Crescent Moon (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017)
I love this shot!
I took it with my Nikon D3400 and 70 – 300mm zoom. This past Saturday, I took my first Nikon camera class, and it was great! I took about four pages of notes and it was extremely useful! In fact, it helped with the picture above. I had to adjust the white balance to bring out the blue of the sky. In class, the instructor, whose name was Greg, said that for every picture he changes something of the following:
- Shutter speed
- Aperture (how open the shutter is–large or small “hole” light entry)
- ISO (light sensitivity)
- White balance (the balance of color)
Greg also said that if you’re not yet good enough at all of the above, to set your mode to “P,” which is a semi-automatic (programming) mode that will automatically set your shutter and aperture, and you can mess with your ISO and white balance and everything else, so that’s what I’m doing. I took the above shot early in the morning, not sure, maybe around 5 or 6 a.m.—but the time hack is off—it wasn’t the “2:02” it says. I’d had to recharge my battery, so when you pull the battery out, it messes up the time stamps, dammit. Anyway, to show the difference the proper white balance can make, here is the original shot before I corrected for it:
Crescent Moon – No White Balance (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017))
You can definitely see the difference! So, thanks, Greg and Mike’s Camera, for presenting this Nikon class–it’s already helped me out!
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Runnin Off at the Mouth.... 
Dang it, forgot to mention that I shot it at 400 ISO. Greg said moon shots would use daylight ISOs, like 100 – 200, because of their brightness, but I tried 400. All images compressed through Coral PaintShop Pro x7.
Frank, enjoy and experiment. Don’t get too caught up in all of the techno mumbo-jumbo jargon. Some of my best results have come from happy accidents. Nice shot!
Hey, thanks, Lon!
I like to learn “my parameters,” then mess around (and go *outside” them)! I love “happy accidents,” too!
It’s cool to see the moon hanging in all that blue…. like from another world… or very early morning. A fingernail in the sky. I’ve never been one to learn all the ins and outs of the fancy cameras… thought we have a Cannon and I could. Just never had the time nor inclination…though I admire the lovely photos that come out of them. My neighbor Ted, who you might have met at my party (either this year or next) is an amazing photographer and he has amazing – expensive – equipment. And all the retired time in the world to learn new tricks. Here’s his website: http://www.teddarstphoto.com/
Thanks, Karen! I also love all the “space” (sky) around the moon’s image. Left if that way intentionally–NOT cropping it. Didn’t like the way the cropped look looked.
Yes, we met and talked–he’s the guy who’s been all over the world! Incredible images! Nice to put the work with the face! There is a lot t learn, and it gives me a FUN break from writing! I’ve always loved taking pictures. Thanks!
I meant this year or LAST (ha! our conversation bleeding over)… actually I haven’t been able to sleep past 3 since we met and I’ve had some very unusual visualizations as I lie there… over and over again… and they feel ancient and important. Don’t know how to interpret them… involving a clay vessel that I’m trying to find a way to line with some kind of paper (parchment?) and it involves tracing around the bottom of the vessel.. and nearby there are some stones with special markings… like round stones with two lines off center and a dot or two… weird…. but it is either keeping me up or an obsession that I can’t get rid of. I want to let it go if it is related to my lack of sleep.
Ha! I knew what you meant. ;-]
Begin by trying to figure out what each item/gestalt imagery means to you, Karen. What does “clay” mean to you…what does a clay “vessel” mean to you? “Parchment”? “Stones”? Something’s trying to get you attention, and apparently our meeting was the impetus to surface. If you still can’t figure anything out, just let it simmer and periodically revisit it and see what comes up. But something is trying to get your attention, so don’t ignore it….
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