Advice for shooting into full moon..?

[Buffalo]

I'm currently blessed with living out in the Aussie bush. The skies can be bonkers and at the moment it is a full moon. On my property I have beautiful gum trees that the moon climbs through, which I would love to try and capture.

It is bright enough out there to see for miles, so why can't I seem to get the camera to do what I want..? Any ideas/ hints/ tips for shooting on such a night..? I have a D80, 18-200VR and a very sturdy Manfrotto...

Thanks

[daver777]

watch out for hairs growing on your palms and pointy teeth.
also maybe have a go at a HDR image? is the problem light related?

[GetCarter]

If you post a 'fail' we might be able to offer some tips.

[Colin RedGriff]

Have you got an example with the camera settings you used?

[Buffalo]

Sorry just waiting for them to upload to Photobucket:





I just took these after looking at some of the shots in the nighttime picture thread - 8" f5.6 ISO 400. There is a sun(moon?) spot which is annoying, but I was shooting direct at it, and I am just messing at the moment so I am not too bothered about that - having said that, can I avoid it whilst still shooting direct..?

What I want to do is try and faithfully reproduce the light that is out there right now. You know the sort of night where it is clear as can be and the moon is the brightest you have ever seen it - you can literally see for miles.

Edited by Buffalo on Thursday 3rd December 12:51

[GetCarter]

OK... your problem is that the moon is very bright, so the camera will show everything else as very dark. I assume you have the facility to 'spot meter'? If so, then looking straight at the moon will make the very dumb camera understand that it needs to expose for the moon, not the whole picture. Thus the rest of the image will be brighter. It's always going to be tricky, but thats where you should start.

As for the ghost image... the more elements in your lens or filters stuck on the front, the more problem you'll get. Easy to photoshop out though if they bother you.

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 3rd December 13:24

[daver777]

yup, what he said. again, can be fixed with HDR. just do the auto bracketing thing, 3 identical shots, then combine in photoshop. or send to me and i will combine them if you dont have PS.

[tegwin]

daver777 said:

yup, what he said. again, can be fixed with HDR. just do the auto bracketing thing, 3 identical shots, then combine in photoshop. or send to me and i will combine them if you dont have PS.

Or use some big fill flashes?

[beano500]

GetCarter said:

.... expose for the moon, not the whole picture. Thus the rest of the image will be brighter.

¿Que? Have you been sniffing that Scotch air again? Or do you mean [rest of image] darker?

[GetCarter]

beano500 said:

GetCarter said:

.... expose for the moon, not the whole picture. Thus the rest of the image will be brighter.

¿Que? Have you been sniffing that Scotch air again? Or do you mean [rest of image] darker?

Apologies... head up arse - spot metering will expose the moon correctly, but will NOT make forground brighter. I should engage brain before keyboard!