Moon

Another part of the natural world.  This is the best shot I have managed of the moon with an SLR.  I used my EOS 5DS, a 200mm lens with 2x extender, and a tripod.  It's a pity that it was behind trees from anywhere I could put my tripod during the total eclipse.  The orange eclipsed moon was far too dark for a hand-held shot to work.  But there are plenty of views of that on line.  Even this shot was impossible without a tripod.  Just a tiny hand-held wobble destroyed the necessary sharpness.  This was taken at 1/800, f/8, ISO 400.

The moon is not all that easy to photograph.   One might say, well, it doesn't fly around or waft in the breeze, which is true, but on the other hand it is only full once a lunar month, and is usually behind clouds or trees.  Also, it is not as big (to our sight) as people tend to think.  Here it is in proportion with other objects:

The Thames from the London Eye. 13 December 2007.

This was taken from the London Eye in December 2007 and is much more atmospheric.  But the moon, as such, is no more than a presence.  In the top pic you can see major and minor craters, all the mares, and you can even see the mountain ranges on the horizon that stop it from being a perfect curve.

That big crater at the bottom left, Tycho, must have been some massive impact!