Here's your chance to "shoot the moon" this weekend

The next Supermoon occurs this Sunday evening.  If the weather cooperates, it will be a great chance to photograph the moon. 

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/07/catch-the-extra-supermoon-this-weekend/

Here's some suggestions that will improve your chance of getting a killer moon shot.

1. Shoot when the moon is first rising Sunday evening, which is be at 8:14 PM in Kingsport.   That way the moon will "appear" larger and will have a warmer color.  It will also allow you to include other objects in your composition.   The moon by itself on a black sky is not as interesting as it could be.
   
   Of course, you can also photograph it when it's setting at 3:11 AM.
2. Use a tripod.   Your exposure may be too long to hand hold your camera.  The photo above was shot at f/13, ISO 125 and 1.6 seconds.
3. Set your camera to manual mode, the ISO at 100, aperture around f/11, shutter speed around 1/125.  If the lowest ISO you can use is 200 then slow the shutter speed to 1/60.  These are suggested starting points.  You may need to adjust.  Be sure to check your histogram to make sure the moon is not over exposed.
4. Set your camera/lens to manual focus and set the focus at infinity.  Most lenses will go past infinity.  Back it off to the mark on the lens near infinity.   If your camera has live view use it to manually focus.
5. Use a shutter release cable or delay timer to avoid camera movement.

Set focus as shown on left, not right

 

 

Have fun and show us what you get.