Moon over Lindajay! [Archive]

ME100FINN

June 4th, 2006, 02:05 AM

WOW!!! And the details... I was ready to ask "What LENS were you using????" until I looked to see what camera it was. Sony rocks!! I have the F828 that I pull out from time to time. I guess that 12x zoom really works well!!!

karen donnybrook

June 4th, 2006, 02:17 AM

Linda, just one word - magnificent

June 4th, 2006, 07:12 AM

Wow! That's impressive!

mel

June 4th, 2006, 07:20 AM

Excellent photo Linda!!! :)

How did you do it?

lindajay

June 4th, 2006, 09:17 AM

Thanks, everyone! Glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, Beatrice, I'm really happy with my new Sony. I had a Mavica "back in the days" and ever since have wanted to get back to another Sony. Some of my very best shots were taken with that clunky old camera :)

Nancy, no, I didn't go anywhere to get the shot. I just went out on our backyard deck, after the sun set. The sky wasn't as dark as it came out, because I focused directly on the moon, which made the sky appear black.

I took it using the P mode -- ISO 100, appeture was, I believe, 3.5. I focused directly at the moon with the flexible spot AF. And I was sitting in a chair, with my elbows on our picnic table. Ha! That's technology for you, isn't it? I took a number of shots, and several turned out really nice. I think I liked this one best, though. I cropped and sharpened slightly, and that was all. I was happy with the lack of noise, which is what I was really testing.

Wendy

June 4th, 2006, 09:21 AM

Linda ...

Thanks for letting us know how you did it ...

and by the way I love the high tech elbos on the picnic table ... wow it really worked well :)

Wendy

NMarti

June 4th, 2006, 09:52 AM

Linda
You must have really steady hands. It seems the more I try to hold still the worse I shake. :rolleyes: It was truly a great shot! I have a soft spot for Sony too. My first was a CD1000 and then a 717. I really looked long and hard at that R1 but in the end went SLR. Sometimes I wish I had looked harder.;)

kayser

June 4th, 2006, 10:04 AM

Linda- great shot with your new camera! I'm a fan of the elbows technique too!:o

lindajay

June 4th, 2006, 05:05 PM

Nancy, yes, I looked at the R1, too. But the lack of image stabilization, and the lower zoom range led me to the H5. I NEED image stabilization. Of course, with the lower zoom, it wouldn't have been as critical, I suppose. Probably my next big move will be to a DSLR, but I wasn't ready for it yet.

mom to 4

June 5th, 2006, 08:20 AM

Linda:

That is one terrific shot! I have tried to take night time photos with my 35 mm, but nothing seems to come out very well. I would love to try again and yours just may be the inspiration. Actually, heck, with the digital if they don't come out they don't cost me a cent for film or developing, I think I will retry. Hey does anyone know how to take those nighttime shots where you take a timed shot. I don't see a whole for the attachment on my Rebel XT. I probably didn't explain that correctly...............

road runner

June 5th, 2006, 01:30 PM

Very impressive! Nice work Linda. I also enjoyed the rest of your gallery. You have put a lot of thought into your exhibits. Thanks for sharing!

BTW - that stained glass in the door is a really nice touch and a great idea!

roadrunner

lindajay

June 5th, 2006, 02:53 PM

Thanks, Colleen and Roadrunner! Compliments are just so encouraging! :) Aren't photography and Elements fun hobbies/avocations/whatevers?! When I look through the gallery, I don't think there's a person there who doesn't inspire me in some way.

road runner

June 5th, 2006, 03:04 PM

Right on Linda! Everyone I see never ceases to amaze me with their efforts. How did we ever get by before Photoshop? ;)

NMarti

June 5th, 2006, 03:56 PM

Linda,
Speaking of inspiration - yours is very inspiring as well! I love the new one in your gallery with Clara. Poor little thing looks so confused that she is moving. Very nice presentation. Scrappy attempt?

bwolford

June 5th, 2006, 04:50 PM

Linda wat that the LJ-5902Elb tripod or the LJ-3721E&B?

Brice

lindajay

June 5th, 2006, 06:08 PM

Nancy, thanks for noticing my new Clara page. Can't enter it in the scrappy awards, because I used a photo sent to me by my d-i-l. Not my original work :-(

Brice -- :D You're funny, as always!

Wendy

June 5th, 2006, 06:58 PM

Linda ...

Oh I love the way you have matched the words to the image ... she really does look like she is saying it. Its just lovely ... :)

Wendy

lindajay

June 5th, 2006, 07:59 PM

Thanks, Wendy :)

NMarti

June 6th, 2006, 10:59 AM

Linda
Oh - it didn't occur to me about the picture. :eek: I submitted an entry that has pictures I took of old pictures. It never even crossed my mind since I took the picture I used. Oh well - I guess the judges can decide. Darn - I liked that one.:rolleyes:

lindajay

June 6th, 2006, 11:11 AM

Nancy, that might be a different situation, seems to me. They'll probably be fine with it. But mine . . . was definitely not my photograph. In fact, most of my pix of Clara are sent to me, not ones I have taken. So I'm probably out in the cold for the "baby" category. :rolleyes:

lindajay

June 6th, 2006, 11:18 AM

On second thought . . . I do have ONE photo that I took that might work. :)

NMarti

June 6th, 2006, 12:08 PM

Hey Linda,
Take a look at this:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/alpha100.html

Wow - if it has the Sony quality and IS it sure would be a wonderful camera. Plus its 10 mp to boot.

margtvl

June 6th, 2006, 12:09 PM

Nancy,
How did you make the thumbtacks in your gallery

NMarti

June 6th, 2006, 12:22 PM

Well - I had to take a look but it was really simple.
I opened a new document and drew a small circle about the size of a penny and filled it with black. Then I used the shape tool and chose the triangle shape and drew a really small, narrow triangle - keeping the width slightly smaller than the circle layer and also filled it with black. Stretch it long to make it look as if the pin is narrowing toward the tip. Next I merged the two layers. I may have applied a soft bevel but can't remember without opening my actual file and I'm at work now so I can't. I applied a chrome layer style from the WOW chromes available in the downloads. I then duplicated the layer and made the new layer active. Finally I selected the white background with the magic wand and deleted it. I then drug the remaining pin from that layer into my project, resized it, added a drop shadow and that's it. To get different angles I just flipped the layer and rotated it slightly. It is nothing fancy, but it worked.:)

margtvl

June 6th, 2006, 02:22 PM

Thanks for your help

lindajay

June 6th, 2006, 05:56 PM

Nancy, yes, I knew the Alpha was coming! Maybe that'll be my step into the D-SLR realm -- but not for awhile! It'll be interesting to watch the reviews on it.

Jodi Frye

June 6th, 2006, 06:19 PM

yup...steady hands is right ! Magnificant ! Is the moon closer to the earth in New Mexico ?? What a dingy question eh ? My 10X zoom never brings it that close here in Upstate NY. I know I couldn't do it anyways, especially without a tripod...my hands are too shaky. Alien blood. :p

NMarti

June 6th, 2006, 08:01 PM

....but Jodi - you should be showing us earth shots.;) :D

Jodi Frye

June 6th, 2006, 08:37 PM

Nancy, indeed. I would but I just never find the time to get away from this crazy planet anymore...I lie, they haven't come to visit me in years :( ..it was the only way I could get away !! Freekin' ancestors piss me off sometimes !!! And after all the things I did for them ! Jerks. You guys are my family now. I'm done with them...at the moment ;)

NMarti

June 6th, 2006, 09:28 PM

.....ummm - I have an old turntable out in the shed if you want to set up a phone to "phone home". :D

lindajay

June 7th, 2006, 01:10 AM

My 10X zoom never brings it that close here in Upstate NY.

Jodi, don't forget, I did crop. That's where the 7 megapixels come in handy. In the original, the moon looked fairly small. But I was still happy with the detail after it was cropped.

NRiceDesigns

June 7th, 2006, 02:33 AM

Ooooh, Ahhhhh, Love it!

bwolford

June 7th, 2006, 09:50 AM

I tried to repeat this last night. I got horrible results. If I put ISO at 100 or 200 my shutter speed was so low, all handheld was a blur. With ISO 800 all I got was a bright spot even at higher shutter speeds. All taken on P mode.

Perhaps it's because I don't have a picnic table... I do have elbows, but they didn't help. I even leaned against a building (my home) and laid on the ground (my drive way). I never did use my elbows though.

Seriously, I couldn't duplicate the shot. I'm trying again tonight with a tripod.

Brice

Wendy

June 7th, 2006, 10:06 AM

Brice ...

Just hope that the neighbours were not watching when you lay on the drive :eek:

Wendy

Jodi Frye

June 7th, 2006, 10:28 AM

Linda, yes I assumed you had cropped tho the final image is still stunning to say the least. Indeed MP's make a big difference as well...but your steady hand gets the real prize !! :)

Jodi Frye

June 7th, 2006, 10:29 AM

Nancy, thanks but I think I'll just hang out down here for a while. :)

bwolford

June 7th, 2006, 10:55 PM

I've been trying to recreate this for 3 days. All I get is a bright blur of an image. I've tried fast lenses, slow lenses, ISO 100, ISO 800 and many different Fstop.

I have a new respect for this image. Especially since I can't recreate it, even with a tri-pod!!!

BLAH!!!:mad:

Brice

ME100FINN

June 7th, 2006, 11:40 PM

Brice I am impressed with your persistence!! And the fact that you have SEEN the moon every night for three nights! LOL It seems it is overcast or something or other here - not always a good view. Hmmm. Think I might check it out tonight too - I think I may have missed the recent full moon... well the sun rises at 4am here. I wonder where that will put the moon at full peak viewing. Guess I will keep my eyes open....

Just remembered I snagged this one within the last month. It wasnt completely dark out, about 630pm more dusk... colors arent too great and details arent crisp. I didnt want to manufacture the colors, so this is close to what the true colors were, maybe a bit lighter. I tried cropping but no deal. I didnt think about zooming in on the moon since I was trying to capture an array of colors in the whole scene. The pic is a bit noisy too.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9629/moon0eh.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moon0eh.jpg)

lindajay

June 7th, 2006, 11:46 PM

Brice,
I told my dh about your struggles, and asked him why he thought that I was able to capture this without a lot of trouble, and he said that Albuquerque is 1) high altitude -- over 5,000 feet, about like Denver, and 2) very dry, so there's no moisture in the air (since Jan 1 we've had .31 inch of rain!), it makes for less atmospheric distortion and easier photography. I hope that makes you feel better, Brice. I KNOW it's not because I'm a wonderful photographer. It was just my luck!

NMarti

June 8th, 2006, 07:25 AM

Linda
I went out last night, saw the gorgeous moon, thought about your pic, Brice's problems and my shaky hands and said the heck with it and went back inside.:p :D I'll admire yours and not frustrate myself.:rolleyes:

bwolford

June 8th, 2006, 10:23 AM

I think I figured it out, but I have to try again tonight to be sure. I am in P mode and letting the camera pick shutter speed. The problem with that is the sampling of the sky, which is mostly black, is probably giving me far to high a shutter speed. I need to shoot in a different mode to speed up the shutter speed to reduce the brightness of the moon on the dark sky.

I also noticed my UV filter was creating a halo image that disappeared when I removed the filter.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. At least until I can prove it wrong tonight.

Brice

lindajay

June 8th, 2006, 11:12 AM

Brice,
When I took my pix, the sky wasn't yet black -- just a nice medium blue. It appears black in the picture. So maybe try it earlier in the evening???

I'm pulling for you. I'm waiting for your block-buster image. I know you'll get it.

bwolford

June 8th, 2006, 10:48 PM

Yeah baby yeah!:D I shot the moon...

http://www.thewolfords.com/PSE/IMG_9942.JPG
http://www.thewolfords.com/PSE/IMG_9946.JPG

Can't wait until the full moon. My nickanme in high school was lone wolf and I've been howling at the moon ever since.

Brice

NMarti

June 8th, 2006, 10:53 PM

:D Okay Brice so how did you do it???

kayser

June 8th, 2006, 10:53 PM

Good for you, Brice! Shows that persistence pays off.

bwolford

June 8th, 2006, 11:15 PM

It was exactly what I said it would be. I was using P mode, but because I was taking the pictures in the middle of the night, the moon was over exposing. I set ISO at 100 and shutters speed to 500 and 640 (in the photos posted) and viola...

Brice

lindajay

June 8th, 2006, 11:43 PM

CONGRATULATIONS BRICE!!! :) :) :)

They look great. I'm glad you got it all figured out. Looks like the same moon that is in our Albuquerque sky! Imagine that ;)

Robyn

June 8th, 2006, 11:50 PM

Brice.....yeah baby indeed! CONGRATULATIONS!

We've got the same moon here in Aussie!! I better read this thread more thoroughly and see what I can do. I'm STILL waiting for my tripod that I ordered a month ago though. Legs are here, but it seems the head is not available in Australia......last I heard it was coming in this week.....well it's Friday here now!!:(

jazzfisher

June 9th, 2006, 12:13 AM

Brice,
And those are the only kinds of moons we want to see fromYOU!!!:D

Great job!

Robyn

June 9th, 2006, 12:40 AM

Sherry.........:D :D :D

ME100FINN

June 9th, 2006, 06:04 AM

Brice - way to go! I peeked at the moon last night and thought of you LOL. Here is was a hazzy moon covered with clouds. I didnt want to attempt it--besides I wasnt feel too well either.