The moon is the closest it has been to the earth since 1948. This is a test to see how a 2015 digital camera takes pictures.
We have had a mostly cloudy day in Sydney today and there has been been a lot of cloud around as the moon rise has developed. There has even been a little rain - and we sure do need that and it clears the sky of crud.
I have had a few goes at photographing the moon in the past - all I seem to get is a bright white disc. Nothing daunted, nothing gained.
Set up the camera (Canon 600XD) with the big zoom lens (Sigma 50-500mm f5.6) and a tripod. This lens weighs in at 4 or 5 pounds. First few photos are suffering from camera shake - need to get the self-timer set to get rid of that. The moon is lurking behind the trees - so the manual focus on the moon itself is a key element. It looks great in the view finder - great white disk.
The clouds pass over periodically - photos improve - as there is less light. There is a stunning ring around the moon -3 or 4 diameters away. Zoom out but the white disc remains. The best photos are with the cloud covering the moon and giving a little more definition.
Click here to see image in full size
A lot to learn.
Technical detail: Canon EOS600D. Sigma 50-500mm f5.6. Last photo taken at 373mm - all others at 500mm. Speed settings range for 1/50 to 1.640. ISO set at 400 - next tests will be vary this too.