Moonlight Photography Examples And Tips

David Clapp headed out for an 8 hour night shoot on Dartmoor and here's his results as well as the gear that helped him capture his shots.

Gear Used:

• Canon 5D MK III
• Canon 17mm TS-E Lens
• Canon 24mm TS-E II Lens
• Head Torch

Photos And Technique:

After a localised start at Saddle Tor the walking got more adventurous and I headed west along the Princetown road to get to Windy Post, and then back to Haytor which ended the shoot with a colourful sunrise, albeit somewhat localised in the sky area.



This first shot, taken at ISO3200, f/5.6 has a huge amount of depth of field thanks to the 17mm TS-E Lens. Literally everything but the very bottom is in sharp focus to infinity.



This shot was taken with the 24mm TS-E II Lens with ISO1600 for 30 seconds at f/5.6. The lens was tilted very slightly (around 1/2deg) to get a little extra foreground sharpness although once again it's losing it a little, but it's barely noticeable. I used a torch to add light to the falls for around 5 seconds then I ran off to the right to light paint the cross.



A huge moon halo was in the sky for around three hours on and off, which kept me busy. This is a combination of two images taken with the 17mm TS-E Lens. I didn't move the camera between shots and both exposures were 2 seconds long.

For the shot of the halo the lens was set at infinity with an aperture of f/5.6 and an ISO of 1600. The focal plane was then repositioned to capture a sharp shot of the cross. It was shot as a silhouette so I could create a mask in Photoshop and I used my torch to light paint the left side for 5 seconds and the right for 10.



Finally the last shot is made from three images combined in Photoshop to get the blend and colours right. I was so exhausted anything was a bonus, but I really wasn’t expecting to get so much colour. I was essentially in the wrong place, but it's worked out well in the end. It was all shot at ISO100, making super-smooth files.

Visit David Clapp's website: www.davidclapp.co.uk

Other Useful Tips:

• Moonlight can be rather 'hard' and if you find yourself shooting at full moon light levels can be higher than expected.
• On a clear night, moonlight is strong enough to cast shadows and it is definitely worth having a go shooting scenes with it.
• Focusing can be challenge because it is so dark so take along a powerful torch to light up the subject to help you focus, whether you are focusing manually or using the autofocus system.
• If you are photographing just the moon you'll need a long lens and you'll need to meter manually. This is because the camera sees is a blanket of blackness the moon can end up looking like bright light bulb shining out of the sky. More moon tips can be found here.

Find out more about HIPA clicking these links: Visit The HIPA 2012 Website Submit Your Photos Here: "Join Us" Learn more about the Hamdan International Photography Award 2012