20 20 July 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Technique LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHYWhyitworks
Landscapephotographythatincorporatesthemoonrequiresplanning:understandingexactly
whereandwhenthemoonwillrise,andwhereyoucanpositionyourself.Desk-basedstudy,
combinedwiththePhotoPillsapporsimilar,willhelpyoutomapouta vantagepoint.Thisshot
of a SuperBloodBlueMoon,takenat HunafjordurBay,NorthIceland, was planned a few days
in advance. It uses a 20km view over the bay to good effect.Twilightandmoonlight
Shootingintwilightis a littlemore
forgiving,asduskanddawnilluminate
thelandscapewithambientblue
light,thushelpingyoutobalanceyour
exposures.Foroptimumresults,you
needtolearnaboutthedifferentkindsof
twilight.PersonallyI findthatnautical
twilightandastronomicaltwilightprovide
thebestresults,withbeautifuldeepblue
hues.Atthispointthestarsarebecoming
visible,soif you’reusinga wideanglelens
(andyou’renotworriedaboutrecording
detailinthesurfaceofthemoon)besure
to calculate your shutter speed and focal
lengthforthestarsthatarevisible,oryou
willsufferstartrail.Studyinglunation,
andgaugingwhatphasethemoonwillbe
atduringyourshoot,willhelpyoutoplan
fordifferentelementssuchasexposing
within the twilights for earthshine.Pushingtheboundaries
Venturingoutnightafternight,and
becomingsubmersedinthemoonlit
landscape,is incrediblyrewarding.The
moreexperienceyougain,thefurther
youcanpushthecreativeboundaries.
Photographersoftentrytokeep
urbanisationoutoftheirlandscape
images,withtheoccasionalquaintvillage
sneakingintoruralscenes.Butaswehave
seen,theseextralightsourcescanworkin
ourfavour.Often,artificiallightcombined
withmoonlightcanenhancethemoodofa
shot,castingshadowsandgivingdepth.
Ourplanet’smoonis anunpredictable
beastofa lightsource.Onclearnightsthe
landscapecanbeexposedwithrelative
ease,whileonovercastnightsthelight
penetratesandilluminatesthebroken
cloudsandlandscape.
Inordertosuccessfullyincorporatethe
mooninyourlandscapeimagery– either
asa lightsourceorsignificantfeature–
youneedtofamiliariseyourselfwithyour
location,makea fewcalculations,and
havea genuineunderstandingofwhat
youaretryingtoachieve.Witha little
preparationyouwillsoonbecreating
Last of the pale pink sunlight over the Dolomites in Italy Nikon D810, 120-400mm, 1/40sec at f/8, ISO 125 breathtaking, moonlit imagery.