Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon  (Read 9996 times)

acktdi

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 79
    • alvinchanphoto.com
Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« on: March 13, 2013, 03:12:50 pm »

I spent a week planning this shot.  Thinking about it kept me awake at night.  In the end, it was worth it.  I've very happy with how it turned out.  I've still got a pano stitch of the entire Las Vegas strip to put together but here's the first one.



exposure info
5DM3, iso 400, 1.6s
70-200f2.8L @ 160mm, f5.6

Chairman Bill

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3352
    • flickr page
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2013, 04:04:37 pm »

Really nice. I post on a forum that includes an 'Astronomy photograph of the day' thread. Would you mind if I linked to this on that site?

Jaffy

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 59
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2013, 04:07:13 pm »

Excellent image, especially the detail in the moon. All-round good balance and exposure.
 We've just had cloud and rain - good rainbow as the sun set but it's not the same >:(
Logged

acktdi

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 79
    • alvinchanphoto.com
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2013, 04:31:58 pm »

Chairman Bill, go right ahead.  This is one of the best photos I've taken in my life.

Justan

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1928
    • Justan-Elk.com
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2013, 04:34:33 pm »

A delicious work. Give yourself a treat for this.

Definitely print and submit to local galleries, if you haven’t done so already.

I’ve found that locals love my night shots of the city and I’m sure you’ll experience the same

framah

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1418
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2013, 04:50:49 pm »

I don't even bother trying anymore. Up here in Maine, seems no matter  what fantastic celestial event happens, we have overcast skies.

I mark my calendar for every meteor shower and... sure enough... cloudy nights.
Auroras supposed to be at their peak?? no problem... cloudy.

This time it was cloudy all day and THEN it started raining.


I'm glad you got the shot and that you shared it with us!!!
« Last Edit: March 13, 2013, 04:55:02 pm by framah »
Logged
"It took a  lifetime of suffering and personal sacrifice to develop my keen aesthetic sense."

luxborealis

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2798
    • luxBorealis.com - photography by Terry McDonald
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2013, 11:37:16 pm »

Is anyone else unsettled by the movement of the comet compared to the sharpness of the moon? This is the first time I've seen the moon so sharp with a 1.6sec exposure. Usually, it starts to slightly blur at 1/30th and is unrecoverably blurred at 1/2sec or longer. Any thoughts/comments?
Logged
Terry McDonald - luxBorealis.com

RawheaD

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 145
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2013, 12:15:37 am »

After seeing the OP shot earlier today, I had to go out :)

@framah: sorry to hear, down here in Boston, we had a perfect day for viewing.  Went out with a NEX6, SpeedBooster, and a CZ85/1.4, not knowing what I'd get, and did pretty well :)




Comet Pan-STARRS by Dr. RawheaD, on Flickr

Walt Roycraft

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 442
    • roycraftart
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2013, 07:14:39 am »

Alvin, very nice indeed!
Logged
Walter Roycraft
http://www.roycraftart.c

Justan

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1928
    • Justan-Elk.com
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2013, 08:25:12 am »

Great capture, Rawhead!

Isaac

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3123
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2013, 11:44:48 am »

Usually, it starts to slightly blur at 1/30th and is unrecoverably blurred at 1/2sec or longer.

Unsettled? No.

But I think you've posed an interesting question about why the moon isn't blurred.
Logged

acktdi

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 79
    • alvinchanphoto.com
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2013, 01:39:28 pm »

This article is helpful in explaining the lack of blur
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/d60-night.shtml

The Rule of "600"

As discussed in detail in my article on meteor shower photography, the quickest way to determine the longest exposure that is possible for any given focal length lens, without the stars streaking, is to divide that focal length into 600. (This is the formula for 35mm. Larger formats are laxer, smaller formats more unforgiving). Since the 35mm focal length equivalent for the 14mm lens that I was using on the D60 is 22mm, I used a 30 second exposure (600/22=27 seconds. Close enough).


The moon moves at a slightly different speed in relation to the stars, but this is close enough.  I would have been fine up to about 3.75 seconds at 160mm.

Isaac

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3123
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2013, 02:33:45 pm »

Thanks, I might even be able to remember that :-)
Logged

Roman Racela

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 285
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2013, 03:48:03 am »

This is great!
Logged

acktdi

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 79
    • alvinchanphoto.com
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2013, 10:48:03 am »

.. and here is the panoramic version.  5 images merged with Photoshop.



http://alvinchanphoto.com/20130312_Comet_Moon_Las_Vegas_pano-Alvin_Chan.jpg
« Last Edit: March 15, 2013, 01:24:28 pm by acktdi »
Logged

Roman Racela

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 285
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2013, 07:56:22 pm »

Were you shooting from a hill in South Las Vegas? Great job!

.. and here is the panoramic version.  5 images merged with Photoshop.



http://alvinchanphoto.com/20130312_Comet_Moon_Las_Vegas_pano-Alvin_Chan.jpg
Logged

NancyP

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2513
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2013, 10:54:22 pm »

Very nice indeed. I tried to ID this comet, but the weather failed me, clouds obscured that sector of the sky on the evenings I had available to shoot it. (Midwest - I won't complain about the rain or snow,though, after last year's drought).
Logged

Ctein Photo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1
Re: Comet C/2011 L4 and Moon
« Reply #17 on: March 19, 2013, 10:38:03 pm »

Dear Lux,

It all depends on how large the moon is in your photograph and how sharp you need it to be.

The moon takes a bit over 2 minutes to move its diameter in the sky. A 1.6 sec exposure will blur the moon by about 1/80th its diameter. In Alvin's magnificent photo, as posted here, the moon's only about 30 pixels (est.) in size. So, the blur is less than half a pixel. He'd have to be up around 3 seconds for you to see any blurring.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "movement" of the comet. It looks equally sharp to me in this photo. I don't mean this to be condescending, but are you perhaps confusing the fan of the tail with some kind of blurring?

pax / Ctein
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up