Shot from my front porch this evening. Handheld, propped on the porch railing.
The full cold moon, also known as December moon, is unusually large and bright. It happens when the moon is closest to the earth. According to The Farmers’ Almanac, it is also called the Long Night Moon because the moon is above the horizon for a long time.
Here’s the larger crop (it’s off-sized because I wanted to crop out the porch overhang). It’s also ever-so-slightly lighter.
Which one do you prefer?
The first but that’s because I think it looks more natural to me when it’s just a bit off center.
Wow – I love both. I think the second that is a little lighter and cropped is my favorite. I’ve always tried to capture the moon with a camera just for fun, but I’ve always had a dinky camera so of course it was like a dot in the sky. An Amazing December Moon! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, that is an amazing photo! I love the deep navy blue of the sky. Great Job!
Oh, my favorite is the first one.
I waffled about which one I liked best…I like the off center of the first but the lightness of the second.
If I have to pick, though, the first – the clouds seem to reflect more and it is a more “relaxing” composition.
Gorgeous – both of them!
Not sure if you saw the info that not only is this the “Long night moon”, but this is the closest the moon has been to the earth in 15 years and that it coincides with a full moon is incredible.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article5327206.ece
We are having a little blizzard thing here and were completely socked in :( !
Amazing pictures!!
I prefer the first one, too, although I would have cropped just a little tighter, with the moon higher in the frame.
I meant to go outside yesterday, to take pictures….. I was even going to dig my tripod out, but then I got sidetracked and completely forgot.
Another vote for the first shot!! I was going to take the SX10 outside last night to try out a moon shot, but chickened out at the last minute! ;)
Fabulous photo!
I think you should slightly lighten the first one and call it a day!
Why on earth would you ever consider getting another camera?
The saying around here when, for example, somebody is considering a new set of golf clubs to “improve” their game is; “it’s the Indian, not the arrows”
Well done one more time! You certainly make your present one sing.
The first one is my favorite (you know how I like your pictures in portrait)……
I sure tho’t of you when I walked outside last night…. You must have heard those thoughts because I was hoping you would post a moon-shot picture….and you did!
I was going to try to take one but the clouds were covering the moon most of the night making it fuzzy looking.
Thanks for sharing!
I like the off-side one……I always like those shots better than the centered ones. If it weren’t so darn windy here tonight, I’d be out trying to shoot the moon too……but the wind would blow my camera from Oklahoma to Nebraska tonight.
Wow, I can’t believe you hand-held that. I took a picture of the moon that night too, but I was out there setting up my tri-pod – between the balancing of my telephoto lens and my own shivering there is no way I could have hand held the shot.
I’m not sure which shot I like better. They are both beautiful. Did you get outside earlier in the evening when the moon was lower in the sky and the sky still had a hint of blue? I think they sky color you captured here really sets of the moon spectacularly.
I really do believe I like the first one better. But both are just breathtakingly beautiful! You are one amazing photographer. I tried getting a shot of that gorgeous
moon on Friday night, but I have tall houses to my east and by the time it got up over them, the tree branches were very much in the way. And as I was freezing my you know what off, I didn’t go out later!
Would you very much mind to share your settings for us? I also shoot with a S5 IS.
I’m going to try to get a moonset early in the morning – I have a clear view to the west. What settings would you suggest for that? I guess if it’s still dark here they would be the same – which it will be.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Well, I guess it’s just about unanimous. :) I liked the first one too, but was just incredibly attached to that orange sky that I was hesitant to crop even part of it out.
I think I’ll try what Ricki suggested and just slightly lighten the first one.
Karma, that was handheld with a bit of cheating. I rested it on the porch railing. But I had to tilt it upward, so I was trying very very hard to keep it steady.
Sarah, that’s a two exposure composite. I took one shot that was exposed properly for the moon, then a next shot with a longer shutter speed that was exposed for the orange sky. Combined the two and cleaned up the composite in Photoshop, which produced a shot that was just about exactly what I saw from my porch.
I could have probably experimented with bracketing (Function –> Bkt –> AEB in the Canon S5) to achieve the same effect, or used a graduated neutral density filter (if only I had one). But I wasn’t about to spend any extra time outside with the cold wind whipping.
I haven’t tried shooting a moonset. I would say try different exposures too, and if it’s dark out, then the same tips for shooting the moon at night should apply too.
Hi Hut,
Ditto what Shreweld said…you don’t need any other camera. You can save your money!
They are both exquisite but I vote for the cropping on the first one.
The first one. Sigh. Gorgeous.
I prefer the composition of the first one with the off center moon. It is much more interesting that way and takes your eye through the whole picture. It is beautiful!!!!!