Moon Over Washington

I was out shooting last night, for almost the first time since returning from Arizona (I've been busy). :-) So we're taking a short break from the Arizona images.

 

HELP!!! Please, someone, help me with exposing the moon in a shot like this ... I took a bunch of shots, tried all sorts of different exposures, and in all of them, the moon was over exposed, and the rest of the scene was underexposed. HELP!! What was I doing wrong??

HELP!! Please - I would love to have some input on how to expose a

night scene like this while not over-exposing the moon!! Any

suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

You know, even with the moon extra bright, this is still a very good image. It caught my attention immediately (and not by not being in AZ). I'm amazed at the clarity of the tree branches with the wind blowing the flag that strongly. The fluttering flag is excellent by the way, shows motion and livens the shot. I would think about removing the lights down in the trees though.

 

Ok, for your question about the moon.... NO idea except to email Simon Butterworth, the low-light master! My elementary approach would be to take two images and blend.... Mike

 

I think that I was so impressed with the wonderful detail in the contours of the surface of the moon that were visible last night, yet none of them came through in the exposure. I'll have to play some more with the RAW file..... Thanks for your visit!

Very nice night image with USA flag and obelisk!...Oh!..your flag now is more...important than Italian flag but, without doubt, our obelisks are better! Ha,ha,ha!!! Come in Italy and see! If you'll come tell me!...Ciaomauyouritalianfried!

 

 

 

 

Hey Lou Ann, Here is my 2 cents worth! I struggled for a long time trying to capture decent shots of the moon. It's a classic issue, in the old days, the camera light meters would see all the black around the moon and over expose. Finally, It dawned on me. The moon is like the earth during the day. AHHHH...the lights went off for me. So I ditched the meter and thought, ok, everyday exposure, bright light, sunny, 100 ASA, 1/125 of a sec at f5.6. Worked pretty darn well. So when your try and shoot the "sunny" moon and the night local sky, film or digital just does not have the latitude to handle the extremes. So heck, layer it in and you are done! It's a fine shot you have here! I enjoy the motion of the flag quite a bit! Regards, Doug.

Lou Ann, although this may not be what you wanted, i think it is a wonderful image!!!! i love the starburst coming from the moon, and the waving flag. sometimes it helps to step away from something i am working on and come back to it after a day or two. i don't think i would find this nearly as engaging if the moon were perfectly defined.

I understand that you want to learn how to expose this shot properly, but for not really knowing how to do it, you've done a pretty darn good job. I actually like the hazy blur around the mood. It balances the blur of the flag, which is very effective. I think it's a really cool shot.