How to Photograph a Full Moon Alignment

[@patford9943]

I rewatched this video to brush up on details and good lord how can I miss someone I never met? My deepest condolences to Alyn’s family and friends.

[@janm2473]

My heart is broken for Alyn's family and friends....I just read his short story of how he tragically died. Here I was, chuckling about the curious cows and now my heart is full of tears. Rest In Peace, Alyn..

[@prabhakarrao4922]

RIP ALYN. So very sad to hear of your recent passing. Thank you so much for all the great, highly informative videos you put together for astrophotographers to see.

Find peace among the stars or wherever you may be, my friend. Thank you for everything you shared with us.

[@ianlauerastro]

Everyone has a different eye for what they want to shoot, and it's always nice to hear how you (and others) scout for compositions!

[@zitafitzgerald5906]

My heart goes out to him.. thinking of all the family. I needed this video thank x

[@michaelmckeag960]

For those looking for PhotoPills tutorials, another resource is Brenda Petrella's extensive series on her Outdoor Photography KZbin channel.

[@metime-sharethegoodlife]

I have never seen such a beautiful photo or view in my whole life...thankyou dear

[@bassembboustany]

I'm picking up the Sigma 100-400 I special ordered 2 weeks ago and you upload this. Perfect timing

[@DanYosua]

"ugh there's only 13 of these a year" - this hits hard lol. I'm a novice at any astro, but very quickly I started to get an appreciation for the fleeting scarcity of some of these things (full moon, milky way position, etc). Combined with getting to a cool location and getting good weather. Makes getting the shot feel sooo good.

[@marinekong235]

not true - if you take them all every year you would have hundreds as you age. And the moon looks exactly the same each time, there is no expiry date haha

[@pavelk7078]

I starting to get addicted to your videos )) Thats great to meet a person who loves to do the same things as you do and learn how to improve your skills. Salute from Saint-Petersburg, Russia!)

[@lathajes6199]

That wonderful shot is worth the trouble. Thanks Alyn.

[@scotty4418]

Well thats was a close one, glad you managed to still get the image Alyn

[@rdavies1305]

All that planning and livestock nearly had you over, great to see how you handled it and still got your shot. Chuckling my head off here😁 great video. Cheers! 👍

[@derekthomas4471]

There are so many wonderful places & landmarks in Wales which combined with the beauty of the night sky & your creativity have enabled you to share some extraordinary images. Your tutorials have really helped me combine my love of both Astronomy & Photography. Thank you for sharing👏👏👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@AzWineNut]

Alyn, Nicely done!! The extra pressure just heightened the result. CHEERS!! and Thank you!

[@linkedwinters]

Love that you're pumping out video after video, keep up the amazing work. Loving the photos.

[@Zeyervv]

High quality content with high frequenty

[@IslandPhotoNews]

I loved watching this vid and know EXACTLY how you felt to get a shot like this!! Living where I do in New York, it's rare to be treated to such a clear haze and cloud free night for either the rise or set. It's a great high when it occasionally does happen. Super shot, great vid. You had to be totally psyched watching the whole plan come together!

[@deathstarHQ]

Great video Alyn, the best quote from a photographer I've ever heard "I think the cows have gone, i'm hoping they're getting ready for bed". Ha ha brilliant, can't get the image out my head of cows putting their pyjamas on!

[@anitarussum4590]

THE BINA…. hahaha i heard that too😂 he is so entertaining as well as he is a great teacher, and astrophotographer.

[@Digmen1]

That was very nice to watch. The colour sof the moon at the end of your video were beautiful

[@dhanieariebali]

Thank you Alyn! I am so glad being able to purchased your book.

[@michaelkrueger17]

Beautiful shot. Nicely done.

[@spidersj12]

It's like an Alfred Hitchcock movie... "The Cows!"

[@ajdaly5634]

Ironically, I am out almost every night with my telescope watching the heavens including the moon; but I never looked at it from your point of view. " there's only 13 full moon in a year " you said. Your catch for this evening took me by surprise; really elevating. On the next full moon rest assured I will have a totally new experience thanks to you. Thank you for the time and special efforts you put into this work and for sharing it with the world.

[@astrojourneyuk]

I love the shot at the end and a ton of tips on the video. Something for me to go for whenever it’s a full moon and deep sky Astro is impacted. 👍

[@Seventhviper]

I was out that night trying to get some good shots @ Penarth Pier (along with about 50 others!) - didn't really work out though. I need a much longer lens (50mm is as long as I own). I'm now saving for the 70-350mm so I can get some better moon shots.

[@TwoTone.exe_]

@4:55 I'm not sure if you've misinterpreted how the crop factor works or maybe I've just misinterpreted what you've meant as there always seems to be confusion around this relationship, but while the moon will look larger in the frame this is only due to there being less environment around the image, the relationship and scale between the moon and the lighthouse will, however, stay the same (unless you move closer or further away from the subject), so whether you're shooting APS-C or FF, if you shoot at 23mm on an APS-C and 35mm on FF from the same spot you will, in essence, have the same image with the same level of subject/background compression the only difference being the APS-C will look exactly the same as the FF but as if someone has cut the sides off of it (crop factor) ... bit of a long ramble if I've got the wrong end of the stick, ^^^ but for any novices, that's the general difference between cropped sensors and full frames ... before getting into DOF etc.

[@AlynWallace]

Yeah was just talking about the Moon being bigger in the frame if you use a 600mm lens on a FF vs APS-C. Nothing to do with the relationship between Moon and foreground size.

[@gerrydoherty52]

Great vid Alyn and moon capture 👏🐄 🐄

[@tonymarsh3541]

Thanks for sharing your love of each and every full moon 😍 I picked up one good tip - spiked feet!

[@2012Rustan]

Exceptional work Alyn !!! The first video I saw from your channel was "EPIC MOON alignments with the SIGMA 150-600mm "Where you called the telephoto lens" Moon Bazooka. "You have improved your work a lot, and you transmit knowledge, experience and, most notably, the enthusiasm you project for photography and stars. Greetings from Chile. Excepcional trabajo Alyn!!! El primer video que vi de tu canal fue "EPIC MOON alignments with the SIGMA 150-600mm " donde llamabas al teleobjetivo "Moon Bazooka". Has mejorado mucho tu trabajo, y transmites conocimiento, experiencia y lo más destacable el entusiasmo que proyectas por la fotografía y astros. Un saludo desde Chile.

[@FLORAMORAITINI]

Alyn you are a Master of the Art. Thank you for this wonderful video and spectacular photos. I also enjoyed the cows part. As for your explanation of photopills it is much more understandable watching what you have done than all the other videos I have watched.......It will save many of us if you could make a full video about photopills right from the start. I will be ever so grateful. And your gallery is spectacular too. I will be in touch

[@mtrretina]

Loved the video Mate. Enjoyed your little stint with the cows too 😅... The final image was lovely!

[@CharlieWoodwardMedia]

the moon BAZOOKA is back! I remember watching a moon vid when you were perched on a hill a few years back!

[@Subhamoffical109]

Congratulations sir for 89k soon 100k love ur all vdeos ☺️☺️❤️

[@charliebrown2679]

Spectacular!! Thank you so much for this superb video! May i ask please what was the distance between you and the Lighthouse? Im sorry i didn't hear you mention it and was curious. Thank you❤🙏

[@jpmissdeNice]

What about using a 300mm lens and the new Lr/CameaRaw Super Resolution feature to mimic a 600mm shot?

[@therealwonkydog]

Full moon on Thursday. Thanks Alyn, that's time for planning the shots. I'll be out there.

[@edwarddebruyn8717]

Haha, in the beginning of the video you claim you’re free to move….but then the cows came in… Nice video, great shot and nice humor. Thank you.

[@DaveStern2]

great video and that last minute dash made it all worth it! thanks for making this.

[@garethmcfarland7244]

I absolutely agree about that feeling you get when shooting the moon. It's become my personal niche this past year or so and I love it. I actually set out just last month to shoot my first 'proper' Moonrise alignment and was pretty happy with my efforts for a first go. As you mentioned I used all the apps I could to plan and research and it paid dividends.

[@tiklau]

Nice moon shoot with the moon bazooka! I think the lens mount is also important because when it zoom out, a tiny move on the camera will cost a huge movement on the lens. Thanks Alyn!

[@astro4fun]

Almost the same happens to me but with horses, here in Spain. Congrats for the video and the supebrs shots...!!!

[@8arrows]

We in the west would love to see those critters (horses or cattle) in the foreground with a full moon in background. Especially a dairy cow in the “ Milky” Way foreground

[@rugsack2005]

stunning composition. do you focus on the lighthouse or moon

[@Moregoreable]

Have the same lens and tripod! And they are both very good!!

[@alandyer910]

Well done! Yes, quite right - it doesn’t take one of the hyped Moons to make a good shot. Any Full Moon or often the Moon the night before Full can produce a great moonshot! Nicely shot despite the marauding cows!

[@alibuhlaiqa8384]

Love the video, excellent tutorial. I think I watched twice.One question, why your PhotoPill screen look that big. Are using a tablet ?

[@RaposaDoCorona]

This video taught me a lot about lining up the shots. Thank you.

[@NickNoblePhotography]

Alyn. Your take on the tradeoff between full frame camera and moon bazooka and cropping the picture, and perhaps denosie or gigapixel vs. some combination of teleconverter/crop sensor camera. I use a Canon 5d4 and thinking about grabbing a 90D just for moon photography. any insights??

[@DavesAstrophotography]

That is awesome Alyn, well impressive!

[@anitarussum4590]

Dave’s Astrophotography Alyn surely knows how to improvise doesn’t he😀

[@DavesAstrophotography]

@@anitarussum4590 He's ace, If I can acquire just 10% of his photography skills, I would be happy!

[@AstroRoad]

Great episode Alyn. So good to see the moon getting some love 👍.

[@hellothere6432]

what programm for editing do you use?

[@sandeepsinghchawla916]

Loved this video, loved the overall feeling associated with the photo 🌛🌛

[@Steve-dv9wg]

Thanks for making this video that I'm watching 2 years late. I have a question about focal points with this type of photography. I find the need to focus stack because even when I'm far away from the foreground subject I can't get both the foreground subject and the moon at their sharpest in a single exposure because the depth of field of my biggest lens' 300MM focal length is too small. How do you deal with that? Thanks if you can give me any advice. I can relate to the cow problem. I'm never in their pasture like you were but I'm often against the fence and after I get all set up, they like to come and stretch over the fence and lick the camera 🙂. I can also relate to your claim that you use the bazooka lens only for moon photography. I'm considering the purchase of a 600mm lens just for the same purpose. My 300mm as given me some images I'm happy with but I think I'd be happier with 600.

[@johorastronomyclub6954]

Its beautiful indeed. Grt8 sky there! 😘😎

[@mikegordonbrasov161]

thnaks. is the focus on the moon, or focus on the foreground subject? or is it hyperfocal?. Any stack necesary, or single shot? Thank you again👋

[@boruchlen]

Very informative, enjoyable and full of bull 😅. Be careful, they're usually docile and inquisitive but can turn on you in a heartbeat. A question if I may. How do you edit the images once the moon is higher in the sky and much brighter, when photographing much later at night? Last night I photographed the moonrise over The Poolbeg Chimneys in Dublin Harbour. The moon only rose at 10:35pm, pitch dark, and the by the time the moon was high enough in the sky, it was way over exposed. I shot 2 separate shots. 1 for the moon @ F11, 1/60th, 2000 iso, and one for the towers @ F11, 5 seconds, 2000 iso. Canon eos R6 mark ii, Canon 100-400. Had a bear of a time editing them.

[@petermainwaringsx]

I've always checked what time the moon rises, what direction it rises and use a map and protractor to check what's on the horizon and where I should be. Lots of work and still hit or miss I've just downloaded PhotoPills and I'm also going try some Milky Way shots with my Pixel 4, as per one of your other videos. Thanks Alyn.

[@captinktm]

Isn't it fantastic when someone knows their subject. I am sure I saw you and your work on Photography online? Absolutely stunning. Moon/astro photography didn't really interest me until I saw POL. Thanks for posting. I am off out tonight to capture a super moon, all I need is a subject and camera location................yes a bit last minuet.

[@Bdawg.]

Great video as always. From what I know, Sigma 150-600mm C doesn't come with a Sony E-mount. Are you using a mount adapter here with your Sony camera?

[@topquarkbln]

Thank you very much for sharing your images and the way of making them. You are very inspiring as a human being and as a skilled specialist 💚❤👍

[@himanshu_dixit]

Hey Alyn, any opinion on the Benro Polaris head? Looks like it can serve dual purpose of being a ball head and star tracker as well!

[@hellothere6432]

do u think that you can make a nice photo of night sky with GoPro 9?

[@AlynWallace]

No idea, try it :)

[@hellothere6432]

ok

[@rishinatarajan8757]

It looks like someone is actually standing atop the tower!!!!. Great video 👍

[@Ian-mv4qq]

Great technical explanation! Thanks for this video. But if I don't have that moon bazooka, and can only shoot with 100 mm lense, how would this change the plan? I know I won't be able to shoot as far away as you do with 600 mm. Will the moon look 6x smaller with 100 mm?

[@AlynWallace]

Everything remains the same just that the Moon will be small in the frame. If you have a decent megapixel camera you can crop heavily. And then maybe use an app to increase the resolution though I have no experience with these to recommend one. Lightroom and Photoshop have a 'Super Resolution' feature, maybe worth a try

[@iangriff2170]

Just ordered an A7C, primarily for underwater photography, but seriously looking at it being an Astro camera too. Love your work and videos.

[@thorstenhahn5510]

I love my A7C but unfortunately they have no input for a remote shutter control and no bulb mode. Therefore you are always limited to 30s. It works for most of the things but sometimes you need more like shooting a foreground at low iso. But still love it.

[@iangriff2170]

@@thorstenhahn5510 you can use bulb mode. I also use the Sony imaging edge app on my phone as a wireless remote and can get bulb mode there too

[@thorstenhahn5510]

@@iangriff2170 Did not see it yet. Last time I had they idea that this should be possible but didn’t found. I‘ll give it a try again. Thanks for your reply!

[@thorstenhahn5510]

Now I got it. If the camera is in silent shutter mode, the bulb mode disappears. As I shot a lot indoors. I turned it off a while ago. Now I downloaded the app “shutter” at it gives you everything you need like a hardware remote shutter control.

[@pifilos]

Holy cow !!! Nice video :P

[@faisalbantog4704]

I see what you did here

[@ianmartin5389]

No Bull..!

[@henryposamentier8255]

Great video! One question I have is with respect to DX vs LX (Nikon). You recommend shooting in DX mode so as to increase the size of the moon with a given focal length lens. Would I not achieve the same effect by shooting in LX and then cropping later?

[@AlynWallace]

Same thing yes, no need to shoot in DX if you're using FX

[@henryposamentier8255]

Many thanks for that!

[@marcpayne9117]

Really enjoy your channel Alyn wanting to try Astro any tips in using medium format gear have the gfx 100s and 23mm f4 compared to full frame Regards

[@RodneyGracia]

Newbie question. So do you focus on infinity (the moon) or the building? or because of the lens focal length they appear at the same distance?

[@luap1983]

Amazing video mate I’m definitely going to give this a try! I have the Mach3 I think it’s amazing did you say you prefer the tortoise?

[@mightyenid]

One question I have is how do you get PhotoPills to display in landscape mode? My iPhone only seems to show it in portrait mode. Great video as ever, thanks.

[@AlynWallace]

Recorded on a tablet :)

[@mightyenid]

@@AlynWallace ah, yes! Thanks for letting me know chap. cheers

[@honorab6220]

Great video. Loved the cows and the moon.

[@davidharris1562]

What camera did you use? Brilliant video by the way

[@jamie74gemini87]

Yeah Alyn uses lighthouses and castles.. I used a distant chimney pot and TV aerial.. 🤪

[@anitarussum4590]

jamie74 gemini that works too!🧐

[@M31glow]

Epic shot! Great post

[@markebedwell6646]

Should you use an iso or white balance card. Do you have issues with the white balance?

[@AlynWallace]

I always shoot RAW, leave it on auto WB and fix it in post

[@ChrisKoehn]

I almost got one of those Sunwayfoto heads but the Benro geared head won out for me. I love the clutch on the gears so you can instantly set up and dial in a more precise composition without having to twist too much like the Sunwayfoto.

[@pancake9191]

It’s such a beautiful video i love it so much

[@joelwolski]

Great video. I just was out a little over a week ago getting a photo of the moon/Venus conjunction, but some low clouds moved in before they aligned with any terrestrial foreground. I did come away with a really nice comp with them between multiple bands and layers of clouds so it wasn't a total waste. Unfortunately I didn't use any of those apps that you mentioned. I don't like "planning" things on my phone's tiny screen and wish there were web based options. I used Google Earth and Stellarium and as the evening progressed, I realized how far short they both fell when being used to plan such things.

[@98vwgolf]

I have the same lens in ef mount, but was rather disappointed with weight and my images were all quite soft.

[@michaelkrueger17]

Have you tried a fluid head instead of the ball head? If so, any opinion on it?

[@AlynWallace]

I haven't no, as I primarily stills guy I've never picked one up and the geared heads are great for this kind of thing

[@michaelkrueger17]

@@AlynWallace my thoughts also, I also shoot stills. until I saw kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5qbiYyBaqitY80 Hudson Henry KZbin. - If you have not seen it I recommend it. and let me know what you think.

[@markbrookes5403]

Great video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. I'm curious about full moon rising at sun sun rise, this is happening soon and wondered if you've shot this before or is it a waste of time, is the moon invisible because of the sun?

[@mahteef]

such a nice shot! wish there were hills where I live in Florida. It is very flat and hard to find amusing artifacts for the foreground. Anyways, I wanted to ask about white balance. Would you recommend 4000 K to shoot at night or just auto WB? Also, would it change depending on the position of the moon and if you are taking pictures of the stars instead?

[@amishjain2302]

Hey Alyn - Do you switch to Manual Focus while doing these shots or use autofocus. I had problems while ( focusing) photographing sunrise in salt flat desert during dawn when the sun was about to rise and autofocus kept going back and forth . Where do you focus in such situations. If you could answer or make videos about it, it would be great

[@MattFreestonePictures]

Possibly looks like the International Space Station passing top left at 14:02.

[@sandyclyburn5675]

Was the lens fully racked out for this shot (600mm )???

[@guillermolopez1356]

Very nice to enjoy the process!

[@leeberry3155]

Great shot bro 😎

[@jakobschneeberger3965]

Great shot 👍👍👍

[@LeeMansfield]

Superb Alyn, I very similar setup as yourself and always use PP to plan, every month I have at least 1 full moon planned - looking forward to this Wed, Thu and Fri :) keep up great work

[@derekoneill6727]

How far from the lighthouse did you have your camera setup

[@jerryrichards8172]

Did you focus on the light house ?

[@kalasag9113]

Phenomenal! Thanks for sharing.

[@avt_astro206]

Great Tutorial!!

[@stevenlippis5488]

I've done single moon shots, and videos of the moon, but haven't timelapsed yet. I like the idea of shooting video with my D500 because if I shoot 4k it crops, so gets me closer again with my 200-500. My big issue is getting the exposure right as it rises. Timelapse might be my better option. I can always crop a little before converting to video anyhow.

[@yosefco]

hi alyn thank you! fantastic job. is there an optionyou can explain hou you stack and edit a photo like this? did you stack at all or its just one image?

[@chelaphoto]

All the feels...every full moon counts!

[@stevecromwell5526]

Great video, as always. And about the cows, you have yourself to blame for that. They heard you talking about the Moo Bazooka and had to check it out. : D

[@JG-hv1co]

Excellent video Alyn, I once parked my black car in a rural car park while I was fishing and returned to find it surronded by cows who had licked it from front to back and left green slime all over it 😂, keep up the good work 😀

[@johnloftus2917]

Do you ever use the APS-C/Super 35mm Mode on your a7iii? Or have any reservations using it?