Full Moon in the Kennedy Ranges

One of the advantages of a dedicated photography tour is that we are all 'in the mix' 24/7. Its not like being in a class where you head home at 5pm. The additional advantage of an outback camping photography tour is that we are sleeping under the stars. We can shoot well into the night and pre-dawn and be well away from the influence of urban night light.

Tony Taylor alerted me that we will enjoy a full moon while we are camped in the Kennedy Ranges. This gives us some great opportunities for lunar landscapes. In many cases the best moon shots and especially lunar landscapes are taken the night before the full moon. This is due to the synchronicity between the sweet spot between sunset and last light and the moonrise.

If this sounds like a lot of 'gobbeldy gook', don't worry. I am going to produce some easy to follow charts for you.

However, you will need to get a handle on the manual controls on your camera. The moon is not quite as easy to expose correctly as it first looks. Furthermore, if you want to create an artistic moonshot you need to alter the perception of moon scale.

Jurien Bay Storm. Nikon D700. 6 secs @ f5.6 400 ISO

Techniques for photographing lunar landscapes, the moon, lightning and fireworks come under the general category of time exposure or long exposure. Its something you might like to check out by reading your camera's instruction book. 

If you would like some detailed instructions on these techniques before departure you may be interested in my UWA Intermediate DSLR workshop on 23 and 27 June. You get to practise all your manual controls about 76 times. The workshop also includes a night practical shoot where you practise the principles of photographing lightning, fireworks, stars and lunar landscapes. For more information click HERE.