2 Comments on “Tree and Crescent, Sierra Foothills, California”
I came across your photos while looking for suggestions and examples of photographing the moon, especially crescent moon. Your photos are just fantastic; they are so vibrant and colorful but not the slap-you-upside-the-head style that, sadly, seems popular nowadays. I mean, I’ve actually seen sunsets and clouds in those colors.
Now, can I shamelessly pick your brain? I live quite near Palo Duro Canyon in Texas so I have some really good locations,. Plenty of silhouettes of mesquite trees and rock hoodoos. But when I try to get a shot like this, if I expose enough to get those darker clouds, invariably the brighter clouds just blow out. Any hints for an enthusiastic hobbyist would be greatly appreciated!
I look forward to looking at more of your work; I’m so glad I found your site.
Cathy Martindale
Thanks, Cathy. Basically, you need to make your highlights as bright as possible with out blowing them to the point they’re not recoverable in Photoshop. That requires setting your camera’s highlight alert feature, and trusting (and knowing how to read) your histogram. And you’ll almost certainly need to recover the highlights and shadows in post processing. You can find lots of night photography and exposure tips in the Photo Tips section of my blog. Good luck.
Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 
I came across your photos while looking for suggestions and examples of photographing the moon, especially crescent moon. Your photos are just fantastic; they are so vibrant and colorful but not the slap-you-upside-the-head style that, sadly, seems popular nowadays. I mean, I’ve actually seen sunsets and clouds in those colors.
Now, can I shamelessly pick your brain? I live quite near Palo Duro Canyon in Texas so I have some really good locations,. Plenty of silhouettes of mesquite trees and rock hoodoos. But when I try to get a shot like this, if I expose enough to get those darker clouds, invariably the brighter clouds just blow out. Any hints for an enthusiastic hobbyist would be greatly appreciated!
I look forward to looking at more of your work; I’m so glad I found your site.
Cathy Martindale
Thanks, Cathy. Basically, you need to make your highlights as bright as possible with out blowing them to the point they’re not recoverable in Photoshop. That requires setting your camera’s highlight alert feature, and trusting (and knowing how to read) your histogram. And you’ll almost certainly need to recover the highlights and shadows in post processing. You can find lots of night photography and exposure tips in the Photo Tips section of my blog. Good luck.