Night landscapes - moon

[SEP555]

Tried to take a nightime landscape that was lit up by the moon, moon reflection on a lake. I can get full moon detail when i just zoom into the moon but when i take a wide shot the various ground silhouettes come out but the moon is just a bright white light.

What are the best settings to use to get the correct exposure of the moon and landscape? Each time i go out i forget so have to go through every setting again, and get annoyed with myself

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: Night landscapes - moon

Hello SEP555;

It's highly unlikley you'll get a single exposure with both foreground and the moon correctly illuminated in the condition you describe; the dynamic-range of light is just too great for the sensor to handle.

A correct exposure for the foreground will (as you've seen) reduce the moon to a burnt-out disc, while a correct exposure for the moon will see any foreground turn to pure black.

Best bet in that scenario is to take at least two exposures (one for each extreme) and then use layers in PhotoShop (or similar) to mask-out the burnt-out moon and replace it with the correctly exposed moon. You could always try a 3-shot HDR as well!

Settings for a full moon; start at 1/125, f/11, ISO100 or 1/250, f/8, ISO100. (Any matched-combo will give you the same exposure value)

Settings for a moonlit landscape; Set your required Av and ISO1600. Use the camera to meter so you get a Tv reading. Then adjust the ISO to what you want, and set the Tv accordingly. Working in full-stops is the easiest way to do this...

HTH

[SEP555]

Re: Night landscapes - moon

thanks for that! and yes of course hdr, will give that a go. Have tried doing some hdr pics but theyve never worked out at all

[Stan]

Re: Night landscapes - moon

Agree with CF, two exposures and blending in PS is the way to go.

Stan

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: Night landscapes - moon

Have tried doing some hdr pics but theyve never worked out at all

HDR takes quite a bit of practice; but when you get it right, it can look great!

In all honesty, I'm unsure if HDR would work in this case, but it's always worth a try.

For HDR software, if you're unaware, try Photomatix. The latest release is superb! You can download a trial from here...

Cheers...

[SEP555]

Re: Night landscapes - moon

sorry i had a slow brain moment...just needed to look at the properties of the last moon pic i took rolleyes - too long in the cold. anyways just took that moon pic and the lake and did a default setting hdr on them. Crap obviously but i get the idea.