madisonowens

The MOON

1st Quarter

1st Quarter
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Aug, 2016

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167

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+27

Awards

Action Award

Zenith Award

Top Shot Award 22

Creative Winter Award

Legendary Award

Member Selection Award

Outstanding Creativity

+22

Absolute Masterpiece

+11

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Peer Award

Superior Skill

All Star

Magnificent Capture

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

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Top 20 rank

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Top 10 rank week 2

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in my backyard on August 10th, 2016. It features a 1st Quarter Moon, or Half Moon.

Time

This photo was taken during the early to mid hours of the night. Even if i have a ton of lunar photos already saved, when the moon is out, I'm out.

Lighting

Lighting is very important in all photos, but if you have astronomical subjects, low lighting is best for those types of pictures.

Equipment

This was shot with a Canon Powershot SX60 HS, 1/25 , F6.5, and ISO:125.

Inspiration

Ever since I was a child, I have loved astronomy. I have loved any and everything about space. I was inspired to begin my journey back into astronomy when I saw the movie Gravity. Just seeing Earth more than normal touched me, at how beautiful everything up there is. I went on instagram and discovered the hash tag Astrophotography, and saw all these users taking amazing pictures with cameras and telescopes. I wanted to do things just like that. Even though I didn't know what I was doing at first, and i was very confused, I eventually practiced. Seeing Jupiter and its cloud bands, to Saturn's rings, I'm glad I didn't give up. It was a rough journey, I didn't even learn how to use a telescope until just a year ago. Since the Moon and space mean so much to me, the obstacles never became a cop out. I was determined to take beautiful photos, and when I received my Canon, I knew the journey was only going to get better.

Editing

I hadn't discovered astronomy stacking software yet, but these do really enhance the image. This was just taken with my Canon SX60, and edited on my Macbook Pro, and the Instagram editing section. My pictures are slowly developing and getting better the more I work with other forms of post-editing and processing!

In my camera bag

The one and only Canon Powershot SX60 HS. I like that this camera is easy to use, and it doesn't require a complicated learning process. Anyone can work this camera and develop good techniques, and learn new skills. This is an SLR camera, so I know that I only require that one lens. This camera may not be the fanciest, but it's strong enough to give me a fairly decent view of the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter. It is an amazing starter camera, and I recommend it to everyone. That is the main thing in my bag, followed by a tripod, and a lens wipe.

Feedback

ISO is really important. The lower, the better for taking moon pictures. Different settings can give you different results with ISO, but in my experience, using C1 OR C2 settings, I can choose my ISO, if I want the image to be vivid, colored, colorless, neutral, and I can choose the timer to take 3 shots after 10 seconds. You need a decent zoom on the moon, at least 85x to really get the camera to focus, and then you need to try to center your subject. A tripod is really helpful for preventing blur. The more you practice, the better it will become. Then you can start editing images and videos in astronomy software.

See more amazing photos, follow madisonowens

madisonowens

madisonowens

The MOON

1st Quarter

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow madisonowens

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