Beginning around 7:45 pm to after 11:00 there will be a total lunar eclipse. At about 9:00 is the full eclipse.The skies are clear and the moon is full, so it should be a pretty cool sight. There won't be another until December 2010.

Thanks, we'll be watching!

I tried shooting it 9:30 tonight. I have no idea how, but my buddy said I have a big arse lens so I should be out there. Here is my attempt at documenting this once ever six month event:

Pretty decent shot there on the top. FF @ 400mm?

quote:

Originally posted by BlueEchoes:
I tried shooting it 9:30 tonight. I have no idea how, but my buddy said I have a big arse lens so I should be out there. Here is my attempt at documenting this once ever six month event:

Nice shot! You do have a big arse lens!

Did you get a shot of that Navy missile????

Where is everyone??? Its still early!

How does the moon cut his hair?


He-clips-it



ok, kinda bad but cracked me up

quote:

Originally posted by GEM:
Where is everyone??? Its still early!

I'm here.
Up all night.

100-400mm with a 1.4x tele with the 1Ds Mark II at ISO 1600 on a tripod with remote firing. I have no idea how to shoot stuff like this. I just metered off the moon, tried it at ISO 400, 800 then 1600 and went 2 steps down on the shutter speed at F8. I wish I knew how to get it tack sharp.

GEmom: thanks for the heads up! we watched kept on eye on it all evening...very cool! BE: great photos! thanks!

I took a couple of shots too. However, my lens isn't arse-big (though my arse is big) so the shot isn't nearly as impressive as yours, BlueEcho. Very nice!

What I love the most about astronomical events like this total lunar eclipse is thinking about how ancient civilizations reacted to and interpreted them. It was great that the sky was so clear, and the color changes on the moon are so pretty.

Thanks Blue Echoes for capturing this so beautifully for all of us. Your photos are much better than the ones at the top of the Tribune today.

Mark your calendars for December 21, 2010 - the next total lunar eclipse for us.

Thanks GEmom2 for pointing that out. The photographer for the trib must not have used noise reduction on his shots, the last 2 were taken about the same time I took mine, and his are way more "noisy". You would think a big corporation would have some type of photo editor working for them that could have cleaned them up a tad.

Maybe they were too busy praising Fukodome for the 10000x this week.

Just realize it, you are one of the very best photographers!

_{Cropped from frame, Canon 20D, 1/30th sec, f/9.0, ISO 200, lens: 400mm 5.6 + Tamron 1.4xTC, tripod & remote release, June 28, '07 12:53am}

Photographing an almost full moon is not unlike taking a picture of anything else in the daytime. The moon is lit by the sun and should be exposed just the same.

There are some considerations.

1. Don't use high ISO. It isn't needed any more than shooting on a sunny day, meaning keep it in the ISO 100-200 range. Luminance noise will be kept at bay in the dark regions around the subject at low ISO's.

2. Use a telephoto - 10x or more. It is amazing how small the moon really is in the frame. To get a full-frame moon one would need more than 20x at 35mm full frame (that's a 1000mm lens plus a tele converter of 1.4x or 2x).

3. Shutter speeds must be fast, 1/100th or faster, and it's best to use a tripod and a remote shutter release if you have one to keep camera shake down to a minimum. The faster the shutter, the easier it is to get off a shot handheld. The shot above was 1/320th or so at ISO 400, if I remember correctly.

The Earth and moon are moving fast. The moon moves it's full diameter every 2 minutes and 35 seconds. For that reason alone, you can't get off a sharp shot any slower than 1/30th second.

Resources:
Lunar Eclipse Computer
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/LunarEclipse.php

Shay Stephens' Moon Shot Calculator
http://www.shaystephens.com/moon_calc.php

Eye candy for this past eclipse here.

Those are amazing images! What is so interesting to me is how these photos were taken all around the world, and that the photographer community shares its work and brief commentary on the site. Thanks GESince58 for providing the "eye candy." I can't wait to show my kids.

quote:

Originally posted by GESince1958:

Looks like a rotting cantalope.

GE 1958: I second GEMom2, thanks for finding the eye candy website, I shared with the family and they loved it. I even opened many of the pictures at the bottom of the page.

Interesting how so many people captured a landmark of sorts to tie into the picture of the eclipse.

As a side note, happy 50 years in Glen Ellyn! Is the anniversary official, or still upcoming this year?