ith the 50th anniversary of the
moon landing (20th July 1969)
having just taken place, we
thought it would be fitting to
share some top tips on how to
shoot the moon in a landscape
setting. Alex Nail took this shot of a full moon
at Great Staple Tor on Dartmoor. However, it
wasn’t an easy task! The image took him 18
months to get, and he also had to invest in
a 400mm telephoto lens and a tele extender.
To keep the blue tone in the sky Alex reveals
the image had to be taken relatively soon after
sunset, with the moon high enough at the
right time to get above the tor. This only gave
Alex one evening every third full moon to get
it right. Of course he then had to battle with
the weather conditions, leaving it almost
near impossible to get a clear viewing!
On the evening Alex got the shot, he had
worked out exactly where he needed to be
and hung 10kg of dumbbells to his tripod
to stabilise the shot in the wind. He also
had an umbrella working as a windshield.
“I was so well drilled by the point the moon
peeked its head over the hill that I knew that
finally, after 18 months, I was going to get
my shot. This image might look simple,
but it’s anything but!”
http://www.alexnail.com
9 | NATURE
Moon landscape
Landscape photographer Alex Nail shares his tips and
story about how he captured the perfect moon rising
34 DIGITAL CAMERA^ AUGUST 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
W
Ale
x^ N
ail