"Super Harvest Moon" last night

[RSO 34]

For the first time in 20 years the full moon coincided with the autumnal equinox last night. This is often referred to as a "Super Harvest Moon".

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/

I only had a 5 minute window of opportunity to grab a photo because of a major thunderstorm coming through the area but managed to snap a shot shortly after moonrise while it still glowed orange as the sun was setting to the west.

 

[Swift]

you have a REALLY good camera lol. sweetness. Yeah it was already storming where I live so no luck here.

 

[queenlives]

you have a REALLY good camera lol.

more importantly, he knows how to use it.

(as always) nice photo, bob.

the moon produced a beautiful glow over our backyard and perfectly illuminated a lovely piece of statuary we have along a dry stream.

again, nice photo - thx for posting.

 

[docjohn]

I think of dennys when I look at this picture..moons over my hamy:redface:

 

[RSO 34]

Orange glow lasted only a couple of minutes and increasing cloud cover prevented sharper pics but I was able to snap one more as it started to brighten right before the thunderstorm moved in.

 

[Ponyboy]

Fantastic. I hope you're bringing your equipment and talents to NSX Fiesta.

PMing you.

 

[mblomquist]

OMG that is a GREAT Picture !!! how the heck do you DO that? I try to get the moon and it is always overexposed.

I try to do infinity focus, spot metering and -4 stops on a tripod... I even tried some HDR and couldn't get a good one. You must have a 400mm lens+ or some serious megapixels for cropping.

I am a n00b with a Canon 7D... and I am looking for help Obi-won.. you are my only hope !

 

[RSO 34]

Fantastic. I hope you're bringing your equipment and talents to NSX Fiesta.

PMing you.

PM back at ya........

And, of course, I am bringing my gear to Fiesta (and NSXPO). The question is how much of it I will actually pack. That is always the big question mark on longer trips. I had 40lbs of gear on my back in the Galapagos but would like to lighten it up for Japan.

 

[RSO 34]

OMG that is a GREAT Picture !!! how the heck do you DO that? I try to get the moon and it is always overexposed.

I try to do infinity focus, spot metering and -4 stops on a tripod... I even tried some HDR and couldn't get a good one. You must have a 400mm lens+ or some serious megapixels for cropping.

I am a n00b with a Canon 7D... and I am looking for help Obi-won.. you are my only hope !

I do it handheld. I used a Canon 5d Mark II body equipped with a Canon 100-400L set at 400mm, ISO 400, F 5.6, 1/125th of a second. You are probably shooting a very slow shutter speed. The moon is a lot brighter than you realize and you can get away with 1/125th to 1/200th on the shutter and do a handheld shot fairly easily.

Although I didn't do it last night the ideal way would be to use the mirror lockup feature on your camera but I didn't have the time to take the extra steps. Plus the increasing cloud cover resulted in "soft" shots anyway so I was settling for what I could grab in less than ideal conditions.

 

[RSO 34]

Without cloud cover you can get a clearer viewing of the craters:

 

[mblomquist]

Thanks for the tips!! I am going manual and not using the evaluative metering then. I was probably at f/2.8 and I was getting DOF problems too.

OOO so much to learn.

 

[ChopsJazz]

I noticed that the moon was beautiful last night but didn't know the details. Thanks for posting.

And, nice pics!

 

[RSO 34]

Less cloud cover tonight.........

 

[docjohn]

I'm listening to Neil Youngs harvest moon as I stare at your moon Bob......

 

[steveny]

I posted this on another site just moments ago....

I'm sitting on my porch. It's a full... bright moon. The clouds are moving so fast it reminds me of a ride down a back road that is lined with tall shade trees and the sunlight flickers through the shade as I drive really fast.