This was my second photo from the evening when I got my first close-up of the moon with the new lens… of the last year, this is probably my favorite photo I’ve taken. I love the clouds that open around the moon. The coloring and feel of them remind me of NASA images of nebula.
Ironically, it’s not uncommon for me to edit some clouds into various landscape photos that I’ve taken, when nature doesn’t cooperate, but in this case, the main image was the clouds. The moon was right where you see it, but to get the clouds to show up, I had to use a long enough exposure that the moon’s details weren’t visible – it was just a solid bright light. So, this is a composite image, with a second shot of the moon (taken the same evening) edited in place to allow the detail to be visible. I knew when I was taking the photos what that plan was, as I couldn’t figure out how to capture the way the evening looked. To just stand there looking up was impressive, and it’s sometimes difficult to capture the feeling of moments like that with a camera. I was very happy with this result.
Download: Mooning_the_Clouds-Asgard_Photography_IMG_4282.jpg
Camera Settings
F-stop: f/22
Exposure: 1/4 seconds
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 150mm