How to shoot a total lunar eclipse

Lead: I remember that every total solar eclipse caused the photographer's collective carnival. The possibility of a total lunar eclipse is much greater than that of a total solar eclipse, but it did not kill the photographer's enthusiasm. Let's take a look at how to shoot the total lunar eclipse!

The state of solar eclipse at different stages

Then, after a long wait, about two hours later at 22: 05, the moon will completely enter the umbra of the earth, that is, the time of the eclipse. At this time, the moon will appear in the southeast with an elevation of 59 degrees.

The state of the moon's surface during a total lunar eclipse.

At 22: 3 1, the eclipse occurred, which is the middle point of the moon passing through the umbra of the earth. At this time, the direction of the moon is 34 degrees southeast and the elevation angle from the horizon is 63 degrees. After reaching the midpoint, the moon will move to the last contact point again.

At 22: 58, the moon will begin to pass through the umbra of the earth, which is the moment when light is born. At this time, the moon is in the southeast, and the elevation angle with the horizon will be 67 degrees. With the so-called birth of light, is it far from the final light?

At 0: 00 on 20112+018, we will have our last contact (the moon completely leaves the umbra of the earth). At this time, the moon is basically in the south direction, and the elevation angle with the horizon is 72 degrees.

The total lunar eclipse begins at 20: 45 and ends at 0: 18. If the shooting day is not cloudy or rainy, the majority of film friends can find a place far away from the city light pollution and shoot a very good eclipse. For cinematographers in the city, although the light pollution in the city is more serious, because the moon itself reflects sunlight, the reflected brightness of the moon is much stronger than that of ordinary stars, which means that cinematographers in the city only need to find an open space where they can shoot the whole southeast sky.

Tip: Take Beijing as an example, there are many open places where you can shoot the southeast sky, such as Jingshan Park and the northwest corner of the Forbidden City. The layout of each city is different, and the majority of filmmakers can find the most suitable shooting location according to the specific orientation of the moon.

The state of solar eclipse at different stages

Talk about the position of the moon during the total lunar eclipse. Next, the author will share with you some equipment and shooting strategies in the process of shooting the total lunar eclipse.

Selection of total lunar eclipse equipment and shooting skills

When the moon is bright, I believe many friends can't help but want to pick up the camera to shoot, not to mention the total lunar eclipse at home. Just as all subjects have their own unique shooting techniques, shooting the moon also has its own unique laws, and we can easily get it if we find it.

Sony A77 has the function of shearing and magnifying, which can be magnified up to 2 times. With 70-400, the telephoto end can reach about 1200mm.

? Telefocus, tripod and cable are indispensable.

As the saying goes, an inch long and an inch strong, the moon can be regarded as the largest celestial body we can see at night. However, even so, if we don't have a telephoto lens over 400mm, it is difficult for us to shoot its true content very clearly. Therefore, magnifying glass, super telephoto, half-width cutting and other technologies are best used if they can be used.

At least 400mm guns are king.

In addition, with the increase of the focal length of this lens, hand-held shooting becomes unrealistic. First of all, safe shutter time is a problem. Take a 400mm lens as an example. The safe shutter time of this lens is about 1/400 one second. But shooting the moon at night rarely achieves such a high shutter speed. Secondly, the telephoto lens is very heavy. If you haven't practiced the iron arm skills, ordinary people will have no strength for a while, so a tripod is a necessary equipment.

? A high-quality tripod with a three-dimensional tripod head will help you a lot.

Cable release device

For the first two, cable release is less important, but it is also an essential device. We know that SLR cameras will vibrate at the moment when the shutter is lifted, and when using telephoto lenses, the tiny vibration will be magnified many times because the field of view of the lens is very small. Display, the subject will be blurred. Therefore, it is the best solution to use cable release and reflector pre-lifting.

? Skills of shooting total lunar eclipse

? Exposure: There is an eternal exposure rule for shooting the moon. Shutter:1125 seconds, aperture F8, ISO: 100. This is a set of basic lunar exposure methods summarized by predecessors. In the process of shooting the total lunar eclipse, we can also adjust our exposure parameters appropriately according to the specific expression techniques, such as increasing the ISO for better shutter speed and so on. Today, digital and exposure issues have become simpler and more intuitive.

The state of the moon in three different stages of eclipse, eclipse and luminescence (picture from the network)

? Focusing: When shooting the moon, the autofocus ability of some cameras may fail, and manual focusing becomes more reliable. The traditional experience is to set the lens to infinity and then take it back a little. Now most digital cameras support live view, and players can achieve fine focus through this function.

? Introduction of creative shooting skills

Zhang Fuyou combined several photos into a creative eclipse blockbuster (photo from the Internet).

Generally speaking, when we master the exposure skills and focusing methods of shooting the moon, we can shoot very professional moon blockbusters, but how can photographers make our photos and eclipse photos full of artistic sense? This needs to be applied to post-digital help. Can we first take a photo of a night scene building with a wide-angle lens, and then shoot it with a telephoto lens through PS? Big moon? Collage together, and finally synthesize a comprehensive eclipse of Zhang Fuyou's personality.

? N methods of shooting total lunar eclipse

Earlier, I introduced how to shoot the moon well. With these methods, you can shoot a beautiful and clear moon. However, the total lunar eclipse, as a rare astronomical landscape, seems a bit monotonous if only these first shots are used. Next, the author collected some shooting experience of celestial photographers for everyone, hoping to give some inspiration to film friends.

? The moon? Sugar gourd?

Here? Sugar gourd? Of course not the kind we eat. It actually refers to the effect of making the moon look like a string of Sugar-Coated Berry by continuously recording the trajectory of the moon in the same scene during the total lunar eclipse. So how do you take such a photo?

Meteor expert STEED brought us a schematic diagram of the Sugar-Coated Berry of the Moon.

Meteor expert STEED brought us a schematic diagram of the Sugar-Coated Berry of the Moon.

We can take such photos in two ways: one is to use the multi-shading synthesis technology that comes with the camera. At present, SLR, such as Nikon D3SD700, has the function of multi-shading synthesis, and photographers only need to turn on this function in the camera to shoot. Second, fix the plane position and take multiple photos continuously for post-synthesis. For some cameras without multi-base synthesis technology, the second method is better.

? Time-lapse photography photographed the gorgeous lunar trajectory.

STEED, an astrologer and netizen, also introduced us to a method of delaying the shooting of the total lunar eclipse.

Meteor expert STEED brought us a schematic diagram of the Sugar-Coated Berry of the Moon.

? Lunar positioning is very important.

The core idea of the' starry sky shooting scheme' introduced by the above two experts is how to show the moon in various forms in a fixed scene. I have also introduced to you before that the time span of the total lunar eclipse is very long (about 5 hours) and the trajectory of the moon is also very long, so how to determine our composition scene becomes very difficult. But don't worry, I think Beijing netizen Li drew us a detailed sky map in his Weibo: How to shoot the total lunar eclipse? Let's have a look.

A total lunar eclipse trajectory map drawn by netizens for us.

This netizen in Weibo mentioned: Shooting a series of photos in Beijing. If you use a Canon APS-C SLR camera with a focal length of 17mm, you can use the framing method in the schematic diagram. The time is 10 at 20: 30 in the evening, and the center of the picture is due south. The moon hangs in the upper left corner, Orion Rigel hangs in the lower left corner, and Jupiter is on the right. In this way, the moon can be in the field of view during the whole partial solar eclipse and total lunar eclipse from 20: 45 to 0: 17.

? Appendix: General knowledge of total lunar eclipse

Eclipse is a special astronomical phenomenon, which means that when the moon moves to the shadow of the earth, the area between the moon and the earth will be blocked by the earth because of the sunlight, and the moon will be missing. At this time, the sun, the earth and the moon are exactly (or almost) on the same straight line. Eclipses can be divided into three types: partial eclipse, total eclipse and penumbral eclipse. A solar eclipse can only occur around the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar.

The formation principle of total lunar eclipse and the appellation of each stage

? Classification of lunar eclipses

Eclipses can be divided into three types: partial eclipse, total eclipse and penumbral eclipse. When only one partial lunar eclipse enters the umbra of the earth, there will be a partial solar eclipse; When the diameter of the umbra of the earth is still 2.5 times that of the moon. So when the centers of the earth and the moon are roughly on the same straight line, the moon will completely enter the umbra of the earth, resulting in a total lunar eclipse. If the moon is always only partially obscured by the umbra of the earth, that is, only a part of the umbra of the earth, a partial lunar eclipse will occur. There will be no annular eclipse on the moon. Because the moon is smaller than the earth and is within the umbra of the earth, there will be no eclipse. The number of solar eclipses occurs twice a year, up to three times, and sometimes none at all. Because under normal circumstances, the moon either passes above the Earth's umbra or leaves from below, rarely or partially passes through the Earth's umbra, so an eclipse will not occur under normal circumstances. According to the statistics of observation data, the percentage of lunar eclipse, partial eclipse and total eclipse in the penumbra in each century is about 36.60%, 34.46% and 28.94%.

? Eclipse process

Changes of shadows at different times of lunar eclipse

The penumbral eclipse begins after the total lunar eclipse: the moon just touches the penumbral area, and the naked eye cannot perceive the eclipse at this time. The process of a formal eclipse can be divided into five stages: initial loss, eclipse, eclipse, luminescence and last contact.

1. The penumbral eclipse begins: The moon just touches the penumbral region, and at this time, the surface luminosity of the moon drops slightly, but it is difficult for the naked eye to detect.

2. Initial loss (only partial solar eclipse and total solar eclipse): marks the beginning of the lunar eclipse. The moon slowly entered the shadow from the eastern edge, and the umbra of the moon and the earth was delineated for the first time.

3. Eclipse (total lunar eclipse only): The moon enters the umbra of the earth and intersects the earth for the first time. The moon has just entered the umbra of the earth.

4. What to eat: The moment when the center of the round moon surface is closest to the center of the Earth's umbra, when the moon surface is red copper or dark red. (Cause: When sunlight passes through the earth's atmosphere, it refracts, causing the light to deflect inward, but the degree of deflection (dispersion) of each light is different, and the red light has the largest degree of deflection, which is closest to the earth's shadow and reflects on the moon; In addition, due to the different contents and positions of dust and clouds in the atmosphere, the degree of light deflection will be different, so the moon will appear dark red, copper or orange during the total lunar eclipse. Similarly, due to the refraction of the atmosphere, the sunrise and sunset are not white, but orange or red according to the height because of the different degrees of atmospheric refraction. )

5. Luminescence (total lunar eclipse only): The moon moves in the umbra of the earth and cuts into the umbra of the earth for the second time. When the total lunar eclipse phase is over, the eastern edge of the moon is inscribed with the eastern edge of the Earth's umbra.

6. Last contact (partial and total solar eclipses only): The moon gradually leaves the Earth's umbra and is tangent to the Earth's umbra for the second time. The western edge of the moon is tangent to the eastern edge of the umbra of the earth, and then the whole eclipse process ends. What is the degree to which the moon is eaten? Delicious food? It is equal to the ratio of the farthest distance from the edge of the moon wheel to the umbra of the earth and the meridian of the moon during the eclipse.

7. End of the penumbra eclipse: The moon leaves the penumbra, and the whole eclipse process officially ends. The partial eclipse of the moon has no process of eclipse and light generation, and the eclipse only represents the moment closest to the shadow of the earth.

Different states of the moon during the total lunar eclipse.

The degree of lunar eclipse is expressed by food score. The ratio of the apparent diameter of the moon to the apparent diameter of the moon during an eclipse. When the food is very heavy, just like the moon and the umbra, the eclipse is equal to 1. When the monthly eclipse is severe, if the moon goes deep into the umbra, the monthly eclipse is indicated by a number greater than 1. The food intake of total lunar eclipse is greater than or equal to 1. The score of food with partial eclipse is less than 1. A penumbral eclipse is expressed by the ratio of the part of the moon's diameter entering the penumbra to the apparent diameter of the moon. When the eclipse of the penumbra is greater than 0.7, it can be detected with the naked eye.