Well, what an unbelievable week we had here on earth with the SUPER BLUE BLOOD MOON happening on January 31, 2018. In Southern California, the glorious spectacle was available with clear skies from 6 AM to 7 AM. First on January 30th, we witnessed a beautiful super moon rising. I love watching moon rises especially since moving to Southern California. The images below include the moon rise on January 30th and then the blood moon, lunar eclipse and its setting on the 31st.
TIPS for capturing the moon in any of her phases:
1. A DSLR. The smartphones cannot capture the details of the moon and also for enlargements and prints you will want a larger lens.
2. A sturdy tripod. Tripods help with overall stability and are very important for landscapes especially during these low light exposures and dealing with a large, bright object like the moon.
3. A zoom lens -- up to 500 mm will work. These were taken with a 300 mm. The zoom lens is able to capture the features of the moon such as the craters and the actual scale of it.
4. Have your DSLR on 400 ISO. Sometimes with the moon moving fast as it rises, 400 ISO for that time works well. For your aperture, F8 or F11 is usually the best focus for landscapes in this situation. Each lens is a little different in that regard. For these types of photographs, you generally want everything in focus. The best depth of field for everything in focus usually lands around F8 or 11 (or possibly 16). However, testing out your lens with the different f-stops will help determine what works well.
5. With your camera on the tripod, use a self-timer for steady exposure and minimal hand-shake or use a manual/wireless clicker. The reason is that the less we touch the actual camera on the tripod, the clearer the image. Some cameras also have a mirror lock-up which ensures more clarity with your images. The mirror lock-up might be located in the custom functions on your camera. So be sure to check there. The reason for mirror lock-up is that the mirror will already be in the 'up' position when you use your shutter and therefore less vibration happens. Less vibration on your camera will ensure clearer images especially when using a tripod.
6. Experiment and have fun with it! The moon is so fabulous and should be photographed often.
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