doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Hi all,</p> <p>I usually post in Classic Cameras, because most of my cameras fit into that forum best.</p> <p>But this time, I was using my Nikon D90, to photograph last night's eclipse.</p> <p>I almost didn't. I had no idea there was an eclipse, till just a few hours prior. Then another poster on P'net said that it wasn't worthwhile to shoot, with anything less than a 500mm lens, and my longest is 300mm. But then I figured "What the heck, I'll check it out...."</p> <p>Results below.</p> <p>Note 1:<br> I had to change the exposures as the night progressed. Haze thickened, cutting down on light. So I started with ISO-400, and ended with ISO-6400, before cloud cover cut off all visibility.</p> <p>Note 2:<br> This was my first epiphany using digital. The ability to change ISO speed, and to see the results, was critical in getting these shots.</p> <p>Enjoy.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Note too that these are not art, but decent snapshots. Printed, they wouldn't win any critiques here. But they do exist, and look good on a computer monitor.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Number 3...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Number 4....</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Number 5....</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Exposure 6...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Finally, a quick composite created in Paint, of all 6 stages.</p> <p>Cloud cover increased after the last shot, and I could not document any more.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelChang Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Very nice, Doug. It was completely cloud covered here so I missed it. Lucky for you and too bad for me that a solstice lunar eclipse won't happen again until December 21, 2485.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbcooper Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Nice sequence, Doug. We had no chance here - completely overcast.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_poel Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Doug, why not just change the shutter speed and mount it on a tripod? I have a D90 and once you start pushing ISO 3200 the noise gets pretty obvious. Just a thought. Nice sequence you have there - I was going to use my 70-300mm VR lens but we too had a completely overcast sky.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Thanks, all.</p> <p>Jay, I didn't have enough faith in my ball-head tripod with the zoom on there, plus it was cold out. Agreed the pics could be slightly better.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Double-post - my bad - delete.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclebuddha Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Jay, if you slow down the shutter speed, you blur the moon since it is a moving target! I was flying home from SLC to Louisville and tried like crazy to delay our takeoff so we could see the eclipse from altitude! Alas, we landed at about the same time the eclipse was starting and everything around here was completely overcast.<br> I like your composite. Nice effort. And nice that you figured out the magic of digital.<br> Mark</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_beisigl Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>As usual Doug great photos.<br> I live near San Diego, CA, and all we saw was rain, rain, and more rain, so we had no chance to see the eclipse.<br> A very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your loved ones Doug.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Thanks</p> <p>We were socked in from 2P on.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumble2113 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>I think you did a fine job.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_naumann Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>I'm on vacation in Florida, and it was a beautiful night for the eclipse. I did take some pictures, but unfortunately I only have the 70-200 kit lens. I think I am going to have a couple pictures that are going to turn out pretty decent. No, they're not going to win a prize but considering the lens they're not to bad. I will try to post one when I get home. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardsnow Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Great shots...I had my D300s and 300 f/4 all set up on a tripod ready for any break in the clouds, but alas I got snowfall instead... :(</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgredline Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Very nice. The best moon shots of the eclipse I have seen from this past event. :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Shafer Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Very nice Doug. I live just up the road from you in Bloomfield Township. I tried but failed miserably. I have a 600mm lens with which I've made nice moon pictures before, but this time, because the moon was so high in the sky, I had a horrible time even getting it in the frame. Kneeling or crouching on the cold, cold ground, looking up at the camera, the slightest touch moved the field of view like crazy. Between the time the eclipse started and when it was nearly total, I snapped two frames when I thought the lens was aimed at the moon, but both came out black. Either underexposed (I was guessing based on prior experience) or the rig had moved. As you say, the clouds covered everything up around totality. I gave up at that point and went to bed.</p> <p>Well done!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfz Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 <p>Shot this one 3:30 in the morning to complete Doug's sequence</p> <p>jf</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcama60 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 <p>Very nice sequence of shots. I could not resist and I could not miss it so I woke up and I took my picture. Hope you like it. </p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug grosjean Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 <p>Thanks, all.</p> <p>I may re-master the composite, to get rid of some of the noise in the black sky as I went higher and higher on the ISO settings.</p> <p>Thanks for sharing the two pics of the moon at totality! Since I had thickening haze and clouds, I'm curious - what settings did you use for the orange moon, to photograph it? At that point, it's in the Earth's shadow, correct?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfz Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 <p>it was windy, so I had to compromise and bump up ISO. For this particular picture, the setting was F5.6, ISO4000, at 1/16", on a tripod with mirror-up mode. Red/orange is the color of earth's shadow, because of the dusty atmosphere of our earth.<br> jf</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now