Moon Light Photography

The following are a collection of notes taken when I first began to work with moon-light photography. When the moon is out one can take long exposures (based on the phase of the moon) and capture the landscape as it would appear during the day, but with stars in the skies:) I hope the following will be helpful to you...I continue to learn/fine tune my moonlit landscape photography.

A trip to East Texas on September 20, 2002 provided me with an opportunity to play with exposures for my Leonid 2002 trip, where myself along with some friends were hoping to photograph Big Bend at night.

This particular mission dealt with gathering exposures when taking photos of a landscape lit by the full or nearly full moon. In addition notes were taken on the sky itself.

At 9pm my mission began. Dew was already forming on the ground The moons light danced upon the dew creating a starry sky of its own. I took a deep breath enjoying the view to the fullest. The starry skies above me and the dew like a thousand glittering diamonds at my feet:)

September 20, 2002
Exposure Test

Astronomical Data:

Mission Time: 9pm-10pm

Lowest Star Magnitude observed 5

Moon at 98.3%

9pm Moon approximately 30 degrees above the horizon. At 10 the moon approximately 40 degrees above the horizon.

November 18/19, 2002
Leonid Meteor Storm

Astronomical Data:

Mission Time: About 11pm-6:30am

Moon at 97.1%

At 3am the moon will be about 30 above the horizon.

Camera Equipment: Minolta X-700, Shutter Cable Release, Tripod, 28mm Lens, 50mm lens
Film Used: Fuji Supra 400ISO

September 20, 2002
A cool front had come in the previous night, yet there was still a good deal of moisture in the air. With the moisture in the air the moons glow is more abundant. This night the light from the moon at 9pm stretched out to just over my head. I took note of the stars in the sky. I found Cassiopeia, which was under the heavy influence from the moon, and observed Zeta Cassiopeia, a magnitude 3.66 star. Then Lambda Lyra , magnitude 4.93, which was just overhead. A star in Aquila became my faintest object detected with the unaided eye, this star was at a magnitude of 5.23.

I began my exposures using a new exposure calculator I bought online from FotoSharp. The settings suggested by this exposure guide was a fairly good

basis for beginning my bracketing.

Big Bend 5.6 for two minutes on 400ISO FujiSupra
East Texas full moon		East Texas Full moon

Additional Helpful Links regarding Landscapes by the Moonlight.

Dan Heller is full of helpful exposure information and awesome photographs.	Interesting site by BinBooks
Moonlit Landscapes	Bill Sharpsteen Moonlit
No hints here, but good pics K.Goekjian	Moonlight