Promising the moon

beautiful as the moon is, it can be tricky to photograph in combination with the landscape, especially in the dead of night. Making the most of strong artificial light, such as that produced by an urban cityscape, usually makes things easier. The intense light of streetlamps, houses, roads and factories helps to balance the exposure, highlights and overall scene, allowing the surface detail of the moon to be exposed correctly – although often two exposures are still required (see pages 19-20). It becomes a far more complex task if you intend to incorporate this glistening rock within a rural landscape.