By the light of the moon

All landscape photographers know that the best time to be out shooting is during the blue hours and golden hours. This is when the light is at its best, with golden hues and long shadows to lift even a normal scene to another level. But how about going out shooting well after the sun has set? In the last few years I have been doing a series of individual “projects” (for lack of a better word), going out into the field at night to photograph some landscapes, and see what comes out.

This is a lot easier to do with digital sensors, than it was with film. And the results can be both good and surprising, especially with the latest generation of sensors, that have low noise during long exposures, and benefit from techniques such as “long exposure noise reduction” (where a dark frame is taken with the same exposure time of the actual one, to subtract the noise in-camera). Of course a good tripod and ball head, plus some sort of remote release, are necessary, as we are dealing with Bulb exposure mode. On the gear side, a so called full-frame camera (with a sensor the size of what 35mm film used to be) helps a lot in the noise department, but smaller sensor cameras are also improving all the time, so do not feel restricted about it.

Recently, during my holidays, I went out to a favourite location of mine, Cabo Sardao, in the Alentejo coast, Portugal. I wanted to try some landscapes under the full moon, or “moonscapes”. I know the area very well, which helps in planning and selecting some interesting locations. This type of long exposure is a bit of trial and error, but again, much easier to do than before. It is possible to raise the ISO to the maximum, just to fire off a few shots and verify exposure time and composition. Then, once satisfied, just lower the ISO and adjust the exposure times accordingly. You can do the very simple math in your head, or get some sort of app to help you out. In the end, you will be reaching multi-minute exposure times quickly, so why not take some time, relax, let the gear work its magic, and enjoy the surroundings?

As enjoyable as the photos is the experience of being out there in the middle of the night, in a secluded place, admiring mother Nature. Try it out some day, summer is great for this type of photography in the Northern hemisphere at least, with warmer nights. It is a literally eye-opening experience, as the camera “sees” in the dark much better than your eyes.