Measuring the Moon

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 1, 201395 views5 comments

While I was walking around the nature preserve this morning, I came upon this scene and immediately set up to take a photo before the instant was gone. That's why the techs are a bit weird. I thought it was pretty cool being like an old pair of calipers to measure distances or perhaps a moon globe held in place by some gravitational force. I'm curious as to what I could do to improve this image. I'm only into basic stuff on PSE so complex things on PS are not in the cards. Your input would be appreciated.

Tech Info

Canon 60D with EF 70-200mm f/4L and 1.4 TC = 280mm
1/5000th @ f/5.6 and ISO 640
tripod

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 2, 2013 at 12:55 AM

1) Crop sides (a vertical would be nice)
2) Bump up the blue (saturation)
3) Increase the contrast inthe moon (more white)
Cool shot!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on January 2, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Peter, I really like the idea of the capture here and can relate to your comment about the limbs being seen as a pair of calipers around the moon.
I would definitely clean up the edges of the image where the small limbs & twigs jet in on the sides of the scene. In this case, less is better for keeping our attention on the main objects, that being the moon and the caliper idea.
I agree with Stan's idea on saturation and contrast adjustments too. Some very slight changes should enhance the viewing aspect nicely.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on January 2, 2013 at 10:40 AM

Peter this is cool photo. Like Stan mentioned a boost in contrast will make difference here. I would adjust contrast first before saturation as increasing contrast usually comes along with a boost in saturation as well. A vertical crop might also look good. Way to go in working fast to get this.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 2, 2013 at 3:22 PM

Peter,

Good eye to catch this - and the moment you wrote "calipers" I got it immediately. Very cool.

Agree with Stan's assessment on all counts. A cropped vertical would really simplify and strengthen the image. My only wish would be for better depth so the moon was a little sharper. Being on a tripod, you could have easily opted for a smaller aperture, or even a focus stack. But regardless, you captured a great moment - probably something you won't be able to repeat unless you make note of the date and time and return here next year!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Clinch on January 7, 2013 at 9:53 PM

I will second the previous suggestions with regard to processing and cropping, and the compliments! Having the moon sharp would bring your concept to fruition. I wonder what it would look like with the exposure brought down on the branches, it might make the background jump out more. While the time of day was different , see Kurt Bidliger's "Moon Branches" for an excellent similar concept.

Registered on January 5, 2013, 37 Posts, 261 Comments