garygulakowski
FollowAirplane passing in front of Super Moon 11-2016
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Photo was taken in Centennial Colorado, just south of the Cherry Creek Recreation area. We drove out to an area where there was limited lighting from street lights and traffic.Time
We had gone out in the early evening to watch the Full Moonrise. November 13, 2016, approximately 17:55 Mountain Time.Lighting
Taking pictures of the Moon can be difficult to say the least. Most think that because it is dark outside that you have to have a long exposure or a sensitive ISO. We had been taking pictures for a while since the moon rose over the horizon and had been experimenting with camera settings. The Moon is actually quite bright so you don't need to use the higher ISO settings. This photo was taken at 1/125 shutter f 6.3 ISO 200.Equipment
This photo was taken using a Nikon D3000 with Tamaron 150-600mm lens mounted on a tripod. I was also using a remote control shutter release so as to minimize possible movement of the equipment when pressing the shutter button.Inspiration
It was a photo of opportunity. We had been taking pictures of the Moon rise. We were talking about packing up and going home then everything fell into place. There had been other airplanes in the area, but their flight path and the path of the moon never really lined up. For a brief moment everything fell into place. The Moon was moving, the airplane was moving and there was only a short window to shoot as many frames as possible. I captured 6-7 images before the airplane was below the moon as a result of the moon continuing to rise and the airplane maintaining its flight path. Everything in the shot was moving except the camera and both subjects were very far away.Editing
Post processing was done through Picassa. Original photo was cropped to enlarge the image. Then I sharpened the image using the basic sharpening tool in Picassa. With both subjects in the image moving and the relatively slow shutter speed there was only so much that could be done before the image started to become distorted.In my camera bag
Will normally carry another Nikon D3000 with a Tamaron 16-300mm lens. Nikin D3000 with the Tamaron 150-600mm lens. I purchased the extra body so I wouldn't have to keep changing lens'. Will carry a Manfrotto mono pod and my old tri-pod and a wireless shutter remote to reduce camera movement when using the long lens.Feedback
As I mentioned previously, the moon is very bright and it is moving faster than you think. Be prepared to take a lot of test shots and bracket your ISO, and shutter speed to get the best combination of settings. Also, pay attention to the rest of the environment. There will be planes, birds, stars and any number of unsuspected items that can and will appear in frame while you are shooting. I heard the plane and saw it approaching from the lower left of frame. Since you have no control over the moon or the plane you just have to be ready to shoot shoot shoot when everything lines up.