Moon Over Vinton
f/20, 2″, ISO-100, 105mm
This looks like a photoshopped work because the moon isn’t really that color. In this case, though, it was precisely that color. Where I live we are in the midst of a drought (which is becoming more serious by the day – I’ve mowed once since the end of May). One of the results of such dry land is a lot of dust hanging in the air like haze, and it does interesting things to the early-evening moonrise.
I knew something like this would happen, and my mind raced feverishly with what possibilities existed for a foreground to put the moon in front of. No matter how large or unusually-colored, the moon by itself is kind of an uninteresting subject. It’s only by placing it in an environment that it becomes a good photograph.
I had a couple of ideas, but for one reason or another they fell through, so in a last-ditch effort of creativity, I got up on the roof of one of the taller buildings in town and decided on a city scape of the small town I’ve lived in for 30 years.
I’m not convinced this is one of my better efforts, but it was at least more challenging than it might appear to get this shot. The roof I was on wasn’t nearly as stable as I was planning on, and there was enough of a breeze at 9 MPH to give the camera some issues with stability. Since I was going for a tight aperture (for DOF) and long exposure, any vibration was an issue, and many of the shots came out blurred. This one isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough.
great clarity :)
Looks good…I’ve never had a moon shot turn out myself.
In this case it helped to get it in the early evening with a haze in the air. It’s not so bright that it loses detail when you shoot it. Otherwise, the only solution I’ve really found is to take a shot with your settings for the moon, then take a shot with your settings for the scene, and Photoshop the one onto the other.
I agree with the guys.
I think it turned out great. Glad you didn’t slide off the roof. We get colorful moons like this when we have forest fires in the area. Fortunately we haven’t had any in our area yet this year.
Hah! The ladder to reach the roof was a greater challenge than sliding off the roof itself. In addition to spiders, I am deathly afraid of heights, and the roof access ladder was like climbing a wet noodle. I will do things for photographs I would not consider attempting for any other reason.
Thank you for visiting and the like of my interpretation of Illumination in the Weekly Photo Challenge.