Strawberry Moon

600mm f16 1/320 iso 1600

I set up my tripod in the front yard last night to try and catch the strawberry moon. First full moon on the solstice since 1948 and I really don't have the time to wait around for another one. I am pretty deficient as an astrophotographer and so every shoot is a learning experience. This one was as well.

I was using my Nikon D810 with the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary telephoto lens. Wimberly gimbal head. I tried all manner of fstops and shutter speeds as well as iso combinations. Surprisingly I had decent luck with a variety of shutter speeds. At one point I stuck on my Sigma 1.4 teleconverter and started shooting at 850mm. Didn't lose a lot of sharpness.

850mm f13 1/640 iso 1100

I shot manual focus, focussed in live view, mirror up, efs and used a remote shutter release.

The intervalock pouch I recently bought from B & H turned out to be a total waste of time and money and I removed it from my Induro 314 tripod.

Not much else to report. Was sort of a hazy night, not optimal but I am a lot more comfortable. If you want to be a good photographer, you have to instinctively know where all your buttons are in the dark. I am getting there.