Moonlight Photography

Topics covering photography and videography of the flora, fauna and landscape of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Show off your talent. Post your photos and videos here!
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mountaineer
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Post by mountaineer »

Wow! I post a couple of snapshots and the ensuing thread is chock full of tons of good info. Thanks everyone. Of all the photography books I have perused, the one that gets the most use is Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography. Excellent!

For a good read with beautiful photos and great tips, I enjoy Galen's book High and Wild.
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mountaineer
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Post by mountaineer »

Speaking of lighting, here is one with everything. The lake in the foreground is still in the early morning shade, the peaks in the background have the first rays of sunshine on them, and the moon is just beginning to move behind the mountaintops before setting. The second photo is a telephoto of the moon just as it begins to set.(Sorry about the dirty scans)
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ERIC
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Post by ERIC »

I'm a photography dummy. I just like what I like. But I have to say, that first photo of yours mountaineer, is my favorite of anything I've seen of yours! Good show, buddy. Keep up the good work!
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Post by SSSdave »

Interesting M you have posted just the type of controversial image with lots of shadows I commented about in my post above. Typical early morning view up up towards the high Rock Creek peaks since Mount Morgan blocks views for a long time. The Decades ago color images with lots of shadows were not often held with much esteem unless a shadow offered some kind of aesthetic geometry to the rest of an image. With the advent of Velvia a lot of photographers developed a taste for such photographs that immediately roused critisms in the older art world. However everyday people more often don't have any problem enjoying such images.
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mountaineer
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Post by mountaineer »

Hikin' Mike...I thought I commented on your photos but I can't find my post. Yours have a really cool, almost eerie feel to them. Do you remember your settings? Full moon or half?

Thanks for sharing!
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mountaineer
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Post by mountaineer »

As far as shadows in the images, I have to be blunt, I like them. Of course, I don't make my primary living(really, I don't make anything at all) off of my photography so it is personal taste. I feel shadows can draw you into the photo in a certain way. Some photos have absolutely no depth of field or perception of dimension...unless there are shadows. Personally, if the "established arts crowd" has a problem with the way I like my images, i.e. shadows, strange lighting, etc., then I feel I have done something right! Here is a favorite image of mine, maybe not the best quality, but at the very moment the morning sun hit the small trees behind me, casting shadows across the frosty meadow that met the reflection in the lake...well, you get the picture. The only thing I am disappointed in is the vignetting due to too much polarization at altitude.
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Windwalker
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Post by Windwalker »

Mountaineer...That first shot is awesome!
I'm going to have to try that sometime....I usually tend to focus on the moon itself :)
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Buck Forester
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Post by Buck Forester »

For the record, I too like shadows. They often give depth and character. But that's just my taste. Excellent images!

Hey Windwalker, Inc.®, is that moon shot with your 100-400mm lens? If so, that things durn sharp! I recently purchased the Canon 400mm L f/5.6 because I've heard a couple people who owned the 100-400 say it wasn't real sharp for landscapes, which is what I mostly do, but the stuff I've seen from you has been very sharp indeed! I'd still like to get that lens for kayaking, when I'm handholding from the cockpit and need a strong zoom for birds and Loch Ness Monsters and leaping great white sharks and such.
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Windwalker
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Post by Windwalker »

Hey Buck, That moon shot was taken with my 300mm F/4 IS "L" and the 1.4x extender (420mm). I heard the same things about the 100-400mm ...so I steared clear of it. I have also read that the early models of that lens were to blame for it's reputation and Canon has improved it greatly since then.

Good luck with Nessie!
Last edited by Windwalker on Wed Dec 07, 2005 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hikin Mike
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Post by Hikin Mike »

mountaineer wrote:Hikin' Mike...I thought I commented on your photos but I can't find my post. Yours have a really cool, almost eerie feel to them. Do you remember your settings? Full moon or half?

Thanks for sharing!
It was a full moon. I'm going to guess they were about 10-15 second exposures @ f/4 or so. I'm not real happy with them, but they aren't that bad for a first try. I want to try again this winter... :D
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