Tag: Moon

Tuesday (12-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey.

Jet Transiting the Waxing Gibbous Moon. I am still having issues with the video mode automatic gain “feature” with the Nikon D3s. In doors with normal light levels it doesn’t seem to be that much of a problem. However, when trying to take video images of the moon through a telephoto lens, the moon is over-exposed. During the testing, I managed to catch a jet transiting in front of the moon. I happened very quickly (less than one second). The video below shows the transit  across the lower part of the moon 1) as is; 2) zoomed in from 100% to 250%; and 3) zoomed in at 250% and slowed down to 33% speed. There was also some cloud cover moving during the sequence.

[Insert Video Here]

I also took some still images of the moon with the same camera and lens, but with a TC-E III 20 teleconverter. The goal was to see how sharp an image of the moon I could get with a 1200 mm lens. Focusing was through “Live View”, and to minimize camera shake used the “mirror up” mode to allow the system to stabilize. The D3s allows the use of “Live View” and “mirror up” because “Live View” is now selected via a button on the back of the camera. You don’t have the ability to use “Live View” and “mirror up”. The first still image of the waxing gibbous moon at 92% illumination was taken at ISO 200, f/8, and 1/200 second. The second at ISO 200, f/16, and 1/50 second. If I did my calculations right for a 1200 mm lens on a FX sized sensor, the moon should only move ~0.2 pixels for a 1/50 second exposure.

Waxing Gibbous Moon (92%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon (92%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS5
Waxing Gibbous Moon (85%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon (85%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5

Saturday (18-June-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Night Sky over New Jersey.

I think that this image of the waining gibbous moon with the D3x and 500 mm telephoto lens is sharper that the one I took with the D3x and 600 mm lens of the full moon 15-June-2001. Both were on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head, remote shutter, mirror up with 30 sec delay.

Waining Gibbous Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Waining Gibbous Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Wednesday (15-June-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Night Sky over New Jersey.

We didn’t get to see the full lunar eclipse in this part of the world. The sky was clear, and the moon was bright so I got a chance to test taking images of the moon with my new 600 mm telephoto lens. The first five are attempting the same exposure while changing both aperture and shutter speed (f/16, 1/50 sec; f/11, 1/100 sec; f/8, 1/200 sec; f/5.6, 1/400 sec; and f/4, 1/800 sec). The final image was taken at 1200 mm using a TC-E III 20 teleconverter. For all of the images I used the camera autofocus, remote shutter, mirror up for a 30 second delay to allow the mirror up vibrations to decay, and tripod VR mode.

Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 (ISO 100, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 (ISO 100, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5

Saturday (30-April-2011) — Pacific Ocean

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 4: At Sea.

Comparison of Digital Noise Reduction Programs. Pre-dawn view of the Moon, Venus (and Mercury) over the Pacific Ocean. Professor Ian Campbell had us look for the moon and several planets in close proximity. Here are a couple of images taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). I needed the high ISO to even get a 1/30 sec exposure since it was still dark and the ship was moving. For each image I processed with no digital noise reduction, then with either NIK Define 2.0 or Topaz DeNoise 5.0.

Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with NIK Define 2.0. (David J Mathre)
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with NIK Define 2.0.
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with Topaz DeNoise 5.0. (David J Mathre)
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with Topaz DeNoise 5.0.
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with NIK Define 2.0. (David J Mathre)
Pre-Dawn View of the Moon, Venus, and Mercury. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 85 mm f/1.4G (ISO 1600, 85 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. Noise Reduction with NIK Define 2.0.

Sunday (21-November-2010) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

November Full Moon — Also known as the Beaver Moon or Harvest Moon. 1) Image acquired with a Nikon D3x camera and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 100, 800 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). 2) Image acquired with a Nikon D3s camera and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec).

November Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with D3s and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)
November Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with D3s camera and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)
November Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with D3x and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 100, 800 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
November Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with D3x camera and 400 mm f/2.8 with TC-E 20 teleconverter (ISO 100, 800 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)