Super Moon, Super Fun

Photographing the moon is a challenging project. I have not invested a lot of time in this endeavor, but it is something that fascinates me and I am in awe of the great landscape photos with a beautiful moon. There are multiple challenges to be overcome with lunar photography.

First, is light. You are pointing your camera at a single, bright light source in the midst of a sea of darkness. A simple photograph of just the moon can be accomplished by placing the camera on a tripod and adjusting the aperture and shutter speed until you get a nice sharp image of the moon. Too much light and the moon looks like a white, blurry ball of light. Too fast of a shutter speed, and you lose much of the detail of the moon’s surface.

Added to the challenge of the blown-out image from too much light, you have the motion blur challenge. It may look like a still object in the sky, but the moon is actually moving 2,288 miles an hour. Then there is camera shake. The moon is over 238,000 miles from Earth. To get a “close-up” photo of the moon also requires a long zoom lens. It does not take much camera movement to make the image blurry. Even the slight movement from pressing the shutter button could cause the details of the moon to blur from motion. A fast shutter speed can solve most of the blur problem, but then you lose some of the detail in the image by not allowing enough light into the camera.

I am not by any stretch an expert in lunar photography. I have always enjoyed standing outside at night and being in awe of the beauty of the moon. Maybe it comes from my fascination as a kid of the space program. Maybe it is from living many years next door to Johnson Space Center in Houston, the home of Mission Control. Maybe it is just standing in awe of God’s creation. There is just something about the moon that fascinating. Perhaps it is watching how, in the middle of a dark night, the silver light of the moon highlights things I had not noticed before. So, I begin a journey of lunar photography.

Photographing the moon alone is a challenge in itself. But photographing the moon with a landscape takes that to a whole new level. A challenge of living in a large city with a tremendous amount of “light pollution” is that it requires a long drive in the evening and a late night. It is an investment in time, which is a resource I already do not have enough of. But there are occasions when I do get to go play.

Finding the right spot requires some research and planning… or just being lucky. For the Hunter’s Moon in October, I had a last-minute change in schedule and had the evening at home by myself. This is a rare thing for me, and I initially decided to just stay home and enjoy a quiet evening. But it is a Super Moon, and this one is the brightest moon of the year. As I debated about going out, I had an image come to mind that I wanted to try. I grabbed my phone and went to my Photo Pills app to see where and when the moon rise would be and see if that shot was even possible. The Photo Pills app is a great tool for photographers and anyone who wants to know when and where the sun or moon will rise and set. As luck would have it, the shot I had in my head was going to work and I could get the shot from one of my new favorite parks.

I grabbed my gear and headed down to Bay Street Park in Texas City. I had a little more than an hour to make the 45-minute drive, find my spot, and get set up. The Photo Pills app put me within 50 feet of the perfect location for the shot I wanted. The photos are not great, but this is my first attempt at a real landscape photo featuring the moon. I played with the settings a lot. If you have ever watched a moon or sunrise, you know that as the moon starts to show, you only have seconds to work. I’m running up and down the bank in the park trying to find the spot I need to be in. The perfect spot had very tall brush (6-8 ft) between me and my subject. I was able to back up and get a decent shot and a little Photoshop to eliminate some of the grass. Now to hone my editing skills and do some exposure stacking.

For my first attempt at a landscpe image featuring the moon. I think it turned out o.k. Let me know what you think.