How to photograph the moon. Tricks with the moon. Five tips for shooting a "bloody" moon How to photograph the moon at night with a DSLR

Publication date: 11.06.2015

The moon is a beautiful and mysterious satellite of our planet. You can just admire her, or you can try to take interesting shots with her participation.

In this article, we will analyze the creative aspects of shooting a night luminary, learn how to make the most clear pictures, how to beautifully and expressively show the queen of the night in the frame.

What does a photographer need to know about the Moon?

Traffic schedule. The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth. As in the case of the Sun, the inhabitants of our planet can watch its sunrises and sunsets. It moves across the sky according to its own schedule and can rise both late at night and during the day. To take beautiful photos, you need to know this schedule.

Why does the moon glow? Moon phases. The moon or part of it begins to glow when the light of the sun is reflected from them. When changing the relative position of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon, the boundary between the illuminated and unilluminated parts of the Moon's disk shifts. Therefore, the illuminated part can grow or shrink.

Everyone knows that the moon can be full, or it can appear before us in the form of a crescent. There are eight key phases of the moon.

	New Moon: The moon is not visible.
	Young Moon (Waxing crescent).
	First quarter: half of the moon is illuminated.
	Waxing gibbous: More than half of the lunar disk is illuminated.
	Full Moon: The moon is fully lit.
	Waning Gibbous: more than half of the moon is illuminated; the illuminated area of the lunar disk gradually decreases.
	Last quarter: half of the moon is illuminated.
	Old Moon (Waning crescent)

The phases of the moon give only a general idea of how much of it will be illuminated by the Sun on certain days. For example, the first and last quarter will include both 70% of the illuminated area and 95%. Therefore, the area of the illuminated part of the Moon is often measured as a percentage of its total area. On a full moon, this is about 100%, and with a thin month in the sky, a few percent.

The size and color of the moon. big moon illusion. The surface of the moon itself is gray in color. Reflecting sunlight, it becomes yellowish. Also, the lunar disk can change its color due to the Earth's atmosphere (passing through the air column). Sometimes the moon rising above the horizon is painted in a bright red color, while it seems much larger. Note that this is the best time for a photographer to create beautiful shots with the moon.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f/4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 800, F8, 1/8 s, 400.0 mm equiv.

We plan shooting: choose the time, place and conditions

The first thing you need to decide is what phase of the moon you want to capture. Any lunar calendar will help you get acquainted with the schedule of the moon's movement in the sky. The ideal option would be special programs for photographers that track the movement of celestial bodies. It is convenient to use the TPE web application on a computer.

Please note: when it is deep night outside, and the Moon is high above the horizon, you can get boring shots of the lunar disk without any interesting plot or background. In my opinion, such photographs will be of interest only to astronomers. And they have already seen the lunar surface thousands of times.

In order to be able to fit the Moon into some kind of landscape, photograph it against the backdrop of a city, nature or clouds, it is better to photograph at dusk. Wait for the moment when the moon will rise or set (immediately after sunset or just before sunrise).

On the other hand, if you just want to shoot the moon against a black background, then it is best to photograph late at night in clear weather, when the moon is high above the horizon.

Shooting the Moon at dusk allows you to photograph it not by itself against a background of blackness, but to fit it into the surrounding reality.

NIKON D810 SETTINGS: ISO 100, F8, 1/3s, 400.0mm equiv.

From personal experience: either the full moon or a thin moon with less than 15% of the illuminated part looks most expressive in the frame.

It is important to choose the right shooting point. To capture an interesting shot, find a spot with a good view. The programs mentioned above will help determine where the moon will rise from. In the city, you can choose some kind of elevated point with a view of its attractions. In my case, they were the Ostankino Tower and the Picturesque Bridge. It is advisable to arrive at the shooting location in advance, because the rising moon "jumps out" from the horizon very quickly, so you will have very little time to shoot - a few tens of minutes.

Required photographic equipment

Let's make a list of photographic equipment that will definitely come in handy for shooting the moon.

Camera with manual settings

Shooting the moon is quite a challenge, so it's best to tweak at least some of the settings yourself. It is good if the camera has a wide dynamic range. This will help when shooting the Moon against the background of other objects - it will not be overexposed, and the background will not be too dark. SLR cameras are perfect for such shooting: both the simplest ones (for example, Nikon D3300, Nikon D5500) and advanced models (Nikon D750 or Nikon D810).

Also, compact hyperzooms (for example, Nikon COOLPIX P900) will be a good budget choice for amateur photographers. They have manual settings and such a zoom that DSLRs never dreamed of. The same P900 can give a magnification equivalent to a lens for a full-frame DSLR with a focal length of 2000 mm.

Lens

If you want to show the Moon in the frame large enough, then you need to use telephoto lens. The longer the focal length of the lens, the larger the Moon will be shown in the frame. The footage for this article was shot with a Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED AF-S VR Nikkor lens with a NIKON AF-S TC-20E III 2x teleconverter. The focal length in the photographs is 400 mm. A good compact and budget telephoto lens is the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f/4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 640, F8, 1/2 s, 350.0 mm equiv.

Don't forget: the longer the focal length, the more difficult it will be to get high-quality shots. But more on that below.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f/4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F7.1, 1 s, 110.0 mm equiv.

The moon can also be photographed with wide-angle optics. At the same time, in the frame it will not be so large, but in this case, you can show some kind of landscape in the photo with it. It is appropriate to use lenses with a focal length of about 35mm for a full frame or 28mm for a crop. That is, almost any universal or whale zoom lens is suitable for such shooting.

Tripod

If you want to get high-quality sharp pictures of the night star, then you definitely need a tripod. An exception will be shooting the moon during the day with standard or wide-angle optics. During regular hours (early morning or late evening) and at night, the moon is photographed at shutter speeds long enough for handheld photography (there may be a “stirring” from camera shake in the hands). If you are working with telephoto lenses with a focal length of more than 300 mm, then it is advisable to use a tripod even during the day. Otherwise, grease cannot be avoided. After all, the narrower the viewing angle of the lens (the closer it zooms in), the more the picture in the viewfinder will “shake”. When shooting with a telephoto lens, a tripod is needed to stabilize the image. It must be very powerful, able to reliably, without hesitation, hold the equipment.

Remote control

It will be a useful accessory when shooting with a tripod. The remote control is needed in order to avoid camera shake when pressing the shutter button. So we insure ourselves from getting blurry frames. If you do not have a remote control, you can set the camera to self-timer so that at least a few seconds elapse between pressing the shutter button and the actual shooting. If your camera, like Nikon D5200, Nikon D5300 or Nikon D7200, supports Wi-Fi remote control, then your smartphone can serve as a remote control.

Shooting options. Technical difficulties and ways to solve them

Rookie problem #1. "Shake" when shooting handheld. Beginning photographers hold the camera in their hands or on a flimsy, shaky tripod. And if they shoot with a telephoto lens (with a large zoom), they almost always get a blurry image. To shoot handheld with a large approximation, you need to greatly shorten the shutter speed. That is, when shooting with a telephoto lens, the maximum shutter speed should be shorter than 1/250 s. Sharp shots will help to get optical image stabilization. If your lens has a switch labeled VR, IS, or Optical steady shot, set it to ON.

How to calculate the maximum allowable shutter speed when shooting handheld is described in one of our lessons.

If you are a beginner and didn’t understand anything from the previous paragraph, since you only use automatic mode and scene programs so far, to photograph the Moon with a strong “zoom in”, select the Sport scene program - it guarantees shooting at a fast shutter speed. If you shoot the Moon in a general plan, without a strong “zoom”, you can use the “Night Landscape” scene program.

Problem number 2. The moon moves across the sky. How is shooting the moon different from other landscape photography? The fact that we shoot a very fast moving object. If you photograph it at a slow shutter speed, it will be smeared.

How to correctly determine the maximum shutter speed for shooting the moon so that it turns out clearly? Typically, shutter speed is determined experimentally by taking test shots. The general pattern is simple: the longer the lens you have, the faster the shutter speed is needed. Therefore, it is very difficult to photograph with super telephoto lenses - the Moon literally flies through the frame - have time to catch it. Exposure in this case will be required quite short.

Those familiar with astrophotography are aware of the "rule of 600" for determining the maximum shutter speed when shooting stars (if 600 is divided by the equivalent focal length, we get the optimal shutter speed in seconds). But when shooting the Moon, this rule will not work, because it moves through the sky faster than the stars.

To take a high-quality picture of the Moon with a telephoto lens, it is recommended to use shutter speeds faster than 1 s. If we take pictures with normal lenses, then the maximum shutter speed can be 2-3 seconds without loss of sharpness. Since we are photographing at relatively short shutter speeds in night or twilight conditions, the ISO will have to be raised. From my own experience, I can say that shooting the Moon usually takes place at ISO 400-800.

Problem number 3. Exposure adjustment and lack of dynamic range. We have already mentioned this problem: at night, the Moon is brighter than everything that surrounds it in the frame. Therefore, the photographer will have to choose - to show either the Moon or the surrounding landscape in the photo, greatly overexposure to the night star. When shooting at night, you will have to choose only from these two evils. The article has already seen illustrations of both situations. Let's look at them again:

The exposure is set to the moon. Its surface is not overexposed. However, I had to say goodbye to the heavens: in their place was blackness.

If you shoot at night with a telephoto lens, focus on the moon, show all the details on it. If you're shooting with a wide-angle lens, it's best to focus on the landscape.

To avoid such a choice, it is necessary to choose lighting conditions under which the contrast between the Moon and the environment is not so high. This is, first of all, twilight - the time when the moon is already beginning to glow, but not yet as bright as at night.

The dynamic range of the camera can be slightly expanded. This will keep more details of different brightness in the frame. If you shoot in JPEG, then Nikon has Active D-Lighting technology to expand the dynamic range.

Also, some cameras allow you to create HDR pictures (for merging multiple frames with different exposures). Remember that the Moon moves relatively quickly across the sky. And so that the final HDR image is not blurry, each individual frame will have to be taken at significantly faster shutter speeds.

How to determine the correct exposure when shooting the moon? I don't think anyone ever managed to get a perfectly exposed frame the first time around. In such difficult conditions, any method of exposure metering can fail. Always take test shots and adjust the exposure based on them, making the following shots either darker or lighter. Use the Live View screen, so you can see the future brightness of the frame right on the camera display. In order not to depend on the quirks of automation, it is best to shoot in manual mode, independently controlling all shooting parameters.

Easy to use exposure bracketing. This function will allow you to take several (from 2 to 9) frames with different exposure (brightness). From this series of shots, you can choose the most accurately exposed one and work with it. You can also merge your shots using HDR or exposure blending on your computer.

In conclusion, I would like to wish readers interesting shootings and bold photo experiments! Remember, the ability to take pictures does not end with the ability to press the buttons on the camera. You need to find interesting subjects for shooting and choose good conditions for photographing. Pay attention to preparation for shooting, planning. This is the key to successful shots.

High-quality photos of the moon are very beautiful, but sometimes getting clear pictures of it can be extremely difficult! To capture stunning moon shots, you need to have the right equipment and know how to set it up properly. As long as you know some basics, the moon may soon become one of your favorite subjects for photography.

Steps

Part 1

Choosing the Right Equipment

Use a quality camera. A cell phone camera won't let you take good pictures of the moon, they will be blurry and distant. It's best to use the best quality camera you can afford. The quality of the lens is even more important than the quality of the camera itself, so many cameras will be suitable for the task, as long as the lens is suitable.

Choose a lens with a focal length of 200mm or more. A long focal length indicates that the lens is capable of bringing distant objects closer. Buy a lens with the largest focal length you can afford. It is best if the focal length is more than 300 mm, but you can get good pictures at a focal length of 200 mm.

ADVICE OF THE SPECIALIST

Photographer

"Probably don't use a lens with a focal length of less than 55mm! This will make the moon appear smaller in your photos than you would like it to be."

Be sure to use a tripod. For photographing the moon, it is important to ensure the stability of the camera. Even the slightest camera shake can result in a blurry photo, so use a tripod. Choose a tripod with adjustable legs in case you need to set it up on an uneven surface.

Part 2
Choice of time and place for photography
Part 3
Photographing the moon

I saw a discussion of a photograph in which the silhouette of a cyclist was shot against the backdrop of a large moon. Many commentators considered it to be a montage (it is incorrect to assume that "montage" and "Photoshop" are synonyms). I'll tell you how to take such a picture and why this effect is obtained.

Everything is simple. For shooting a large moon, long-focus optics were used. The original post described that a 2x teleconverter was screwed to the 800mm lens, resulting in a 1600mm focal length. What does it give? Let's explain with simple diagrams.

A wide-angle lens differs from a long-focus lens in its field of view. So the new Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II has an angle of view at 24 millimeters of focal length (with a camera like Canon 5D Mark III) is 84, and at 70 millimeters - 34.3 degrees (59.1 and 22 degrees on cropped cameras like Canon 100D-70D, respectively). That is, your camera looks at the world like this:

By changing the focal length, you change the angular dimensions of objects in the frame in the picture.

Let's say we need to take a picture of a ball with a cube. The distance between the ball itself and the cube does not change with us - they are standing in a clearing. In order for the ball to take up most of the frame with a wide-angle lens, we will approach it as close as possible. What happens with the cube? It in the picture (on the right) turns out to be much smaller than the ball:

If we put a long-focus lens on the camera, then we will have to move away - the ball will not fit into the frame at close range, because the viewing angle of the "telephoto" is much smaller:

To be precise, the 800mm Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM that shot the cyclist has 3.1 degrees (!) on a camera like the Canon 5D Mark III.

And once you move further away, the angular dimensions of the objects in the frame... will also change! The object that was further away will look larger in the picture, and the further you move away, the larger the cube will appear relative to the ball. An interesting effect is even possible here: if the cube is initially larger than the ball, then when shooting with a wide-angle lens, it will seem much smaller than the ball, and when shooting with a long-focus lens, it will be larger and will protrude beyond its edges!

Now about practice. To photograph a large moon, you will need a telephoto lens, with which you need to move away from the subject that you wanted to photograph against the background of the satellite, as far as possible. On a SLR, you can take an inexpensive 70-300. And if you screw a two-fold inexpensive teleconverter to the 70-300, take a camera with a cropped sensor, then you will get 300x2x1.6=960 millimeters of focal length. Get a good distance away, mount your camera on a tripod, aim at the subject and the moon, set up and . And of course, don't forget to select the object you need in the frame "for scale" - it can be a building, a car or something else.

It is worth considering one more thing - the moon is usually visible at night, which means we have little light. It would seem that in this case it is necessary to do? Increase the shutter speed so as not to bully the ISO, especially the 70-300 lenses, and even with a teleconverter, are very dark. But this is wrong - the moon moves across the sky and it is impossible to photograph it with an exposure of several minutes, because it will be smeared, just like cars and moving people are smeared. With a focal length of about 1000-1500 millimeters, the shutter speed should not be longer than 0.5 seconds, when photographing at 300 millimeters, you can increase the shutter speed to two or three seconds, but no more. This means that in order to ensure such a shutter speed with the available aperture, you will have to raise the ISO. How much? Look at the situation, digital cameras allow you to deal with it quickly.

There is a third nuance. The moon reflects the light of the sun very strongly. Getting a properly exposed moon and a beautiful sky with clouds or stars at the same time is not easy. Here you can already resort to collage - shoot the moon with one shutter speed, and clouds and stars with other settings, and then add everything in Photoshop. Yet, as I have said many times, .

The last nuance: the moon low above the horizon seems to be several times larger than when it is high in the sky, and it is advantageous to shoot it at such a moment. This phenomenon is well described in Wiki. However, there is almost nothing about atmospheric lenses, and the moon does not seem very large every day.

It's somewhere like this. I tried to explain as simply as possible, I hope it worked out. By the way, my wonderful friend and hardened specialist in photography spoke well about the effect of focal length on perspective podakuni in our series of articles "How to take pictures with a mirrorless camera" on THG.ru. I recommend it to those who have not read it - there is a lot of educational program and theoretical foundations that can be applied when shooting with any camera.

Summarizing. This is definitely a montage:

Judging by the perspective, to get such a shot of a girl, you would have to use a wide-angle lens and shoot close. The moon in such a photograph would have to look like this:

And here is an example of shooting the sun at sunset. I photographed this on the way to Rybinsk:

EXIF on the picture is saved, you can see the shooting parameters yourself. The size of the sun in Photoshop did not change.

Of course, some kind of processing is often used in such pictures - the same increase in contrast, for example, to make the picture more dramatic, playing with white balance. But do not confuse processing, retouching and collage - any of these concepts fit into "photoshop", but these are fundamentally different things.

moon has always attracted people's attention. The mysterious distant planet has always been surrounded by clouds of myths, rumors and secrets. Sometimes lunar landscapes are so beautiful and expressive that even novice photographers uncover their simple soap dishes (or mobile phones) in the hope of capturing this miracle. Unfortunately, the results of such spontaneous filming are often more than depressing. In this article we learning to photograph the moon.

When is the best time to photograph the moon?

It's no secret that the moon can be seen even during the day. Sometimes a narrow sickle suddenly appears in a clear cloudless sky, sometimes a little more. But we will never see the full moon during the day. why?

Everything is very simple. To see the full moon, we must have the sun on the opposite side, that is, beyond the horizon. Therefore, we must have the night, or at least the evening. Photographing the moon during the day is not very interesting. She is dull, dull and expressionless.

On a dark night, the moon is the easiest to photograph. She is bright and clear. Since the sky around her is almost black, you don't have to worry about how to somehow convey its color.

The most interesting, but at the same time difficult to perform, are shooting the moon at sunrise or sunset at dusk. Usually, these are the most picturesque paintings. Imagine a quiet summer evening, all the work in the garden has already been completed, you look up from the garden and suddenly you see a large full moon above the horizon, bright and yellow, like a polished copper coin.

If at heart you are more of a photographer than a gardener, then you immediately wash your hands of the greasy black earth, grab your camera and rush out of the village to take this magical landscape against the backdrop of a forest, river or something else beautiful enough.

Indeed, if you know how to photograph such landscapes correctly, they turn out to be simply excellent.

My brother, the famous photographer Artem Kashkanov, shows
how to photograph the moon

How to photograph lunar landscapes

When shooting at dusk, all novice photographers have the same problem. I'm not talking about the fact that some shoot such landscapes in auto mode with a flash :)

We are talking about the fact that the Moon in the evening sky is a fairly bright object. If you set up your camera so that the evening landscape itself turns out well, then instead of such a bright and beautiful moon in the photo, you get just a white spot. If you shorten the shutter speed, then the moon itself will turn out very well, but the landscape will be very dark, barely visible.

Moreover, if a photographer sees a real landscape in front of him with a large and beautiful Moon, which you really want to photograph without stopping, then in the photo it usually turns out to be just a bright small dot.

What to do?

What is the best way to photograph the moon?

Alas, I would be the last scoundrel if I said that a beautiful lunar landscape can be obtained even using a mobile phone camera. At some stage in the development of technology, this will probably be possible, but now we need something more serious.

To photograph the moon, it is better to use a film camera with a telephoto lens. Why film? Everything is very simple. The dynamic range of film is noticeably wider than that of even professional digital cameras. So, in order to get a beautiful photo of the Moon against the backdrop of an evening landscape, take out your old Zenith, stomp to the store for film (sensitivity no more than ISO 100) and get a telephoto lens somewhere. Naturally, all this had to be done in advance, and not rush around the evening city in search of an open photo shop where they sell film.

However, it is quite possible to shoot the Moon on a digital SLR if you know how.

Here are some pictures I took from the balcony of my own apartment. On the example of these photos, you can understand what parameters should be set when shooting lunar landscapes. Photos are given without any computer processing.

Photo 1. Time 7:59. ISO 320, shutter speed 1/50, aperture 5.6, focal length 400mm.

Despite the fact that the sky was already bright, I had to make it darker due to a shorter shutter speed. Otherwise, a bright spot would have turned out instead of the Moon.

Photo 2. Time 8:09. ISO 100, shutter speed 1/30, aperture 4.5, focal length 100mm.

I hope you remember the rule: the lower the sensitivity, the less noise the matrix makes, the better the photo. In order to get the city, the shutter speed is increased. The result is obvious - the drawing on the moon is not readable.

Photo 3. Time 8:27. ISO 100, shutter speed 1/100, aperture 4.5, focal length 100mm.

As the sky gets lighter and lighter, it becomes possible to capture not only the image on the surface of the Moon, but also the landscape below it. If you slightly modify the "ground" in Photoshop, you get a quite tolerable picture.

Photo 4. Time 8:28. ISO 100, shutter speed 1/100, aperture 5.6, focal length 400mm.

This picture was taken almost immediately after the previous one. The only thing that has been changed from the settings is the focal length and, accordingly, the aperture. Note that as you get closer to the horizon, the outlines of the details on the surface of the Moon become more and more blurred, and the edges more jagged. This is due to the effect of "trembling" of the atmosphere.

Photo 5. Time 8:40. ISO 100, shutter speed 1/160, aperture 5.6, focal length 400mm.

The closer to the horizon, the bigger the moon appears. However, the less clear it is. We look at the Moon through a thick layer of air, which, unfortunately, is not as transparent as we would like. In this and the next photo, the sky and the earth are slightly "cropped".

Photo 6. Time 8:44. ISO 100, shutter speed 1/160, aperture 5.6, focal length 400mm.

And in conclusion, here is such a fantastic picture. If I had not seen the whole process, but accidentally cast my glance in that direction, I would have been quite surprised and would have wondered for a long time what kind of dome appeared on the horizon. After all, the details on the surface of the moon are now completely indistinguishable.

The closer the Moon is to the horizon, the faster its "fall" becomes. This is the moment when the photographer must be very attentive and capture the most interesting moments. For example, the passage of the Moon behind a pillar, etc.

The sun and the moon in the frame at the same time!

This photo was taken with an ordinary, and not at all a professional Canon EOS 300D digital SLR with the simplest kit lens. However, let's forget about the technical shortcomings of shooting for a second and be surprised: both the Sun and the Moon are present in the frame at the same time:

If I had noticed this situation earlier, when the sun had not yet completely set, the picture would have been even more interesting. Theoretically, there is nothing impossible for you to take such a photo. It is only necessary to properly calculate the date when such a combination will be possible, guess that the weather will be good and - forward.

How to photograph a lunar eclipse

If you become aware that a private event will soon take place, and even better, total eclipse of the moon, this is a great excuse to spend the night in nature, breathe fresh air and, at the same time, take great pictures. Photographing the Moon during an eclipse also has a number of secrets and features.

Of course, you understand that you need to arm yourself with a telephoto lens and a tripod. Most importantly, do not miss the moment of the beginning of the eclipse. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is a long process and, accordingly, it begins very smoothly.

Then it is worth filming all the phases of the eclipse, including the moment when only a narrow sickle remains from the Moon.

By the way, even during a total lunar eclipse, you can still see the dark part of the moon. It is visible due to sunlight passing through the earth's atmosphere and partially scattered by it. Your camera will see this especially well if you slightly lengthen the shutter speed:

Here it is worth paying attention again to the fact that the use of high-quality optics and a matrix can significantly affect the result. For example, take a look at this photo:

Then, in 2004, it seemed to me that this photo was quite clear and of high quality. However, I no longer think so.

David Noton, renowned landscape photographer and Canon Ambassador shares how to capture the longest lunar eclipse of this century.

On Friday, July 27, 2018, the longest lunar eclipse of this century awaits us, during which the Moon will turn blood red. This astronomical event will last for a total of 1 hour 43 minutes, starting from sunset and moonrise over Europe.

A lunar eclipse is a phenomenon when the Earth blocks the sunlight and the Moon is in its shadow. The moon will turn red due to an effect known as Rayleigh scattering (also called elastic scattering), where green and violet waves are sort of filtered out in the atmosphere.

It will be possible to see the "bloody" Moon from different parts of the continent, but in southeastern Europe the phenomenon will be longer, since there the satellite will be higher in the sky during the eclipse.

Canon Ambassador and acclaimed landscape photographer David Noughton shares five tips to help you capture this rare and unusual phenomenon.

Download dedicated apps

The position of the Sun in the sky at a certain time of the day depends only on the latitude of the point of observation and the time of year. However, with the Moon, things are somewhat different - its apparent movement across the sky is determined by the complex elliptical orbit of the Earth. Changes in the trajectory of the Moon's motion do not depend on the annual, but on the monthly cycle, which is why the time of the appearance of the Moon and its trajectory change so much.

Fortunately, you no longer need to fiddle with astronomical tables to calculate the movement of the moon - just download the application on your smartphone. For example, the Photographer's Ephemeris app will tell you the time of moonrise and set, its azimuths and phases; and the Photopills application provides detailed information about the position of the moon in the sky.

With the help of these two applications, I plan to shoot the "blood" moon in Dorset, England. I want to capture it in the first 15 minutes after sunrise, while it is still low in the sky - then I can capture some object on the horizon, such as a tree on a hill, to reflect the scale of a celestial body.

Use a telephoto lens

One of the main tasks that I will have to solve on July 27 is how to photograph the Moon so large that every crater on the surface riddled with asteroids is visible. Usually such problems are solved by astronomers with super-powerful telescopes. However, a telephoto lens with a focal length of about 600mm on a full-frame camera also makes for an impressive shot. I will be shooting with a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with an EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Ext. 1.4x.

Use a tripod

When choosing a frame, you will find that the Moon moves across the sky at an unexpected speed and it is surprisingly difficult to follow it through the lens. Since you will be using a long focal length lens, it is important to choose a stable tripod from which you can get the best possible shots. If you want to shoot handheld, keep in mind that the subject is located more than 384,000 kilometers away from you, and even with a fast shutter speed, the slightest movement will ruin the frame.

Fit the moon into the landscape

Don't forget composition. While detailed close-up shots of the Moon can be beautiful, they are essentially only of astronomical value. The Moon attracts me much more when it is part of the landscape or serves as a light source when shooting. It is quite difficult to achieve the latter, since the amount of light reflected by the Moon is small and, compared with it, the lunar surface itself turns out to be very bright. Until recently, night photography inevitably required very slow shutter speeds, but the amazing light sensitivity of cameras like the EOS-1D X Mark II and Canon EOS 5D Mark IV opened up a whole new world of night photography for photographers.

Choose a shutter speed that suits your subject

The Moon looks most expressive and natural in a landscape when it is surrounded by a slightly illuminated sky. Such pictures are realistic, they are full of charm and special mood.

In any shot taken at medium or wide angles, the moon will appear as a spot of light the size of a pinhead, but its presence will still be felt. She naturally attracts the eye, even if it seems to be an insignificant detail. Of course, you will need to find the right shutter speed: if it is too fast, then even when shooting with a wide-angle lens, only an ugly blurry trace will remain in the picture.

On a clear night, a good choice of shutter speed is a necessary condition for shooting the moon. A shutter speed of 1/250 s at f8 and ISO 100 (depending on the focal length) will help you avoid blurring and get a technically flawless shot. With a high-end camera like the Canon EOS 5DS R, you might even be able to see the twelve cameras that were left on the Moon by NASA astronauts in the 1960s!

About David Noughton

With many breathtaking landscapes and views from around the world, and multiple BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, David has been the best in his field for more than thirty years. At the age of 60, he is still traveling and photographing landscapes. In terms of equipment, Canon prefers the EOS 5DS R and EOS 5D Mark IV cameras and the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Thanks for the material