Chris Lane Photo

Supermoon! photo tips

Chris Lane — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:15:53 +0000

I understand astronomers hate the term “super moon” (they prefer perigee-syzygy I guess!), but it is rather fitting when the it applies. We had the occurrence happen a week or two ago and I had no idea about it until I saw it out my window. What the supermoon is, is when the full moon combines with when the moon is closest to the earth in it’s cycle. Thus, it looks larger than usual, by about 14% and 30% brighter according to Wikipedia.
So of course I went outside to take a few photos. I attempted to do some HDR, which in my normal sense of editing didn’t work. I’m not sure why. But I took the photos and edited them together anyway, and resulted with this.

This one is fairly heavily edited, but to be honest I wasn’t really set out properly to take a really great photo. There are a few things when taking photos of the moon that you need to take into mind, especially if you plan on doing HDR shots.

Tripod!

This is primarily for the HDR aspect, because if you take multiple frames you want all of your elements to be in the same position. I was doing my best to hand hold and lean against the window of my pickup while taking my shots and they resulted in sub-standard images.

Time

The best time to take a photo of the moon and reduce your editing is at dusk before the sky gets dark. This is because the contrast between the brightness of the moon and the darkness of the sky will be too great. This results in bleeding over of the moon light or way over exposed moon. This tip actually is best for fireworks, christmas lights, and most other night scenes as well (except of stars).

Shutter Speed

It is best to have the fastest shutter speed you can afford to get a decent contrast of the moon’s face. This is because the moon moves through the sky surprisingly quickly. (2288 miles per hour is, you know, kinda quick I guess) Combine this with my previous tip for best results of course. Your shutter speed will particularly depend on how long your lens is. The longer the lens, the shorter shutter speed required. This is because it contracts the amount of sky that is seen through the lens and makes the speed appear to increase. Alternatively, a wide angle will allow a slower shutter speed.
Also, the lower ISO you set on your camera, then the longer your shutter speed will be. For night shots, you can try using the highest ISO you can without your camera creating too much noise. Unfortunately, my camera (Canon 40D) starts getting noise around 800ISO and I was shooting these at 1600ISO to keep my shutter speed high.

Composition

With any night sky (or really any sky shot) it is best to have something on the ground to show for comparison. In my photo above I used my granary (often depicted in my photos). In the photo below it is just some spindly tree branches. I think the granary is much more successful, to be honest. But usually the worst composition is when there is nothing else in the photo. Sometimes close up shots of the moon can be cool to see the details in the face, but the viewer can’t ground themselves and relate to the photograph. Ground objects also add to the effect of size of the moon. The higher it is, the smaller it will appear.

I hope these tips help you in your next night scene photo shoot. If you liked this, why not share it on twitter, facebook, or any other places? It really helps me out and could potentially help out another photographer. Also, please subscribe in the left column to get more tips on making great photographs.

These posts may also interest you

Tips on photographing fireworks that pop I recently went to the local county fair where I shot a number of photos...
I was so creeped out taking this photo Today’s photo comes from one of the creepiest basements I have been in. This is...

Photo manipulation collaboration extravaganza!

Chris Lane — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:05:42 +0000

I recently approached a number of twitter photography friends about doing a small photo collaboration. The idea was, I will take a photo and everyone, including me, would edit or manipulate it in any way they desire. I left total creative freedom to the editors. Here they all are in thumbnail view together:

So I actually took a small group of photos for an idea I had a little while ago. My idea was sort of a reverse sunrise behind the character, rising darkness instead, in an almost graphic way. I increased the size of the crow and the dog as well as many other color, contrast, and other stuff. I ended up adding darkness tentacles as a later idea, still not sure if I like that part or not. To add to the disturbing nature of the photo, I added in contrasting clouds that are actually upside down. Though not immediately noticeable, the unnaturalness of this makes the viewer slightly on edge. My image is just below:

I can’t say what went through everyone else’s heads when they did their manipulations, but I definitely loved doing this. Below you will see all the other images at 650px wide (I wish I could show them larger, but these are the restrictions of my blog design) along with their name, twitter name and web address.

Chris Nitz
@chris_nitz
http://www.chrisnitz.com/

Chris Maskell
@ChrisdMRF
http://500px.com/chrisdmrf
(I also did an interview with Chris)

Chris Deutscher
@christopher_odd
christopherodd.com

Jeremy Cupp
@JeremyCupp
http://www.jeremycupp.com

Leslie Moroney
@lamcreate
www.lamcreate.com
(I also did an interview with Leslie)

Eje Gustafsson
@macahan2000
straylightdata.com

Reem M
@reemistry
http://500px.com/Reemistry/

Loc Lam
@yaadayaada
locnessdesigns.com

Don’t ask why there are so many Chris’ in the list, it’s a coincidence, I swear! Anyway, sound off in the comments. What do you think of our experiment? Do you have a favorite image out of the group? I’d really like to do this again, and actually I already have an idea of what to do. Please subscribe so you don’t miss anything!

These posts may also interest you

How I got urinated on during a photo shoot I don’t generally consider myself a newborn photographer, but as my son was recently born,...

Snow on film

Chris Lane — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:42:49 +0000

I still occasionally shoot film. I love the mystery of it, the imperfections of it, the warmth and feel of film. I love analog. I still use my Minolta X-700 that I have had for many years to shoot 35mm. This winter I shot a number of scenes that I would like to share. These are generally unedited, though I did some minor dodging and burning. These are things I could do in a tradition dark room, though in this case I did the edits in photoshop. I intend on having a traditional darkroom in my studio, but that will be a few years down the line.
This is a repost from a fellow blog I co-run called No Megapixel, that is exclusively for film photography.

Enjoy the photographs and as always, let me know what you think.

These posts may also interest you

Horror movie photography With Halloween coming up at the end of the week, this is the perfect time...

Postcard giveaway winner

Chris Lane — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:37:01 +0000

Congratulations to Loc on winning the set of 100 postcards from PrintRunner! Better luck next time to the other entrants, and remember to subscribe to get a chance at my next giveaway. These posts may also interest you Giveaway winner Congratulations to Melanie on winning the set of 100 postcards from Uprinting.com! Better luck next... [...] These posts may also interest you

Giveaway winner Congratulations to Melanie on winning the set of 100 postcards from Uprinting.com! Better luck next...
Postcard giveaway! I was approached by the company PrintRunner, a printing services provider, about doing a giveaway....
Another great giveaway! I was approached once again by the great folks over at Giveaway Blogs about doing...

Snowy wonderland

Chris Lane — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 03:23:11 +0000

These photos for today were taken on the 4th of February at my home shortly after and during a wonderful snow dusting. The first photo is when a shaft of light hit only the trees in the distance lighting them up brilliantly. I will just let the images speak for themselves. Despite how much I love these images of winter’s wonder, I can’t wait for summer!

These posts may also interest you

Dreaming of summer Lately I have been dreaming a lot of summer to come. I have been looking...

Postcard giveaway!

Chris Lane — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:05:17 +0000

I was approached by the company PrintRunner, a printing services provider, about doing a giveaway. Up for grabs is a set of 100 postcards for one lucky recipient. This is only available to US residents over the age of 18.

Some details:
Postcard Size : 5×7
Quantity : 100
Colors : 4/0 Front Only Printing
Paper : 14 PT. UV Coating on Front
Rounded Corners : Yes
Proof : None
Ready to Ship In : 4 Business Days

These would work great as postcards, advertising mailers, promotional pieces, invitations, you name it.
For an example of what you can get, here is an image from the sponsor:

So what do you have to do to win some print postcard goodness? There are multiple chances at winning. Entries will be accepted until midnight April 12th. If you are interested in having one of my photographs printed on the postcards, get in touch. Normal fine art prints are also always available here.

To Enter

For each of these things you will get an entry (do all of them and you get five chances at winning!). I will choose the winner using random.org on the 13th of April, 2012. So enter now!

1. Comment on this post
2. Follow me on Twitter here and Tweet this message: ” I entered @chrislanephoto #giveaway for a set of free postcards. http://bit.ly/CLPwin6 ”
3. Share this link through facebook (and let me know you did): http://bit.ly/CLPwin6
4. Subscribe via email to this blog.
5. “Like” my Chris Lane Photo page on facebook here.

Good luck! and it would be a good idea to subscribe so that you will see when I have the next giveaway.

I do have to note as a disclaimer, this giveaway is sponsored by PrintRunner, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards of a similar sort for hosting the giveaway.

These posts may also interest you

Another great giveaway! I was approached once again by the great folks over at Giveaway Blogs about doing...
Giveaway winner Congratulations to Melanie on winning the set of 100 postcards from Uprinting.com! Better luck next...
Poster print giveaway! I was approached by Large Format Posters to host a giveaway. How lucky for my...

Foggy field in the fall

Chris Lane — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:22:46 +0000

Today’s Friday photo is from a morning on the way to work last fall. It was particularly foggy yet sunny at the same time, which makes a lovely combination. By the time I took this photo, the fog was starting to only be left in the low areas and under and around trees. It looks like clouds laying on the ground.
Order a print.
Share with the buttons above.
Subscribe to the blog buttons to the left.
Enjoy!

Foggy field

These posts may also interest you

Foggy Sunrise I am finally back with a Friday photo! It seems I have been really busy...
Clouds of the dramatic sort Here is the 6th(?) in my 52 week photo project. This is a photograph I...
Going up or down? Today marks the 24th photo in my Friday Photo series. This is a rather graphic...

The beauty of winter

Chris Lane — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:20:39 +0000

Still trying to find time to get my website updated so a small photo post for today. This is one I took recently after a snow storm had covered the trees and before the now shining sun had melted it away. This is the most beautiful time in winter and when I really love taking winter landscape photographs. Unfortunately, this blog is sized too small for photos of this magnitude to really appreciate. So in that case, I made it as another wallpaper. Click the name below for a 1900×1200 desktop wallpaper.
This image is also available as a fine art print, just use my order form by clicking here.

Snowy

These posts may also interest you

Fire nightscape This week I have a very wide panorama photo of a nightscape with a line...
Dreaming of summer Lately I have been dreaming a lot of summer to come. I have been looking...

Dreaming of summer

Chris Lane — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:32:40 +0000

Lately I have been dreaming a lot of summer to come. I have been looking at new tents, thinking about shooting some green landscape photographs, possibly do some exploring, etc. But right now all I can do is edit some of my backlog of photos of summer. This Friday photo is a soft pine needle laden trail in the heart of Itasca State Park here in northern Minnesota. This is actually the park that I was married in, though not in this particular location. It was a lovely park and the beginning of the great Mississippi river. If you get a chance, definitely make a visit, it is well worth it.
Hopefully this photo helps you with your wait for summer just a bit longer as well. I made this photo available as a 1900px wide wallpaper image for your desktop, if you so desire, just click on the name and it will load up.

Quiet Path

No related posts.

Does this still apply?

Chris Lane — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:24:01 +0000

This is last Friday’s photo, since I forgot to post one then. This is from an abandoned house to the north of me. It’s a very interesting place and I want to do an entire series of photos on it when I have the free time. I have taken a number of photos, but have not edited them yet. I’m not really sure what the survey marker this sign is talking about, but I think it was knocked over long ago. So, does it still apply? Am I still to not disturb the nearby survey marker? If so, I don’t know where the marker is. Either way, hope you enjoy the photo.

Do not disturb

No related posts.