I missed the last Super Moon so Sunday morning when I was outside about 8 AM before leaving for the gym, I noticed that the waning gibbous moon was still in the sky. I took a few shots, hand holding the camera which is not what I normally do when I photograph the moon. I usually clamp the camera (or in the case of the 80-400mm lens, clamp the lens itself) firmly to its tripod and use the remote or timer to take the shots to avoid as much camera shake as possible. I discovered, much later, that not only did I not use a tripod or timer, the vibration reduction was turned off. I don’t know when I might have turned it off. It’s likely been off for a while now because I only turn it off when I use a tripod and I haven’t used the tripod with the 80-400 lens in weeks because I want to practice hand holding it as steady as possible. This may explain my recent disappointments with less than perfectly focused images.
Note to self: Pay attention!
I was pleased to see that the moon shots I took were in fairly decent focus, despite hand holding the camera. While not as good as when I use the tripod, they were acceptably clear. It must mean I’m getting better at hand holding this monster lens but I still have a long way to go. And the moon is a stationary object (more or less) not an erratically moving creature. So, it’s practice, practice, practice, and more practice.
