This is primarily a travel blog in which I write about traveling in our motorhome. Our travels have

Nacogdoches, TX, United States
I began this blog as a vehicle for reporting on a 47-day trip made by my wife and me in our motorhome down to the Yucatan Peninsula and back. I continued writing about our post-Yucatan travels and gradually began including non-travel related topics. I often rant about things that piss me off, such as gun violence, fracking, healthcare, education, and anything else that pushes my button. I have a photography gallery on my Smugmug site (http://rbmartiniv.smugmug.com).

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Super Moon Tonight

Tonight (May 5, 2012) the moon was full AND at its perigee (closest to the Earth this year), therefore, it appeared larger than normal (it was about 13,000 miles closer). This event, the full moon at its perigee, will not occur again until the year 2029 and I felt it was necessary to go out and take a photo.  I shot it with a 300 mm telephoto (longest lens I own), ISO 100, aperture at f/16, and various shutter speeds.  I used a tripod and a remote shutter release cable with the mirror locked in the up position to keep any vibrations from causing movement.  Of course, the moon is moving and with longer shutter speeds the photo is not as tack-sharp as I had hoped.  I meant to take some at wider apertures and faster speeds but seem to have forgotten once I started.  Guess I'll have to try again in 2029.  I'll only be 83 years old then!

Super Moon



1 comment :

Croft said...

I had every intention of taking out my 300 and making some shots as well but unfortunately, we had a serious cloud cover last night. I would have used the "Moony 11" rule as a starting point. That is, the reciprocal of the ISO as a shutter speed and lens at f/11. That would mean, for example, ISO 500, speed 1/500 at f/11. You need lots of bracketing as the amount of crud between you and the moon varies depending on how lose it is to the horizon and any moisture in the air.

This has worked for me in the past but not last night! You are lucky to hace had clear skies.