Is anyone else going after the lunar eclipse on the 27th?

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
If so, what will be your weapon of choice and approach?

I'll be attempting to use the FZ200 to try to get as close as possible, and the LX100 to shoot a wider shot that shows the eclipse "in context."

Cheers, Jock
 
Lighting could be very difficult. When the moon is in the lesser shadow (penumbra?) it's pretty dark. In a normal moon shot I use a shutter speed of 1/60 to 1/250 depending on the camera and ISO, so I don't need a tripod with gears that follow Earth's rotation. But with the moon in shadow (without the auto-tracking gear) you'd likely need a high ISO etc. High ISOs never seem to work for me with low-contrast subjects.
 
*gives middle finger to the moon*

I think I need to put a bunch of gear for sale in the classifieds. One freaking rock out there.....totally illuminated...... and I can't even get a passable shot. Nothing wrong with the gear, mind you. But if the photographer can't learn to work his gear, what's the point. I can snap photos of my dogs with my phone, and take a nice vacation with the money.
 
Lunar photo safari

Preparations:

LX100 Blood Moon 012.jpg


On location on Moonlawn Road, Brunswick, NY (no kidding about the name).

LX100 Blood Moon 041-001.JPG


The moon was very bright when we arrived.

FZ200 Blood Moon 003.JPG


Still very bright about halfway to totality.

FZ200 Blood Moon 022.JPG


An attempt to show "context" at totality. You can see a few stars; they really popped to the naked eye. LX100.

LX100 Blood Moon 056.JPG


Totality, run through DXO 9 PRIME denoiser. FZ200. This is the best of hundreds of shots attempted. At totality, the moon is really, really dark.

FZ200 Blood Moon 156_DxO.jpg


Notes to self for 2033: better tripod. Turn off stabilizer when camera is on tripod. At partial eclipse, this is a very tough subject with crazy dynamic range.

I didn't get the detail I wanted, but it was fun to try.

Cheers, Jock
 
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*gives middle finger to the moon*

I think I need to put a bunch of gear for sale in the classifieds. One freaking rock out there.....totally illuminated...... and I can't even get a passable shot. Nothing wrong with the gear, mind you. But if the photographer can't learn to work his gear, what's the point. I can snap photos of my dogs with my phone, and take a nice vacation with the money.

Luke, if you gave the dangerous digit to the moon, I gave it an entire bouquet of them. Over 300 images, and only one that I felt was barely passable.

Cheers, Jock
 
I think you got a great result, Jock!

Thank you for sharing. I was too lazy to get out of my bed early. You gave me the opportunity to see it the eclipse.
 
Luke, if you gave the dangerous digit to the moon, I gave it an entire bouquet of them.

After some initial failure and the aforementioned middle single digit salute, I retired to the couch to contemplate selling all the gear. Of course, I fortified myself with a heavy dose of liquid consolation. And one never knows what road that will drive a man down. So a few hours later, I decide to try again and after I bathe in more failure, I decide I can one-up my earlier middle finger tribute to the Bloodmoon and decide to drop trou and moon the eclipse.

the post above is entirely fictional....or at least 99% fictional and is merely an attempt at humor. I still hate the moon for mocking me, but pants were never dropped (our neighbors were out watching the whole thing).
 
After some initial failure and the aforementioned middle single digit salute, I retired to the couch to contemplate selling all the gear. Of course, I fortified myself with a heavy dose of liquid consolation. And one never knows what road that will drive a man down. So a few hours later, I decide to try again and after I bathe in more failure, I decide I can one-up my earlier middle finger tribute to the Bloodmoon and decide to drop trou and moon the eclipse.

the post above is entirely fictional....or at least 99% fictional and is merely an attempt at humor. I still hate the moon for mocking me, but pants were never dropped (our neighbors were out watching the whole thing).

So that would be moon squared, or moon to the second power, right? I like it!

Cheers, Jock
 
We wound up being invited to a dinner at a friend's down in Roxbury (more or less the South End of Boston). And he's got a roof deck. So we ate quickly, put my daughter to bed in his room, and hustled up to the roof to watch. I had no delusions about being able to actually get the moon to look good in a shot. So I turned my focus to the people and scenery instead. I only brought the Rokinon 12mm f2 lens on the XT1 up there with me.

21601617780_ee34efa365_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

21601617490_6ff85d1d04_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

21601790148_f6f3790dbd_c.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

21168581153_a333ea5b30_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

I thought "ok, you can't get the moon. Are there any compelling images you CAN get from up here?"
 
We wound up being invited to a dinner at a friend's down in Roxbury (more or less the South End of Boston). And he's got a roof deck. So we ate quickly, put my daughter to bed in his room, and hustled up to the roof to watch. I had no delusions about being able to actually get the moon to look good in a shot. So I turned my focus to the people and scenery instead. I only brought the Rokinon 12mm f2 lens on the XT1 up there with me.

21601617780_ee34efa365_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

21601617490_6ff85d1d04_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

21601790148_f6f3790dbd_c.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr
21168581153_a333ea5b30_b.jpg
Lunar Eclipse 2015
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

I thought "ok, you can't get the moon. Are there any compelling images you CAN get from up here?"

I liked the whole series, but particularly the third image.

Cheers, Jock
 
Here's the image I posted before (it had been run through DXO Prime) but also run through Perfect Effects HDR and dynamic range.

FZ200 Blood Moon 156_DxO copy.jpg


I think it is okay for a small sensor pushed to its limits. There is more detail, but the noise/grain pops up more. ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/4 sec., 1004mm (e -- iZoom was engaged).

You can see a wide variety of super blood moon images taken by others here: 34 Amazing Photos Of The Super Blood Moon

Cheers, Jock
 
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