Moonset at sunrise
Full moon over lake at Cedar Hill State Park
Full moon over lake at Cedar Hill State Park
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Jun, 2016Views
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harrywatts_1901
June 02, 2016
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Behind The Lens
Location
From my house I could see how huge the moon was as it was setting, but it was too late for me to go take the shot. It seemed big only as it was crossing the horizon, so I waited til the next day. I figured if it seemed big as it was setting, it would certainly be just as big as it would rise (I'm no scientist). This way I would have time to drive to the chosen location, Cedar Hill State Park.Time
I woke up pretty early in the morning to drive up to the park, be able to find a good spot, set up my tripod and be ready for the moon to cross the horizon, since that's when it was at its largest appearance, but the best shots ended up being around 8am (I had expected 6 or 7am).Lighting
I had set up pretty early thinking I would not get a good shot if I waited too long, but I noticed that my shots only contained the moon and everything else was dark around. I wanted some sort of foreground to add some landscape, so I waited until the sun actually rose to give light to the water and sky. However I couldn't wait too long and let the sun rise too high and be so bright that it would washout the moon in the background ( I realized this because I continued taking shots until 9am, and even though the moon seemed big, it was fading in the sky.) So not too early and not too late when it comes to the right amount of light.Equipment
I have a Nikon D5200 and used my Nikkor 55-300mm lens.Inspiration
Just seeing the moon the night before in its full glory motivated me to look for the right spot and capture it.Editing
There are two main processing/editing I did for this shot. The main one was that I had to merge two shots together. The reason being that the location where the moon was setting against the lakeshore had no foreground other than the water, but to my right there was a tree almost submerged in the water which I thought would be the object I wanted in front of the moon but couldn't get both in the frame unless I jumped in the water (and although I love the water, I had no protection for my camera and was not about to risk damaging my baby). So I took a shot of the moon to my left and one of the tree to my right and merged them together using Lightroom. The second was adjusting contrast and lighten the exposure. The sky colors at sunrise are beautiful as is so it was a slight adjustment.In my camera bag
My usuals are my Nikon D5200 along with the two lenses I have: Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5 and my zoom lens Nikkor 55-300mm f4.5. I also carry a tripod and a notebook where I write notes for future photos like a spot or place I might want to come back to take a shot at a different time of day.Feedback
If you're like me, probably waking up early is not your thing, but just like anything else, when you want something you have to make some sacrifices. Getting your backpack ready the night before going on an early morning trip helps. This also includes planning, specially when it comes to the moon and sun. Choose your location ahead of time so that you're not at the last minute trying to look for the perfect backdrop or landscape and then that short window of opportunity goes away. Get there early enough, take as many shots, and enjoy the view!
