Full Moon Rising

A recent full moon provided the opportunity to explore creating special effects “in camera.”  This is possible simply through the use of lenses and camera position. 

It’s interesting how the optics of a telephoto lens has the impact of compressing or “flattening” an image.  This is a great example of how lens length affects the apparent background size of an object such as the rising full moon.  By simply increasing the distance of the camera from the subjects and utilizing a telephoto lens we’re able to increase the size of the moon relative to the buildings in the middle ground. 

The moon is partially blurred by the atmosphere as it was just rising above the horizon.  The other aspect contributing to the softer and slightly out of focus moon results from using a telephoto lens.  That’s because it’s harder to keep both subject and background in focus with the use of a longer focal length.  

However, I felt it’s still a compelling image because of the magnified size of the moon in the end result.  This is just one of many creative ways to use telephoto lens compression to make a photo really stand out.