At The Edge
Uploaded: December 03, 2001
Moonset Beside the Third Flatiron in Boulder, CO
Glenn Theal December 03, 2001
This is an outstanding photo!Cheers,
Glenn #2181
Piper Lehman December 03, 2001
I concur! Is this "real" or PS? Tell me how to do this, please. Just magnificent. My photos are surely moving farther down the list with all these fine works of art that are coming in these last few days of the contest. boo hoo.... #3356Gregory Summers December 04, 2001
This is all real - in fact - it may be like this tomorrow moening. It is a 1 1/2 mile walk to this area from the parking place. The rock is the third Flatiron and the only thing I did in PS is adjust levels and curves so that it resembles the slide - it was shot with a Sigma 70-200 and a 2X extender, a polarizer, Provia on a bogen tripod and head. At sunrise, the moon sets as the sky lightens - it's a lot of work to find the place where the moon is in the right place and there is a space in the trees on the ridge in front of this view. It is so real - I sometimes don't believe it either. One of the images below is from the other side of this rock at a different time of year and the other one might have been the same day as I walked back to the car #3375Gregory Summers December 04, 2001
Oh - and thanks for your comments. #3376Bernard B. Travers December 10, 2001
National Geographic stuff. What a shot - what an eye. What words of wisdom might you have for a struggling amateur?Bernie L.
Everett, WA #3711
Gregory Summers December 10, 2001
I think we all struggle Bernie - for one thing - this is a long walk from the car and you just have to shoot a lot of film and see what happens - I bought my lenses one and a time as I wanted to get closer or stay further from a subject. I suggest a couple of things that I have learned - use a tripod and cable release, a lens hood, spot metering, manual settings and shoot the same things over and over again. I have walked tothis place dozens of times and I know almost every stump and rock along the way. I think slide film is the way to go once you have a little experience since it really teaches exposure - you can't be careless and it takes a lot of practice. I throw a lot of slides in the garbage - anthat's no lie. #3717James Bennett December 21, 2001
I've shot so many pictures of the moon we're on a first name basis and I simply can't get this kind of detail. Could you possibly share the aperture and speed you shot these pics at? You've inspired me to keep trying. Thanks so much. #4083Gregory Summers December 21, 2001
It isn't totally a function of aperture and shutter speed - it's a matter of the light values that exist in the scene. If the foreground is too dark, the moon will be properly exposed with detail and the foreground will be almost black or the moon will be a big white ball and the foreground will have detauil. When the moon is setting and the sun is just up, the horizontal light illuminates the foreground and is almost equal in light value to the moon. . . . to be continued #4098Gregory Summers December 21, 2001
it is at a slight angle fromt he line of light from the sun and the polarizer will have a slight, but beneficial effect. Then, there is the size of the rock and distance I was away from it. Part of getting a hot like this is finding a place where there is enough distance from the outcropping so that I was almost at infinity with the lens focus. I did close down the lense to increase DOF. By the time I took this image, there was enough light to have some flexebility in that regard. I used a tripod because the shutter speed is somewhere between 1/30 and 1/90 depending ont he aperture and at any of those speeeds with such a long lense, a tripod is neccessary. I also use a cable release to minimize any kind of motion of lens and camera. it took many months to recognize the possiblity of this shot and then many trips to the same place to capture this one. A few weeks back, I went and shot again, but the results were not nearly as good. #4099Gregory Summers December 21, 2001
The little tree on the left gives perspective and I had to go down lower and further to the right to get the moon where I wanted it and the deep edgeof the formation appeared only as a dark line and the tree was almost obscurred. I shot this image in February which seems to be the best time to get it. The moon moves north and south during the year and to get it at the right angle both horizontally and vertically requires learning the rhythms and motions of the subject. I have posted new images of the moon at a different location, but this has always been my favorite. (Done) - hope this helps #4100Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
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