How to photograph a harvest moon lunar eclipse

[robandmarianne]

We have a harvest moon/lunar eclipse tomorrow night that I would really like to try and photograph.

I have a T4i with three lenses:  EFS 18-55mm; 75-300mm and a high def 0.43X Super Wide Angle w/ Macro Japan Optics.  Can anyone guide me as to which lens would be best and how to set up the camera to get some interesting shots.  I have a tripod.  Not sure how to use "live" mode and I am not well versed when it comes to anything other than the automatic settings -- i.e., ISO, shutter speed, etc.  Anyone willing to teach this old dog some new tricks?  Thanks.  

[ebiggs1]

You need to learn the "Looney 11 Rule".  Put the camera in full manual mode.  Set the ISO to 100, Set the aperture to f11 and set the shutter to 1/100.  This is the Looney 11 Rule.

Most important is to bracket your shoots, up and down, as this is just the starting point.  Remember it is night time where you are but it is daytime on the Moon!

Things in space are at infinity.  All of them!  So you can just turn AF off on the lens and set it to infinity.  However some lenses focus past infinity so look through the viewfinder to make sure you are focused correctly.  I don't use Liveview. I guess I am too old fashion. 

Use a good tripod. Of the lenses you said you have I would use the 75-300mm at the 300 side.

I will try to get some good shots of the Blood "Super" Moon tonight.  It is the last time I will get to see one.  Should be around 9 to 10 PM.

[robandmarianne]

Thank you.  How do you set it to infinity?  I recently tried shooting the northern lights in Norway -- first attempt -- and I had a hard time seeing through the lens at night to see if it was focused.  I also had the ISO set at 3200 based on advice from a friend.  While they were interesting, they weren't great shots.  

What about using a timer or delayed shot?  I have the camera set up as you instructed . . . so we will see.  Please share your pics with me so I can see what mine SHOULD look like.  Thanks for the help.

Now, after I'm done with this little experiment, if I put my camera back on auto mode, do I need to change any of the settings that I have changed for tonight -- or will it auto adjust everything?  For standard daily shots on "auto" , I think I usually have the ISO at 400, but I have not idea what a "normal" ISO or aperture should be.  After shooting the northern lights, some of the pics I took the next day were complete washed out.  Of course, it was probably because I didn't set the camera back to auto . . . but  still trying to learn.

Thanks again . . .good luck tonight.  

Marianne

[ebiggs1]

" How do you set it to infinity?  I recently tried shooting the northern lights in Norway -- first attempt -- and I had a hard time seeing through the lens at night to see if it was focused."

If you can't see through it at night, just set it up now and focus on something very far away.  Leave the lens set there and mount it to the tripod.

"I also had the ISO set at 3200 based on advice from a friend."

Not for the Moon, wrong friend.  Set it to ISO 100.  You can and should change this one stop, IE go from 100 to 200 and/or 400, and bracket your shots.  Also you can adjust the aperture and SS by one stop increments too.

"What about using a timer or delayed shot?"

Not needed.

"... if I put my camera back on auto mode, do I need to change any of the settings that I have changed for tonight ..."

No. Just put it back to the Green Square or my preference the "P" mode.

"I think I usually have the ISO at 400, but I have not idea what a "normal" ISO or aperture should be."

There is no "normal".  ISO100 is usually the best for IQ.  But normal means, whatever works.  The "Sunny 16 Rule" is, ISO 100, aperture at f16 and SS of 1/100.  This is the correct or normal for bright Sun light.

"...  I didn't set the camera back to auto ..."

Been there, done that! 

"Please share your pics with me so I can see what mine SHOULD look like."

In order to maintain my well deserved title of "The World's Greatest Photographer" I don't share the bad ones!   Actually this is the first rule of photography!  So if you want to be "The World's 2nd Greatest Photographer" don't show the bad ones. 

[robandmarianne]

thank you . . . this was helpful -- just keeping my fingers crossed!

[TCampbell]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

You need to learn the "Looney 11 Rule".  Put the camera in full manual mode.  Set the ISO to 100, Set the aperture to f11 and set the shutter to 1/100.  This is the Looney 11 Rule.

Most important is to bracket your shoots, up and down, as this is just the starting point.  Remember it is night time where you are but it is daytime on the Moon!

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The "Loony 11" rule works when the moon is not eclipsed (in other words on a typical night when the moon is in the sky.)  You can use any ISO you want at f/11 and the shutter speed is simply the "inverse" of the ISO.  So at ISO 100 you use 1/100th sec.  At ISO 200 you use 1/200th sec.  At ISO 400 you use 1/400th sec.  etc.

However, during the eclipse the moon will dim.  As it enters the "penumbra" (the weaker part of the Earth's shadow when the Earth is only beginning to block sunlight from reaching the moon) the moon will start getting moderately dimmer and dimmer.

But when the moon enters the "umbra" (the Earth is completely blocking direct sun from reaching the moon) the moon will be MUCH MUCH darker (and also orange-red color).  This reason for the red is the same reason the sun goes red near sunset.  The sunlight actually does pass through Earth's atmosphere which scatters and bends some sunlight around the Earth twoard the sun.  The red wavelengths, being longer, can penetrate the atmosphere, bend around the Earth, and reaches the moon anyway.  The blues and green colored light is completely scattered and absorbed -- so the only color that reaches the moon is red.

How much darker will be?

AT LEAST 10 full stops...but possibly considerably more.  The amount of darkness partly depends on the Earth-Moon distance which varies throughout the month.  At lunar perigee the moon is much closer and will get more light (and the moon is closer) but also the closer to the center of the umbra, the less light may reach it (this time the eclipse is truely "full" in that it will be completely within the umbra shadow for quite some time but doesn't actually pass directly through the center of it.

It turns out some eclipses can be as much as 10 stops darker than others.  I do not know what to expect with this eclipse.  Just be prepared.

My camera will be attached to a telescope which will be on a tracking mount -- I would be able to take a 20 stop loss of exposure with no problems.  But a camera on a stationary tripod will need to crank the ISO and use a low focal ratio to try to recover as much light as possible to avoid taking long exposures.

Now all I need are clear skies (the forecast is for partly cloudy -- possibly even mostly cloudy.  Wish me luck.)

[ebiggs1]

Exactly why I recommend to "bracket".  Bracket is the photographer's best friend! Change one stop at a time and shoot several.

[robandmarianne]

this is pretty technical for me. .. . so, when you say eclipses can be as much as 10 stops darker, I should move my ISO up at least 10 different positions?

[TCampbell]

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@robandmarianne wrote:
this is pretty technical for me. .. . so, when you say eclipses can be as much as 10 stops darker, I should move my ISO up at least 10 different positions?

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You can do a combination of things...

If you start at ISO 100, f/11, and 1/100th second exposure... then you can get stops by:

1)  Drop the f-stop to f/8 (that's 1 stop)

2)  Drop the f-stop to f/5.6 (that's 2 stops) ... many zooms can't go lower than f/5.6 when zoomed in.  But if you have a high end zoom, you might be able to go to f/4, or f/2.8 (for a 3rd and 4th stop).

3)  Start increasing ISO to ISO 200 (that's 3 stops)

4)  Go to ISO 400 (4 stops)

5)  Go to ISO 800 (5 stops)

If your camera can handle ISO 1600, or 3200, or even 6400 and still have low noise then you coudl get to 6, 7, and 8 stops that way)

6)  Start dropping shutter speeds (you DO have a tripod, right?  You'll need it.  Also if you have a remote shutter release, you'll want to use that to trigger the camera.  If not, use the 2-second delay timer or even the 10-second delay timer that way after you press the shutter button (will will induce some vibration on the camera) it has a chance to calm down before the shutter opens.)  Drop the shutter speed to 1/50th (that's 6 stops)

7)  Keep dropping the shutter by halving it each time (e.g. 1/25th = 7 stops; 1/12th is 8 stops, 1/6th is 9 stops, and 1/3rd sec is 10 stops.)

But it might need to go EVEN DARKER (so you might have to go start doing 1 second, 2 second, 4 second, 8 second expoures or even 15 second expoures.  

Check your HISTOGRAM (do some reading to understand how that works.) 

When you take an exposure, you can check your historgram and you'll see a rectangle with a graph that looks like a mountain-range in it.  You want to make sure that the bulk of data in that graph stays away from the extreme left edge or extreme right edge and that your "mountains" are somewhere in the middle (without bunching up on either end).   If they do bunch up on either end then it means you've clipped data (you are under-exposed if your "mountains" are chopped off on the left side or bunched up against the left side.  You are over-exposed if it's bunched up or chopped off on the right side.)

Do not trust how it "looks" on the LCD screen when you review the image.  That can be misleading.

You may need to adjust these exposures (in fact, you'll almost certainly want to do that).  If you shoot in RAW (Canon ".CR2" files) then you'll have a much easier time adjusting the images (using something like Adobe Lightroom or even Canon Digital Photo Professional which came with your camera and even if you can't find it you can always re-download it from Canon.)

[ebiggs1]

No not necessarily.   A full stop is a doubling or halving of the current number.  No matter if it is a f-ratio like f2 or a SS like 1/100.  Even the ISO of say 200 is easily moved one stop by setting it to 400.  This is one stop faster.  If you half it from 200 to 100 that is one stop but it is slower.

A SS of 1/250 for instance is one stop if you do the same doubling, 1/500, or halving, 1/125.  Some cameras have half stops or even third stops.  But whatever the number it must be doubled or halved.

It helps if you are in a dark place.  Don't turn on any room lights and give your eyes time in darkness to adjust before you try to shoot the Moon.