When the moon is in both waxing and waning phases, the dark side of the moon can be captured by means of a photograph. This is known as ashy lightMany photographers try to capture this ashy light, and it's important for creating beautiful portraits. Capturing this light can require some knowledge, so it's helpful to know how to photograph the ashen light of the moon.
What is the ashen light
We all know that the moon shines because it reflects light from the sun and "was waxes" or "wasted" due to its position relative to the earth and the sun. For example, when it is between the Earth and the sun, the illuminated part is not shown to us, so we can't see it, it's when we have a new moon. Likewise, when the moon is in the opposite position, the sunlight illuminates the entire part that it shows us, that is why we see it.
What not everyone knows, however, is that a small amount of reflected light from Earth also reaches it. And that light will illuminate all the part of what the moon shows us, no matter what phase it is in. This reflected light from Earth is called ashen light because it illuminates the far side of the moon so dimly that we see that part as a gray outline. In the next image we will see it more clearly.
As you can see, the part of the moon that is illuminated by the sun is very small. That is, we will be facing a new moon phase in which we can only see a small piece of the moon in the sky. The rest of the moon does not receive light from the sun and is still in darkness and we cannot see it.
However, the moon also receives the light reflected by the sun from the earth and illuminates the part that is in shadow. This is called gray light. Of course, is much dimmer than the light it receives from the sun, so our eyes do not perceive it. But our cameras can capture it.
How to catch the ashen light
If you have ever been on a full moon night, you have definitely noticed that it is brighter than it seems. After being in the dark for a while, we can see perfectly thanks to the light that reflects from the sun. However, the light it receives reflected from the Earth it is much dimmer and would be overshadowed by the intensity of another light. This requires specific techniques to learn how to capture the ashen light of the moon.
Therefore, to capture the faint light of the moon, it's recommended that the moon be very thin or just beginning to wax. Sometimes, we can actually capture more detail in dark areas when there are thin fragments in the sky. If you want to learn more about night photography, it's a good idea to explore different techniques.
Does this mean that if the moon is bigger, we won't be able to capture the ash glow? Not necessarily. Yes, it is possible to capture the dim light when the moon is a bit older. However, the higher it is, the more light is reflected from the sun, so the darker parts will be dimmer And we won't be able to capture all of its details as easily as we would with a smaller moon. Due to the high brightness of sunlit areas, few details are captured in dark areas, and the older the moon, the more prominent this problem becomes. That's why it's always recommended to take these types of photos when the moon phase is at 10% or lower.
Necessary items
Although the longer the focal length you shoot, the more you will be able to appreciate all the details in the hidden areas of the moon, not to mention a great telephoto lens. In fact, you don't even need to use a telephoto lens. The ashen light of the moon can be captured by any lens and any camera. You don't need any professional equipment, not even high-end equipment. The key lies in the knowledge of .
This is because the secret to capturing moonlight lies not in the equipment, but in the parameters we use to photograph it. We take a closer look at it below.
Of course, we are used to correctly exposing the moon to be able to see all the details of its craters. But because the ash is so dimly lit, if we expose the visible parts of the moon correctly, we won't be able to capture the dark parts. So, we would have to overexpose the visible part of the moon to catch the dim light.
To do this, we absolutely have to work in manual mode, because camera measurement won't be of any use to us, since the gray light can't be captured with the naked eye, so we won't be able to measure it.
While we can't give you specific values to put your parameters in, since every situation is different, we will be able to give you some guidance on that. As I told you, we need to capture enough light to shoot gray light, so keep that in mind when configuring camera parameters.
Important parameters
Shutter speed
We need to capture a lot of light, so you would think that taking long exposure photos would be fun. However, the moon moves faster than it seems, and we will not be able to take too long exposures, otherwise we will have judder. The wider the lens, the longer the exposure time you can use, but be careful if you use longer focal lengths.
diaphragm opening
You may think it would be fun to open the aperture all the way to capture as much light as possible, but doing so not always recommendedFirst, because the lens typically loses a lot of sharpness at its widest aperture, this can cause us to lose a lot of detail in the moon. It's crucial to consider how this affects capturing ashen light.
Second, because the aperture is so wide, we reduced the depth of field of the shot considerably, which would affect the overall sharpness of the entire landscape if we were to use a wider focal length.
ISO sensitivity
A low ISO is generally recommended to avoid noise, but unfortunately there are cases where it is necessary to increase it. This is one of those situations. We have seen how to use the first two parameters to get as much light as possible, it is important to push them to the limit to get as much light as possible. However, once we have determined these two parameters in the best way, we will have no choice but to increase the ISO until we can capture the ashes of the moon.
I hope this information helps you learn more about the ashen light and how to capture it.