June Full Moon: Changing Light

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These three photographs of the June full moon show how the light changes as the sun sets.

This spot at Chesbro Reservoir is a perfect location to photograph the June full moon because the dip in the landscape lines up so nicely with the moon's rise. Moon rise was a full 45 minutes before sunset so I knew the moon would be very faint against a still bright sky. Normally, I like to use a long telephoto lens so the moon looks HUGE, and catch it when it first appears, but at Chesbro, the water and hills are as much a part of the composition as the moon. I chose a shorter lens so I could include the foreground grass and trees to frame the rise. I underexposed the shot to bring out more color.

All the elements came together for this shot taken just minutes before sunset. The sky was dark enough for the moon light to glimmer through, but not so dark that the contrast between sky and moon was greater than the camera sensor could capture. And the layers of warm, sunset color are always appreciated. I don't normally take vertical photographs, but the line of reflection in the water seemed to call for it.

This last photo was taken ten minutes after sunset. I zoomed in to give more size to the moon. Without the sun to warm it, the light turned a cool blue. At this point the moon was very bright against the dark blue sky. To prevent it from being completely blown out, I used a graduated neutral density filter and underexposed the shot. In post processing, I isolated the moon & darkened it to bring out the orange.

I hope you enjoyed viewing my moon shots
as much as I enjoyed taking them.