Moonrise, Lake Weyba
Gelatin-silver photograph on Kodak Polymax Fine Art photographic paper, image size 19.6cm X 24.6cm, from a Tmax 400 8x10 negative exposed in a Tachihara 810HD triple extension field view camera fitted with a Fujinon-W 300mm f5.6 lens and #25 red filter.
Titled, signed, and stamped verso.
As usual with moonrises things get hectic. The light level is falling so the exposure needed to get a hint of foreground detail lengthens. But it can't get too long otherwise the man-in-the-moon face burns out and the blank disc looks like an underexposed sunrise. Too long an exposure also delivers an oval moon due to the earth's rotation. Remember, the moon appears to move its own diameter across the sky in 2 minutes! Then there's the need to use a small aperture on the lens to get enough depth of field for a sharp foreground and a sharp moon. The right balance between the variables lasts about 15 seconds. I was on site an hour before the moonrise and everything was set up according to a moon position predicted in astronomical tables. It's all to tricky to leave to luck.
