invest in a tripod but most of my photos are done while on a hike and I hate to make a joyous time, a work time by dragging something big and clunky with me.

I, too, have shaky hands but have found ways of propping on the ground or against a tree that really help.

Monica
Guest
15 years ago

Kym-
I’m with everyone else… these photos you’re posting are gorgeous. It’s clear that nature makes you happy…

About the “noise,”/graininess, it has to do with shooting in low-light situations… if you check out my blog with the Death Cab for Cutie photos (no, this isn’t just a cheap blog-hijack) you will see some of the same graininess. Not knowing what you’re shooting with and on which settings, my nearest guess would be a small camera on Auto setting, which is trying to adjust for a low-light situation. In order to do that, it’s changing the virtual “film speed” (in quotes, since clearly, not many folks are using film, anymore), also known in camera terms as the ISO, to a much slower speed. In bright light situations, most cameras on Auto will settle with a 100 or 200 ISO (200 used to be the all-purpose indoor/outdoor film speed, back in the day when one actually dealt with little rolls of plastic), but for low light situations, the camera is likely jumping up to an 800 or 1600 ISO, which creates the noise.

In short (I’m sorry!! I’ve never been known for my brevity), the only way to really cut down on low-light noise is to have a camera which has settings to allow you to open the shutter waaaaaay up (thus, allowing in more light), and throwing that baby on a tripod, so you can slow the shutter speed waaaaaaay down (also allowing in more light).

And as you can see from the aforementioned Death Cab photo blog, I have the same issue, except where I have the camera that allows for the settings, I don’t have a lens that quite adjusts as much as I wish it did.

Come on, Economic Stimulus Package… Mama needs a new telephoto lens!!

I really hope this lends some clarity to your question, Kym. I’m in no way an expert on such things, but I’ve learned a lot as I upgraded through a couple of cameras and finally came to a rest on my Canon Digital Rebel XT. Thank goddess for student loans. 😀

~Monica~

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Monica, Your club photos seem incredibly clear to me. No grain at all except when you’re deliberating creating an effect.

Your explanation helped. I’m already doing some of that. I have the camera set on nightlandscape (Allows in more light) I depress the shutter and hooooold and I use the car windowsill as a brace here.

I think my main problem is I need that economic stimulus package too (although I think my husband is planning on paying off debt). I’ll definitely be looking at the Canon Digital Rebel XT when I can afford to upgrade. But, then, I’ll have to add a lens.

Monica
Guest
15 years ago

Kym- It sounds like you’re on the right track, with the equipment you have. Steadying the shot, long exposure… sounds like the last piece of the equation is being able to open up the shutter oven more (they call it “aperture” or “f-stop.” The smaller the number, the bigger the opening. For example, the lens I have now opens up to a F3.5, but the telephoto lens I want, opens to an F2.8. Basically, it just allows in even more light, cutting down on the amount of time you have to hold the shutter open. Good stuff.

I love your shots, though… keep going on it, so when you do get a camera upgrade, you’ll really appreciate it. 🙂

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Thanks Monica. I appreciate your time.