That's the moon, Pet.
A few years ago, when myself and the missus had just started going out, on weekends, I'd take the train up to Belfast, where she'd pick me up and drive the few hours to Coleraine where she was studying. On one of these trips (I think it was) I saw a weird light in the sky in front of us - couldn't work out what it was.
I asked the (not yet) missus what it was. Having not seen what I was looking at, she said "That's the moon Pet." Well, I found it funny anyway - perhaps you'd had to have been there.
Anyway, like much of the rest of the population, I thought I'd have a go at taking a picture of last night's eclipse. I think it came out okay:
But Simon's are way better - the extra reach of his 600mm lens definitely helps here (mine were taken a 70-200 lens at 200mm)
Posted by Tim Foster on March 04, 2007 at 07:14 PM GMT #
How did you get such a great, up-close shot of the moon? It is by far one of the best I've seen. Would you inform me of the type/model camera you used? Also, did you shoot the photo through a a telescope? I used my own 10x Optical zoom camera and mine didn't even come close to looking like your beautiful shot. Thank you in advance...
~Susan
Posted by Susan on September 03, 2007 at 10:11 PM IST #
Thanks Susan, that's very kind. The above is a crop from an image taken with a Canon 10D, using a Canon EF 70-200mm f4L lens, at f5.6 with an exposure time of 1.6 sec at ISO200. I didn't use a telescope, I just posted the centre of the frame to make the moon appear larger.
The trick when doing any sort of photography like this, is to use a tripod - preferably a big, heavy one! Anything to keep your camera steady when using a long zoom lens.
Then it's just a case of experimenting around with your aperture and shutter speed settings till you work out what looks right (I recommend Basic Photography, by Michael Langford, if you're interested in the theory). At the end of the day, you can get excellent pictures from just about any camera - just takes a bit of experimenting - it's who's behind the lens that counts!
More (humbling) lunar eclipse photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/lunareclipse/
Posted by Tim Foster on September 04, 2007 at 09:15 AM IST #
Thank you so very much for your prompt reply to my question (smiles)! I never knew that I could develop such a passion for photography as I have over the past year. Your info helped me very much. I also viewed your photos at Flickr and they are absolutely gorgeous (smiles)! Thanks again for sharing requested info and have a terrific week (smiles)!
Regards,
Susan
Posted by Susan on September 04, 2007 at 11:24 PM IST #