Bright Moon Workshop

Had my second outing with Gentleman Steve Gandy last night -- a Bright Moon Workshop in Boulder's Chautauqua Park. Overcast conditions late in the day threatened to scuttle it. But the skies had cleared enough by 7:00 to keep it on. And the remaining clouds added some interest to the shots.

We didn't start shooting until 9 p.m., with the aforementioned bright moon as the primary light source.  I was amazed at how bright the shot could end up with the right combination of ISO, aperture and shutter speed.

Long exposures gave the clouds a lacy look much like flowing water, which was the focus of my first workshop with Steve.  Only two other souls braved the chilly temperatures, so we each got plenty of hands-on tutelage.

I liked how the fence serves to anchor this particular angle.  But I wasn't particularly happy with the focus on any of my shots.  I tried setting it for infinity using the moon itself, but wish I'd gotten just a little crisper detail.  Something to work on next time.

Since the Earth is rotating while the shutter's open, the stars begin to turn into trails rather than points.  You can see some here in just a one-minute exposure ...

... and the handful here practically look like shooting stars in a six-minute exposure.

We didn't move around a lot and shoot a lot of different angles.  Instead we stayed in one spot and concentrated on exposure, focus and composition.  Really a tremendous experience -- one I'm very glad I stayed up past my normal bed time on a school night for. :)