Ok, so next up is our closest planet (begin debate here)…the Moon, or Luna to its closest friends. I won’t go into all the particulars, but like some one once said: If it walks like a duck….
Anyway, the important part of this whole thing is that I learned a new skill this weekend! I was out in the desert and the Moon was beautiful. I would have loved to have taken a picture. But alas, the only camera I had with me was my Canon G12.
Not quite a DSLR, but it does have some pretty good control for an advanced point and shoot camera.
Surely, I thought, there must be a way!
So, like any good scientist, I experimented for hours on end with different setting until I alone in all the world possessed the knowledge needed to take perfect Moon shots with my G12!!!!
Just, kidding, I did what anyone would do and I used Google to search for the answer. However, as can be expected doing experiments this way, the results that other people got with their G12 settings did not actually work for me.
However, it did get me in the well, you know, ballpark.
DISCLAIMER: I neither endorse nor condone the playing, watching or in any form participating in the game of Baseball. I am totally agnostic toward any teams in either the AL or NL (go Cubs!).
Now on to the good stuff.
Basic game play for imaging the Moon with my Canon G12 Powershot camera:
Rule #1: No hand held shots.
Rule #2: They lie on the internet (80 ISO at 1/640s my a**).
Rule #3: Proper composition please.
Rule #4: Focus, even when you are doing it manually, focus.
Rule #5: The camera will play tricks on you, it is, after all, alive and evilly dead set against you obtaining any useful images.
Rule #6: Even if it really looks this way, Photoshop is your friend.
Rule #7: Take lots of pictures…lots and lots of pictures. You will be rewarded.
Not bad for a non-DSLR image with some optical and digital zoom in under 200 attempts! Actually, I got quite a few good ones.
Tomorrow: The real planet that is closest to us.
– Ex astris, scientia –
I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney. As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +
Norman