I first noticed the tree in the picture about 2 or 3 years ago. He stands on my way home in the beautiful Baselland. The idea with the moon came quite a bit later while looking at a sunset picture, which I had taken of the tree.
After a long time of planning, using the app Photopills and other services, I was able to find the few days in the year when the full moon should be right. After the first chance in July did not work out because of bad weather, the conditions were better in August and I tried it. The place below the tree from which the picture was taken is very restricted. Behind you is a dense forest on a slope, in front of you there are always houses which limits the view of the tree in terms of movement. I think I only had about 2 minutes. So I quickly ditched the tripod and used the short time I had as well as I could.
Fun Fact: I didn't even use my full focal length in the rush and had to crop the image more than I originally intended. So it's handheld, f/8, 1/500s and as I said, not even at the full 300mm of my 70-300 G from Sony.
I would say I learned the most by using old, manual lenses at the very beginning. This works very well with mirrorless cameras and the available adapters. By using these old lenses, I had to deal with aperture, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, focus, etc. pretty soon without the camera being able to "think" for me.
The second tip that helped me was old books on photography that I got from a colleague. I think it just helps to understand the physics and the realities behind it so that you can then use these points perfectly for yourself.
I currently only have one camera in use and that is still my beloved Sony A7R II. When it comes to lenses, the weight, size and quality are important to me, since I am often hiking in the mountains or traveling.
Over the years I have bought and sold many lenses but my most loyal companion for a long time is the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f2.8. I love the focal length for landscapes because it is a bit wider than 24mm but not too wide either. The manual focusing, the great optical performance and just the small format and weight are further plus points for me (and the great lens flare).
I also often use a tele lens. Both in landscape photography for mountains, trees, details or even for the winning image from the Haukland competition. During my travels I use it for wildlife.
I have a very long list of places and hikes I want to experience in the next few years. As a backpacker, I also have a few countries on my to-do list, but my current biggest goal is definitely Antarctica. I have been saving up for a trip there for quite some time and hope to be able to fulfill this dream in the next few years.
As a person who is very interested in technology, I am of course curious about all the new developments that will come out and how I can use them for myself, privately but also professionally.
First, of course, the yellow color. I can play with it and show great size contrasts in the picture, especially in the mountains. Next, of course, the onion principle, which gives me many layering options, depending on temperature and weather. Last but not least, I always use the microfiber cloth in my sleeve and in winter the mini photo bag to carry my batteries on my body. All in all, I just love it as a loyal and functional companion that also looks good 🙂
