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Chloe Kramer's picture

Superimpose Experiement

Hi guys! I'm really excited to be back on Fstoppers after taking a break to let my schedule level out. I'm going to be trying to go through and catch up on some work that I've missed!

So this piece was born out of a fluke night when I had my curtains open after getting back late. It was cloudy, but the moon was shining brightly through the cloud cover to create a kinda interesting effect. I couldn't get the results that I wanted in the camera, so I took two images and superimposed them to get the shot below.

I've never done this before, so please leave any advice or thoughts. Thank you in advance!

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6 Comments

Hello Chloe!

Was the original effect that you saw the moon's "reflection" in the glass, and that's what you created via superimposing?

I really like the hint of blue and brown shades around the moon. The clouds are really nice too. I like the minimalism of this photo.

Hope you're enjoying the holidays!

Hi Jennifer,

The original effect I saw, which I just realized I forgot to include (sorry), was the very sharp, bright, detailed moon with visible cloud coverage. I was struggling to get the moon to be detailed and not overexposed to the point of losing detail while keeping enough light for the clouds around it to still be visible.

The reflection is actually part of the original image. I took the first image of the moon at a high enough shutter speed to get the detail seen, and the second image I took at a low enough shutter speed to get the clouds as seen in the final product. I cut the moon out of the second and covered the very overexposed moon in the second to get the final result.

Now I got it! Thank you for taking time to explain. It makes sense for sure. You did a great job with it, and I like the superimposed effect. Now that I got it stuck in my head that it's a reflection on the glass, that's what my brain keeps telling me. Lol! I want to put a hint of a curtain on the left side with a hand holding it open as if someone is gazing out the window.

Nicely done Cloe, and welcome back to the group. When you say you took two shots, was the camera on a tripod? Just wondering if the displacement is due to the relative movement of the moon over time.

Overall and interesting image with just enough cloud detail to add interest without becoming a distraction.

Thanks, Alan! I didn't use a tripod for the two images. I made sure that I was at the same focal length for the two images, but otherwise where the moon sat in the frame wasn't a big deal as I just overlaid the moon from the second cutting out all of the skies. The displacement you mention is actually a reflection of the moon in the glass that resulted from shooting through my 6th floor window.

I love the sharpness and how you created your photo....very clever.