The Sun, The Moon, One Outing
Once a month (sometimes twice!) we get treated to a wonderful event - a full moon. What makes it even more special is that the moon rises within minutes of the sunset, giving the landscape photographer two wonderful opportunities. I will admit that I don't often get excited about a full moon, I have the obligatory near frame-filling image of the moon but if you've seen one, you've seen them all. I like when I can shoot the moon as I would a sunrise or sunset, as it emerges from (or sinks below) the horizon with a good supporting foreground. Since the full moon rises (and sets) within minutes of sunset (or sunrise) there is still a lot of ambient light allowing shorter shutter speeds. Once the moon gets higher in the sky you often get a white blob unless you exposure stack.Setting Sun
I often get asked, "Which do you prefer, sunrise or sunset?" The honest answer is, "How is the cloud cover?" For me, the clouds make all the difference. I am usually up before sunrise and awake well after sunset so that isn't a consideration. The sunrise is a bit more challenging because you are setting up in the dark, which makes composing and focusing a bit challenging but there is a certain "magic" about watching the new day arrive. A sunset means you are packing up and going back to your car in the dark which brings it's own challenges. The sunset here was made at Divine Lake in Spring Lake, a location that is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I like to plan my photo trips and arrive well ahead of time but this day was one of the exceptions; it was a last-minute trip and I got there as the sun was nearing the tops of the trees. My intended subject was on the west side of the lake, hoping to get the golden hour light on the trees and one of the foot bridges. Immediately upon arrival I had to scramble for an alternative because the sun was already too low. This was one time when previous scouting paid off. I usually set up with St. Catharine Church as my main subject with the sun setting behind, hoping to get some nice reflections in the lake. I went out one afternoon this past summer to look for other areas of the lake that had potential. I already had a nice composition for foliage (see Autumnal Beauty - Does It Get Any Better?) but I needed more sunset and, potentially, sunrise compositions. I found these stairs during that trip, along with a few other possibilities.
I try to go out periodically for the sole purpose of scouting new locations. I carry my gear with me, just in case, but I go to places looking for possible compositions or areas of interest. If anything looks like it has potential, a snapshot or two are made with my phone, make some notes in a notebook and I move on. I will write another post about scouting in the future as I don't want to stray too far from the real subject here.
Rising Moon
When I was satisfied I had a couple good images I packed up and headed for home. I decided to take the longer way home and drive along Ocean Avenue, I was only a couple blocks away and it is a nice drive. Almost immediately upon turning onto the road I noticed the (near) full moon set against a dark blue sky and surrounded by whispy, pink-tinged clouds - I was not going straight home! I knew exactly where I wanted to be, Avon-by-the-Sea at the inlet to Shark River. Though I didn't know if the tide was high or even if it was coming in, that was where I wanted to be so that I could use the rocks and get a nice reflection in the ocean. As you can see from the image here, I never made it. As soon as I crossed into Belmar I remembered a sunset I did at Silver Lake, it was when I discovered this beautiful little tree (you can find images from that day on my Instagram feed - here, here, and here.) If luck was on my side, the moon would be close to the tip of the tree. It turned out that the moon was much higher in the sky than I thought but it was still low enough to be included in a few compositions. The image presented here is my favorite of the bunch, you can still see some of the sunset color in the clouds, even though they a bit more subtle than what I saw earlier. The full moon was the next day and I had planned to return, hoping to catch the moon "under" the branches on the left of the tree or precariously perched at the top of the tree. Unfortunately, that plan had to be scrapped but I made some notes and added a few entries in my calendar to remind me when upcoming moons would be in position - hopefully one will be a "Supermoon." If I get my image, you will find it here and on my Instagram feed. If you enjoyed these images and would like to see more of my work, consider checking out (and following) my Instagram feed - https://www.instagram.com/valencia32photo/. If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!
- Technical information:
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
Lenses: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
ISO 100
All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent in parenthesis.
Shutter tripped with wired shutter release.
While on the tripod, "image stabilization" is turned off.
I will often use auto-focus to focus on my subject and then turn it off. This makes bracketing easier and I can take successive images without the camera hunting for focus each time - this is particularly useful when it starts getting darker.
All images where made using "M"anual exposure, using "live preview" and the histogram as guides. I will often use the built-in bracketing but find that I like the flexibility of manual.
All photos are copyright Joseph S. Valencia, All Rights Reserved. They may not be used in any way without express written permission of the photographer. If you wish to use any of the photos you may contact the photographer at valencia32photo@gmail.com
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