Marvelous Moons - August 2022
Welcome to the third edition of Marvelous Moons! This is a series where I share some of my favorite moon photos from various photographers and talk a bit about them. It’s a way for us to all learn concepts and techniques from the best! This time we follow a theme of including people along with the moon.
Level 1 moon photography: Taking a photo of the moon
Level 2 moon photography: Planning and executing a photo of the moon aligned with a mountain or other natural feature
Level 3 moon photography: Planning and executing a photo of the moon aligned with a person
Next level moon photography: Planning and executing a photo of the moon aligned with a person doing something crazy.
Just planning and putting a person in front of the moon is challenging by itself, but our photos today take things a step further, with people doing amazing things in front of the moon, such as we see here with a climber hanging off of a rock. Jose Izquierdo Cano does similar shots with the sun as well for an array of stunning imagery, with people doing everything from acrobatics to bike stunts. I love collaborations like these because it’s a beautiful way to combine multiple people’s passions and makes for a unique “portrait”. And don’t worry, Jose assures us his climbing friend was always safe, and there was safety rope which was removed in post processing for a cleaner image.
Things are taken up another notch when you bring a moving subject into the picture (pun intended). Because of the moon’s movement across the sky, you typically only have a window of between 15-30 seconds to get that perfect shot you were looking for. Now, throw a fast moving snowboarder into the mix and you have a super challenge. Daniel Tschurtschenthaler teamed up with friends Lukas and Marc on this project, and yes, they had to consider the angle of the ramp when building it, as well as the exact timing to begin to descend for the launch. And after all that, the timing was lined up perfectly with the best lighting to be able to see the landscape and capture the details of the moon as well. The achievement took 3 attempts over 4 months. These types of photos are rarely lucky shots, but start with a well-thought-out vision followed by intense planning.
Betul Turksoy takes it to yet another level here by capturing a paramotorist in front of the moon. A flying subject complicates things even further. When you’re working with someone on the ground, or close to it, their angle of elevation is essentially static, which is helpful in lining things up with the moon at any point in time. With someone or something in flight though, that elevation is constantly changing, based on their distance to the camera and their height off the ground. I’ve also done some moon shots with a paramotorist and I can assure you it is not easy! In our case, we were in communication via headset so that I could direct the pilot to move up, down, left, or right to make sure and line things up, and it was very tricky. A good thing to note with this photo is that you can make out a good amount of craters and other details on the moon. This is in part due to the moon not being full. With a full moon, you generally won’t be able to make out as much as during other phases due to the lighting and shadows which add some depth, so that is something to keep in mind for any moon photography, whether or not you have anything else in the frame.
That wraps up our August marvellous moons, I hope you enjoyed my take on these awesome photos, and if you have any thoughts or questions just let me know in the comments!
