How To Take Photos Like Pablo

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Pablo’s photos. And those who follow ‘ Photos from PoPville‘ can easily tell why. At any rate, after posting Monday’s photo, lots of folks asked how he did it. Pablo was kind enough to respond:

Thanks to the people who liked the moonrise photo and showed some interest on learning how I made it. I’ll do my best to explain the things you need to know:

1. I took the photo from the circle in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, I think it’s Maryland Ave., the distance from where I was to the Capitol is aprox. 1.5 miles. It works even better if you are even more far away. I used google streetview to find out if there was a good view of the building from this location.

2. Day of the month and time when the moonrise is happening and the azimuth. I get that information from here.

3. Weather. It works better when there is a full moon. I took this photo like 4 days after, because that was the day when the sky was clear, and the azimuth worked with the point of view I chose for that day. If on full moon day it’s going to be a mostly cloudy day, I don’t even try.

3. On Google Earth, click on the ruler and trace a line from the point where you are going to take the photo to the reference building. It will tell you what the angle is. If that angle is close to the one of the azimuth the day the full moon is happening (+ – 2 or 3 degrees), you got the right location.

4. You’ll need a DSLR (or SLR) with a 250 – 300 mm lens, ISO 100 to avoid getting noise, f8 – f11, a tripod and cable release or remote control. I used a Pentax K20D, not the most expensive DSLR in the market at all.

5. A little edition of contrast, brightness and sharpness with your favorite software.

It will be a little bit difficult for me to answer questions (if there are any) while I’m on vacation and have limited access to a computer, but I’ll do my best. Thank you Popville!

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw