Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamt of flying to the moon at the back of a silver unicorn. It was one of the childish wishes I have that makes me blush just thinking about it. Where in the world did I get the idea of using a unicorn in an outer space adventure? And a silver unicorn to add to that silliness. I must have really sucked at science for having these delusions.
Or was I only too sad back in the day?
I am an illegitimate daughter of my parents who only decided to get married a month after I was born. I grew up with unpleasant and heartbreaking stories from here and there and it kept me awake every night. And the only nice thing I remembered was wishing to the moon that it would take away the suffocating feeling I have in my heart.
Every time my parents argue, I step out of the house and gaze at the moon above. Sometimes I wonder how it felt looking down at these miserable humans. Since then, whenever I feel blue, I just look up and talk to the moon:
Lovely Luna,
It’s yet another night where I seek for you. Please look inside me and take away the blues. Things haven’t been good lately. And I’m here so you can spare some light upon me.
I know these are not how a level-headed, mature, and God-fearing person should be acting. But the moon has been the only real thing amongst all imaginary friends I’ve ever had. It’s the only friend who never fails to wish me good night!
Since you’ve read my short confession, let me share with you now how I took the photo attached earlier.
I just want to clarify that I am just a regular newbie in photography that learned self-taught lessons most of the time. So here you go hivers.
My gear
My first camera was a really old compact digital camera with built in zoom lens which I can barely remember because it was stolen just before I could fully maximize it.
After my camera was stolen, I didn’t really want to buy another asset. But I ended up buying an entry level mirrorless camera - Fujifilm’s XA3. But after almost two years of good use, I put it up on sale and was bought by another blogger. I super love that handy and compact mirrorless camera because I had it almost everywhere before and it still saddens me that I had to let it go.
And just when I thought I’d give up on photography, my husband gave his Nikon D5600 to me as a peace offering. (If you have read this blog, you would know what was that peace offering for.)
I have only been practicing astrophotography in XA3 and Nikon D5600 so bear with my amateur tips that’s coming right up.
How to shoot the moon
As I’ve mentioned, I am just a newbie and captured my first night sky photo last February 2019. And on that same year, I published my first vlog on youtube.
Capturing the moon and stars have different techniques. You may play around the settings below to get a nice photo of the moon. Remember how these three are tricky with light so find the sweet spot that would be best suitable for the time the photo will be taken and the amount of light around the area where you will be shooting.
ISO —> 100 or 200
Aperture —> F/5.6 to F/11
Shutter speed —> 1/125 to 1/250
Author’s note
Yey to me for finally sharing my first photography-related entry in this community. This is just the beginning and I hope you’ll join me as I improve my skills. Thank you for reading this far. Til next time hivers.
Nikka Mededa, the author
I am an engineer, a mother, an aspiring photographer, and also a blogger. A workaholic mom who found its comfort through brewing coffee and making home-cooked meals. I write and read a lot but I think I collect books even more. And there’s nothing more fulfilling than finally ticking off the books my reading list. Hopefully, one day!
I really love to fulfill my childhood dream of becoming an author and so here I am, in my little corner in the blockchain. I hope you had a good read and check out more here ---> @nikkabomb. Lovelots.