I keep trying with my moon shots (no pun intended for those of you who may have heard about or participated in the Colorado River hijinx) so this morning with a mostly full moon, waxing gibbous at 95% to be exact (thanks, Google’s Current Moon Phase Gadget), I set up on the driveway facing the moon in the western sky and snapped a few. Many were out of focus (what a surprise for me!) because the weight of the long lens was enough to cause a slight jiggle despite the tripod when I depressed the shutter release. I didn’t take the time to get my remote shutter release which would have solved the problem. Another day, perhaps. What I noticed when I compared this morning’s in focus shots with one I took a few days ago when the moon was a waning gibbous moon at 96% (I missed the full moon stage) is that despite what I know about the moon, i.e., we always see the same face of the moon, that face actually rotates. So, inquiring minds want to know, does the face change because the moon rotates or does it change because the earth is rotating?
Here is today’s shot, and the shot I took a few days ago for comparison.
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 100
f/16
1/50
Cropped
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 100
f/22
1/60
Cropped and brightened