Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/19

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Subject: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee
From: ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter)
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 08:28:34 -0400
References: <127BF34AF3734E88874C6F00D7636DF5@jimnichols> <C4CC0039-D8CD-4BA4-A31A-8659DBA72A77@yahoo.com> <A75C840C25AA449E8C42622879394C7E@jimnichols> <509748.79147.qm@web82105.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

thanks for the great primer

ric


On Mar 19, 2011, at 2:32 AM, Bob Adler wrote:

> It's raining cats and dogs! But there are other dates. A piece of software 
> called The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) is very useful.
> Per Jeff Sullivan:
> 
> "If you catch the moon rising a short while before sunset, the landscape 
> starts 
> brighter and ends up darker than the moon, so at some point between 
> moonrise and 
> twilight, for a few minutes the moon and landscape are in balance in a 
> single 
> exposure. For a few minutes on either side of that ideal illumination, 
> minor 
> editing techniques can salvage a successful result. Taking this approach, 
> I 
> don't worry much about exposure at all, I can work that out in real time 
> as the 
> light changes. I do use automatic exposure bracketing to provide a range 
> of 
> exposures to use (especially after the sweet spot of balanced light, when 
> the 
> moon gets too bright and it might be important to have one exposure for 
> the moon 
> and one for the landscape). It is important to keep exposures short, and I 
> regularly review results on my DSLR's LCD. 
> With the goal of shooting during a balanced moon/landscape exposure in 
> mind, the 
> day before the date of the full moon often offers the best opportunity for 
> landscape photography, since the moon comes up earlier and can clear the 
> horizon 
> while there's enough light to properly expose the landscape. Given that 
> the 
> horizon is rarely at zero degrees in elevation, this also give the moon 
> time to 
> clear surrounding terrain as sunset color approaches. The moon is often 
> just a 
> few hours from full (say 99% full), essentially indistinguishable from a 
> full 
> moon to most viewers of the resulting image (and the image is pretty 
> likely to 
> be compelling enough to make any noticeable difference completely 
> unimportant).
> 
> Back in December I suggested the best dates for moonrises in 2011 on my 
> blog, 
> with approximate times and compass bearings noted as well (accurate for 
> mid-California):
> 
> Put Sunset Full Moon Rise Dates on your 2011 Calendar
> http://activesole.blogspot.com/2010/12/put-sunset-full-moon-rise-dates-on-your.html
> 
> 
> While the best sunset moonrise dates tend to occur a day before the full 
> moon, 
> you can also catch the full moon setting at times close to sunrise. The 
> best day 
> for that tends to be the day after the full moon. In this way you can 
> feature a 
> nearly full moon in images taken eastward or westward. Crescent moons can 
> also 
> be caught close to sunrise or sunset. To research these dates in advance, 
> try 
> the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site, which provides sun and rise and set 
> times 
> for towns close to your shooting location.
> 
> Plan Ahead for Great Full Moon Rise and Set Shots!
> http://activesole.blogspot.com/2006/11/plan-ahead-for-great-full-moon-rise-and.html
> 
> 
> The moon position also oscillates from south to north and back with the 
> seasons, 
> so for advanced users (not in intimidated by installing software), The 
> Photographer's Ephemeris (already mentioned) enables you to see sun and 
> moon rise/set angles on a Google Earth satellite image, and see how those 
> angles 
> (and elevations) change from one moonrise to the next and at any given 
> time of 
> day. You can even seen when the moon will clear the horizon. All of this 
> enables 
> you to choose a shooting position which lines the sun or moon up with 
> specific 
> landmarks, and to determine which month of the year enables particularly 
> favorable compositions/lineups to occur:
> 
> Anticipating Sun and Moon Position for Moonrise 
> http://activesole.blogspot.com/2010/03/anticipating-sun-and-moon-position.html
> 
> TPE is also available (for a fee) for iPhones, so you can check details 
> from the 
> field, but only when (IF) you get AT&T or Verizon service coverage.
> 
> There are only few full moons per year, even fewer that you'll have clear 
> weather to shoot, and they're a nice addition to many landscape 
> photographs, so 
> it makes sense to plan ahead and make the best of those few great 
> opportunities 
> that you have.
> 
> Jeff Sullivan
> Moon (and sun) 
> Gallery: 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/sets/72157623567602630/show/
> 
> 
> " 
> 
> But most times it's just easier and smarter to lean against the wall, hold 
> your 
> camera up and shoot!
> Bob Adler
> Palo Alto, CA
> http://www.rgaphoto.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net>
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Sent: Fri, March 18, 2011 10:11:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee
> 
> Thanks, Bob.  I appreciate the heads-up on the date of the full moon.  It 
> was 
> just too high here to include any landscape features.  Maybe you will get 
> lucky 
> on the West Coast.
> 
> Jim Nichols
> Tullahoma, TN USA
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Adler" <rgacpa at yahoo.com>
> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
> Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 11:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee
> 
> 
>> Man that is sharp! I think I see an abandoned Hassy there... :-)
>> Great capture.
>> Tina taught you well!
>> 
>> Bob Adler
>> http://www.rgaphoto.com
>> 
>> On Mar 18, 2011, at 8:25 PM, "Jim Nichols" <jhnichols at lighttube.net> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Bob Adler mentioned Thursday that the moonrise can be seen around 
>>> sundown in 
>>> California on March 19th, so I started looking here.  In the East, it 
>>> rises too 
>>> early in the day to make a useful photo.  I noticed tonight that it was 
>>> approaching an overhead position and I had a clear shot, though there 
>>> was a 
>>> slight haze around the moon.  Not trusting the weather forecast, I 
>>> decided to do 
>>> my thing tonight.
>>> 
>>> After trying several tripod shots that were disappointing, I decided to 
>>> go to 
>>> the old standard approach, which Tina Manley mentioned sometime back.  
>>> Camera on 
>>> Manual, ISO 200, Sunny 16 exposure, manually supported, but leaning 
>>> against a 
>>> wall.  I gave up trying to manually focus, and set the scale at 
>>> infinity.  This 
>>> was the best of five shots.
>>> 
>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Moon+Over+TN.tif.html
>>> 
>>> E-510 with Leica Telyt-R 250/4
>>> 
>>> Comments and critiques welcomed.
>>> 
>>> Jim Nichols
>>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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In reply to: Message from jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols) ([Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee)
Message from rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler) ([Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee)
Message from jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols) ([Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee)
Message from rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler) ([Leica] IMG: Moon Over Tennessee)