How to Photograph the Supermoon: NASA Pro Shares His Tips

space.com ^ | 11/12/2016 | Elizabeth Howell

[webheart]

5 is the same as 2

[webheart]

i mean 6

[Psycho_Runner]

Actually,your right, my canon 6d can do 6400, however I was thinking of a new moon and getting the Milky Way.

[Jack Hydrazine]

They happen six times a year. This particular one hasn’t seen the Moon this close to Earth since 1948 when Israel became a country (again).

[Jack Hydrazine]

“In 1948 these circumstances obtained:
Perigee: Jan 26 11:17 356462 km
Full: Jan 26 7:12”

Watch out for major earthquakes that could happen since a major quake, 7.8, hit the Philippines two days before the perigee-syzygy back in 1948.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_1948

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

This is kewl: https://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html

[Vermont Lt]

I have a Nikon D4 which is pretty good at high ISO. The problem is that when you shoot the moon is that the damn moon is so bright and the sky is black. You really need to spot the moon to get the right exposure, and then work around it. It’s a good tripods and some multiple exposure stuff, you can make a sweet composite.

Getting good night shots is not something you are going to walk out tomorrow night and get the first time out.

[Psycho_Runner]

Time to catch the super moon is while there is daylight.

[Paleo Pete]

If possible, it works best to shoot moon pictures while still in full daylight or as it gets darker. I’ve gotten plenty nice shots during daytime while the moon is still visible.

At night, if you use auto exposure, meter on the moon itself, if you meter on a dark sky the moon will be just a bright white spot with no detail.

I usually do moon shots at ISO200 and either f8 or f11, adjust shutter speed to get good exposure. Often on a full moon I can still sometimes get shutter speeds of 1/350 or 1/500. that’s at f8, f11 would mean slower shutter speed. That said, depending on the lens, you can sometimes get good shots at wider apertures like f4, but most lenses tend to have a “sweet spot” around f8 to f16. The Vivitar 200mm I used to use did great at f8 or f11, but f4 sucked...I finally just wore it out...

Always use a tripod and timer. My Pentax has 2 second and 12 second timer options, I use 12 second or a remote trigger. I might try it depending on cloud cover, we’re supposed to be getting partly cloudy here, so I’ll have to look outside and see.

I try to get in a place with the least ambient light, same as looking through a telescope. Give yourself about 15 minutes in the dark to let your eyes adjust, no flashlights to kill your night vision. A flashlight with a red filter can be used and will not kill night vision.

Also, with a full moon it’s not always mandatory to use a tripod, I’ve shot plenty full moon pictures without one but I prefer to use it if I can. I usually still try to find something for a steady rest, car roof or whatever. Even a monopod helps a lot.

The main thing is to keep the shutter speed above the focal length of your lens. With my 135mm lens I always try to keep the shutter speed above 1/125. I can still get pictures without motion blur at 125, but I prefer to go 1/180 if possible, even if I have to bump the ISO a notch. with a 200 mm lens, 1/180 works well, I prefer 1/250 or higher. If you’re using a wide angle lens, like a 50mm or 28mm, anything above 1/60 will usually eliminate any blur from user motion. With current image stabilization, some cameras can do well at 1/45. Don’t depend on it though...

I use a Pentax K30, it can get nice shots with little noise as high as ISO1600, ISO400 does great, I use ISO 800 for a lot of early morning or fog situation low light shots with no trouble but try to avoid ISO 1600 if I can, it starts to get a little grainy especially in low light conditions. Many of the newer DSLR cameras will do a much better job at high ISO than those 10 years ago, but I always try to keep it as low as possible.

General photography - not just moon -

Always take a bunch of shots, not just one or two. I find almost every time one shot stands out, even if I get a chance to take 20 shots of one bird just sitting there...minor changes in light levels, focus, and background (leaves, shadows and such) can make a definite difference between two shots taken a couple of seconds apart. That sucked using film, I had a great tendency to try and make every shot count. With digital it’s more forgiving, I can just delete anything I don’t want to show off. A roll of 36 exposure film was about 2 bucks I think, then developing was around $5 or 6...plus the wait time...Now I can see it almost instantly, and delete whatever sucks. Never delete anything on the camera, wait till you get it on the computer to have a good close look at 100% resolution. Make sure you don’t have a finger in front of the lens and take the damn lens cap off...No filters are required with DSLR, most already have a UV filter built into the sensor so not even a UV filter is needed. The only reason to have one is to protect the lens from dust and scratches.

Oh, back to moon shots, you might also try a couple of monochrome (black & white) shots. It makes very little difference with the moon, but the subtle difference can make a nice shot. You can change it to B&W with software or with an on camera setting. I usually do the least digital manipulating as I can get by with, usually just crop it.

[timestax]

bttt

[Textide]

Here's a neat clear sky chart that's useful when planning observational astronomy sessions. Browse to your location in the menu on the right.

http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/index.html#chart_list

[Jack Hydrazine]

Bingo! Major EQ right before this supermoon!

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS

---

* The following parameters are based on a rapid preliminary
assessment and changes may occur.

* Magnitude 7.4
* Origin Time 0203 AKST Nov 13 2016
0303 PST Nov 13 2016
1103 UTC Nov 13 2016
* Coordinates 42.8 South 173.0 East
* Depth 6 miles
* Location near South Island, New Zealand

Looks like it has been updated to a 7.8!

M7.8 - 53km NNE of Amberley, New Zealand
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#executive

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Supermoon, November 13, 2016. F/7 ISO100 1/100 sec. Sony A6000 220mm zoom lens

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Hey, how do you pro photog guys get the seas so dark? Are you using a filter or what?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I am more of an advanced beginner than a pro.

F/7 ISO100 1/100 sec. Sony A6000 220mm zoom lens

Only filter was an inexpensive UV filter which I leave on all the time, as much as anything to protect the lens.

I took that with the picture size set to 6 MPixels. Max is 24 MPixels.

I processed it with some simple picture processing software that came with my camera:

Original Picture

Same picture cropped.

Same picture sharpened. It's a tool in the processing kit.

Same picture, with contrast enhanced. YMMV