Shooting the Moon made easier

[BobHarbison]

I really enjoyed the "Shoot the Moon" article by Gary Hart. (Page 64, April 2010 issue). He gave some excellent tips and tricks, I especially liked his technique of shooting the moonrise when it's 95% full so you have some additional ambient light. I'm going to have to try that out.

I've found an incredibly useful program for shooting both moonrise and moonset along with sunrise and sunset. It's called "The Photographer's Ephemeris" and it's a fantastic program. It not only shows you what time the moon and sun will rise and set, it will actually plot where they will rise and set on a google map! You can move location to anywhere on a the map, and instantly see where the sun and moon will rise and set relative to your position. You can even use Google Maps aerial photos to get even more precise location. Want that shot of the moon rise over (insert your favorite landmark here)? This program will do it! This program has been mentioned in OP before, but wasn't discussed in this recent article.

Now, since I'm new here, I'm sure some of you will think I'm spamming the place, or trying to sell you something. Well, I'm not, it's not my program, and best of all, it's free! It runs on Adobe AIR too, so it's available for Mac and PC. The program is available here: http://stephentrainor.com/tools He's also currently working on an Iphone version that's in beta right now.

I've posted an in depth review of it on my website:
http://www.pnwphotos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=980

Here's a "field test" showing what it predicted, and what I got in the field, which was quite close to what it said it would be.
http://www.pnwphotos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=991

A great program for moon rise and set, and you can't beat the price!