BiF and Moon

[Busted Knuckles]

May 15 is going to be a long day....

The moon comes up at 7:55 in my neck ofnthe woods and the sun sets at 8:10. Though May 14 might be better with moon rise at 6:46

The sun comes up at 6:35 and the moon sets at 6:06 Though May 16 might be the morning with the moon set at 6:49.

Effectively full moon on the horizon. The goal is to put a bird in front of the moon.

The challenge is DOF among many other items. I have a kestrel with a blurry moon and getting the hyperfocal distance which is further away than I thought, even at f 7.1......and the bird to match up is going to be a task.

Thoughts?

[Kayaker72]

Great concept.

While getting it all in a single shot would be a fun challenge, another option is to work to get the bird image you want, and then after the bird passes, you keep the same overall composition (moon in same part of frame), but then focus stack those two images.

To get in a single image, I would almost think you will need to be far enough away that the bird will be a smaller part of the shot. So, maybe find some tree out by Black Point drive that has some ibis, position yourself slightly elevated (say, in the back of a Jeep ), and get more of a scenic shot with the birds in the tree with the moon behind them. Hopefully, they take off, but that will depend on luck.

[HDNitehawk]

I puzzled on this a few years ago with a static tree.
The only way I came up with where both the bird and the moon are sharp is to focus stack, overlay two separate images.
Perhaps the best to hope for would be a moon only slightly out of focus.
Another issue is the moon ends up backlighting the bird and you just get a silhouette or a bird exposed properly and a blown out moon.
There should be a short period where the sun breaks over the horizon and perhaps the two have the same exposure for a short period.
During that period would you have enough shutter speed for a BIF shot at the higher aperture? Perhaps buy really good noise removal software because you will most likely have a high ISO.
The next trick is getting the BIF to take flight and be in front of the moon at the exact moment you have the perfect light.
Brant's ideas are good, but how do you get the bird to take off at just the right moment?
I suggest you buy a well trained hunting Labrador, the day before plant bumpers for him to retrieve under the tree where they roost and make sure the pup knows where they are. Send the pup at the exact moment the sun is right, hopefully the bird takes off directly in front of the moon. If not try again another morning.
Your biggest expense will be buying the well trained hunting lab, a good one goes for over $5k.
Or overlay and stack two images.

[Joel Eade]

Hard to get a depth of field to cover 240,000 miles......LOL

[Busted Knuckles]

I didnt realize the hyperfocal distance for a lens that will capture a decent image of a bird i.e. long focal length would be sooooo far way... LOL I never bothered to contemplate hyperfocal on anything longer than 24mm before. HAH! Thinking focus stacking is it. Or composite, which just isnt my thing.

[HDNitehawk]

You could try a bigger bird about 3/4 of a mile away.
BB1H4990A by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

[Busted Knuckles]

LOL. Love it