January Moonrise #4

Tonight's moonrise over Monterey Bay. Comments welcome.

Kurt,

Love the stars, that moon is a lot better...even at f/6.3, and the warm city lights are icing on the cake. There does seem to be a little bit too much foreground. I think the ultimate comp here would be to anchor the image by placing that great rock in the bottom right corner, and have the moon more set in the upper left portion of the sky...kinda counter balancing the comp. This would be an A +++ image if you did that, and perhaps pulled off a little more of a moon star. Heck, maybe even f/11 would do it here.

I did some experiments last night, and you are right that naturally f16+ will give a pronounced star pattern. I pondered the foreground issue and experimented some with ways to bring out more star details. You have some really great WA shots that lead the eye from FG to BG. 24mm might not be WA enough, and this FG is unfortunately broken by a shadow. Maybe tonight I will get one more chance to play around. It's amazing how quickly the moon rises and things change (like the tide)! Thanks for your input.

Kurt, I think Rick brings up some good points. Keep pursuing this, I think your on to something. - Sean

Nice exposure control; i like composition too.

hey kurt - i'd copy the opinions of rick and sean re: the extra foreground. but, yeah, you've got a great mix of colors and the lights and warm glow across the horizon are stunning. also, having those rocks to break up the moon beam reflection is great.

Thanks, Andrew. Another of my photos has a comment about there being "a lot of foreground to contend with" but for some reason I am drawn to this mode. Let me ponder your kind comments. In this image, I felt the blue sky approximately balances the warm beach foreground. Then, the rock balances the moon in a kind of symmetry that appeals to me in a mathematical way. There are some lines also, but they are less consequential. Anyway, I am here to learn the art of photography, so if I am approaching this incorrectly, I need to learn. I really appreciate your feedback.

It is  magical and an excellent  beautiful image. Congratulation Kurt.

 

Cheers;  bela