Moon Over Montauk

[MJFVisions]

Here's my first attempt at posting a picture for your feedback. Hope to get some helpful comments. Thanks and enjoy.

[CypherOz]

Good image, good light and the central composure works.
Please level the horizon

[Peter Ryan]

Welcome to CiC Marty and thanks for posting this image.

The EXIF data tells us this was a 6 second exposure. This shot looks blurred on my monitor and I wonder if you used a tripod, a necessity for this type of shot.

Having said that, I quiet like the details of the garden and house in the foreground and light reflected from the moon over the water. The tall trees on each side keep the viewer concentrated on the main subject and you have taken the shot while there is still some colour in the sky otherwise this would be a very dark shot.

I would try this again with a tripod.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Marty,

Welcome to the CiC forums from me, good to have you along.

Thi is quite a nice composition but unfortunately the over-riding impression I get with this is of camera shake.

I assume it was on a tripod, as I note the EXIF says;
6 seconds at f/3.5 at iso200 and 18mm on a Rebel XTi

I suspect the (mainly vertical) movement I see was a result of pressing the shutter.
Have you got a remote release of some kind that could be used, or the self timer, set for 2 seconds?

The exposure looks OK with moon and reflection, perhaps a bit less on the left hand garden light.
Perhaps a smaller aperture would help retain more Depth of Field too.

Do have another go, assuming that's your house and you don't need to travel far for it?

Hope that helps

[MJFVisions]

Hi all,
I very much appreciate your feedback, and will definitely use it in future similar occasions. One lesson I learned after taking this shot, as you pointed out, is the importance of having your tripod ready and available at all times! We were on vacation, and unfortunately I forgot to bring the tripod, so I was attempting to use the back of a lounge chair. I know a tripod, along with a remote release (which I do infact own) would have greatly improved the end result. I hope I'll have a similar moon and night next year as we summer every year in Montauk. Thanks again for the feedback.

[Ramblinman]

Hey Marty! Its nice to see a fellow Long Islander here. Im from E. Massapequa.

[rpcrowe]

Hi Marty... I really like this shot. It is unfortunate that it is not entirely sharp. For future shots like this, I recommend that you, in addition to using a tripod (as already stated) also use mirror lock-up.