by David Kaplan

Last night (Nov. 5) I noticed an almost full moon, and how clear the sky was. I recently purchased a Nikon 500mm lens for birding, which is another hobby of mine. I figured I’d give the lens a spin at not quite astrophotography, which I have never tried.

The lens was set up for birding: f5.6, small group exposure reading, ISO 1250, auto white balance and handheld.

Initially the image looked overexposed, the moon almost white. I put the image through Adobe Elements. Increasing contrast and lowering brightness.

I was quite surprised at the final image. I’ll try again when the moon’s phases bring out more detail and the camera is on a tripod.