Shane Thompson, Photographer

One more astrophotography picture.  Jessica Tincopa, a local photogrpaher, asked me a question yesterday about shooting the moon, and I wondered how many other people had that same question, so I posted a shot I took, and the simple formula for a good exposure of the moon.
The rule is the f8 rule.  Set the camera aperture to f8, use shutterspeed nearest the reciporical of the ISO setting.  For example,  if the ISO setting is 100  use 1/100 sec  if the ISO is 200  use 1/250 second 400 ISO use 1/500  etc…  you will end up with a good exposure every time.

Hope this helps you to enjoy taking photos which include the moon in them.

I’ll admit it, I am a nerd, and even worse, I am a science nerd.  I have always been interested in astronomy and have been wanting to give astrophotography a try for some time.  I noticed the clear sky and decided to give it a try.  I set up the big 400mm lens on a tripod and had a go.  I was lucky enough to catch this shot of Jupiter with four of her moons.  How cool is it to look from your planet and see not only another planet, but its moons as well.  Pretty cool.

400mm lens, f5.6, 1 sec exposure, tripod mounted ISO 3200  Color removed in photoshop to correct for chromatic abberation.