Nature Never Goes Out Of Style.

Nature never goes out of style.

Rainbow in Iceland.

My wife and I were lucky enough to spend nine days in Iceland for our honeymoon in late 2017. We drove and explored the perimeter of the entire country. It was an incredible experience, to say the least. Knowing how big our planet is and with all the places we want to continue exploring, I had taken as many photographs as I could during our Iceland trip with the possibility I would not have another chance to return.

Looking back at my image library of this trip I had somehow taken nearly one thousand images. I had taken enough to last a lifetime.

I look forward to sharing bits & pieces of this beautiful trip over years to come including this image above.

www.nealmcclure.com

Early morning in Saint Augustine, FL.

Do you have any advice on how to take good pictures of the moon? I only have a smartphone yet is there any way you can use a smartphone for moon pictures or do you need to invest in an actual camera?

Hi there,

This is a very good question. Photographing the moon can be difficult, even with an actual camera. I would suggest the following if you are using a smartphone to capture the moon.

Look for a telephoto lens accessory if you don’t have a zoom lens on your phone. Depending on the size of the moon you are trying to capture, you need to try and (optically) zoom in as close as you can. You can find some cheaper options that will clip to your phone and give you some zoom.

Expose for the moon. When shooting the moon in any auto-exposure, your camera will try and expose for the dark night sky, and in return, blow out on the highlights on the moon. Either tap your screen on the moon to expose for that area or simply head into manual mode and lower your ISO and/or raise your shutter. Make sure you can see the craters and shadows on the moon, otherwise it’s over-exposed.

Post-processing will be necessary. Once you have your photo properly exposed, head into your favorite photo app - I use Adobe Lightroom - and edit to your liking. Your highlights, shadows, and overall exposure will be your main edits.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Gradient colors of The Blue Ridge Mountains.

Built in 1879. The chapel, which is the oldest structure in Yosemite Valley, was designed by Charles Geddes, an accomplished church architect from San Francisco. 

www.nealmcclure.com