Moonrise Project

Moonrise Project

This photo is flawed. It’s blurry and obviously cropped from a much larger photo. Yet, this is the best photo I’ve ever taken of the moon!

Why am I so happy? After several failed attempts – admittedly spontaneous without really thinking through the science of the shot – I finally achieved some decent amateur results as pictured. Though blurry, you can discern the big grey basins and white impact craters, that you can sometimes see with the naked eye.

By the end of 2010, I hope to photograph the moon during each of its phases. Despite having access to billions of Terabytes of information via the Internet, what I discovered through undisciplined trial and error are the following factors for success:

1. Tripod to steady the camera
2. Telephoto lens to fill as much of the frame as possible; the moon is relatively a small object in the sky
3. Small aperture to maintain contrast; the moon is surprisingly bright
4. Short shutter speed; blurring from the moon’s movement revealed for longer exposure
5. Low ISO of 100 or lower; again, moon is surprisingly bright
6. Timetable and Calendar of the Moon’s rising, setting and phase – to avoid venturing out in the night only to find out the moon rose at 9am or that it’s a new moon

Moon Resources

• Moonrise & Moonset Schedule
• Moon Phase Calendar