Photographing the Lunar Eclipse

If you look to the heavens tonight (weather permitting), you're going to have a chance to feast your eyes on the last lunar eclipse until 2010.

Refresher course: A lunar eclipse happens only when a full moon falls into the earth's shadow. It's blocked from the sun by the earth. You see those beautiful red and orange tinges to the moon because some sunlight gets filtered and reflected through the earth's atmosphere. This year, it's a special trifecta because, in addition to the eclipse, you'll be able to see Saturn (including its rings if you've got a telescope) and Regulus, the brightest star in the Leo constellation. They'll be sandwiching the moon.

If you need help finding out when the eclipse is visible in your area, visit NASA's site to see your optimal viewing time. Also, look up your local astronomy club and see where they're setting up shop. Just don't be intimidated when you see the size of some of their rigs.

If you were really prepared, you would have already followed Mr Eclipse's advice to make a pre-eclipse visit to the site where you'll be photographing. The moon appears in the same location approximately 50 minutes later each night so you'll know where to look.

In a nutshell, taking a good photo of a lunar eclipse involves a trade-off between the focal length of your lens and exposure settings. The big problem with photographing the moon is that with most point-and-shoot cameras there just isn't enough of a lens. A DSLR with exchangeable lenses will give you better results. There's a nice chart on Eclipse Chasers to show you how to calibrate the size of your photograph.

Remember, too, that the eclipse is not a single event. It's a 50-minute extravaganza of the earth's shadow moving across the moon .You're going to need to adjust your settings at various points to accommodate the changing lighting.

The type of shot you'll get depends on what camera you have or can borrow. If you are limited to a point-and-shoot, but want to soldier on, the best you can do is probably a wide-angle view in which the moon is present, say, over that picturesque New England village, a classic snow- and moonscape.

If you have a DSLR and a telephoto lens, preferably 300 or 500 (35mm equivalent), then you can try for a detailed shot of the moon. But even with 500mm, you're not going to fill the frame with the moon; for that you need a small telescope.

The Wide-Angle Technique: For those of us with point-and-shoot cameras, the simplest way to get a good photo is the wide-angle technique according to Mr Eclipse. The technique involves setting your camera to the widest angle and capturing some of the skyline scenery as well. The moon will appear quite small, but the total picture could be very cool. Any kind of camera can be used as long as it's capable of shooting long exposures (five seconds or more is optimal). Mount it on a sturdy tripod and use the self timer to eliminate vibrations. If your camera has a vibration-free mode use it too.

The Telephoto Technique: Put your camera on a sturdy tripod and center the moon. If you have spot or center exposure, use it to get a test exposure. In most cameras, a bright moon against a dark sky will be heavily overexposed, so you may need to switch to exposure compensation of a few stops or even manual. When you get to full eclipse, the correct exposure will switch dramatically, so be ready for that. Be sure to try multiple exposures because this is a situation that will fool the built-in exposure calculations, and what looks good at night on the LCD may not look so great later. Also, this is a classic case where exposure using the histogram display, if you understand that, may work better than the usual techniques.

Other Tips: Remember to turn off your electronic flash; you won't need it. And don't be concerned about looking straight at the eclipse with your naked eye. It's solar eclipses where you must avoid direct eye contact. Make sure your camera has a fresh memory card and bring plenty of batteries. Sky and Telescope's advice to take a lot of pictures should also be heeded. And for a nice summary of techniques, take a look at NY Institute of Photography.

Now get out there and shoot the moon!