The End of the World -- Not; Lunar Eclipse 9-27-2015
I took 50 images, picked the best one for each of 6 stages, and composited them into a rough approximation of the moonrise. 300mm. Taken from Andover, Massacuse...
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I took 50 images, picked the best one for each of 6 stages, and composited them into a rough approximation of the moonrise. 300mm. Taken from Andover, Massacusetts.
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Sep, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this from the sidewalk near my house in Andover, Massachusetts.Time
To cover the evolution of the full lunar eclipse, I started shooting at about 8 PM and stopped about 10:30 PM. I shot approximately once every fifteen minutes.Lighting
My biggest problem was finding a spot near my house where no trees or houses blocked the moon, and no street lights were nearby.Equipment
This was shot with a Nikon 55-300mm lens at 300mm on a Nikon D7000, mounted on a Vanguard Alta+ tripod. I removed the filter from the lens to avoid reflections. The full stage of the eclipse was tricky to shoot as the moon and stars were moving and I had no tracking system, ruling out long exposures. I had to raise the ISO to compensate, and live with the noise.Inspiration
I shot this sequence for an Arcanum mentorship as well as for NASA's lunar eclipse project.Editing
I got the exposures right in camera and didn't have to post-process the six individual shots I used except for applying lens corrections. I composited all six images into a sequence roughly approximating the arc of the moon, in PhotoshopIn my camera bag
Depending on what I'm shooting, I have one or two Nikon bodies (usually the D7000, but sometimes a D5100 or F5) with lenses. My go-to lens for the D7000 is a Nikkor 18-200; for the D5100 is a Nikkor 40mm f/2.8 micro; and for the F5 is a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. For studio portraits if I'm not rushed, I sometimes use an old Nikkor 80-200 f/4, one of the sharpest non-AF lenses Nikon ever made. I usually have a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 in my go bag for indoor work without flash, and the 55-300 for birding and astro shoots, along with my filters, spare batteries, and a cleaning cloth. I sometimes bring a couple of Lensbaby lenses, a Nikkor 24mm, a Rokinon fisheye, macro gear, and a microphone in a second bag of specialty equipment. If I'm doing studio portraits, I bring a backpack full of Yongnuo speedlights and controller and small modifiers, a duffel full of light stands and umbrellas, and a Westcott Octabox. If I really need to, I'll bring another duffel with my backdrop frame, and whatever color backdrops I plan to use. Yes, I need to put all that in the trunk of my car.Feedback
Try to scout your location and sightlines ahead of time. An ephemeris (app or website) will help you figure out where the moon will rise and when the lunar eclipse will start, peak, and end. This kind of composite in Photoshop is as simple as they come, since the backgrounds are all black. Just load all the images into layers, change the mode of all but the base layer to Lighten, and adjust the positions of the images.
