Shooting the Moon

 Working nights, I often come home to beautiful night skies.  For months now, I've wanted to learn to photograph the night sky, but my old camera just didn't have the capability to get good night shots. One of the first things I tried with my new camera was shooting the moon.  Clearly, I would need a tripod if I wanted to continue to get night shots.  Here is my first attempt:

It occurred to me that I could try steadying the camera on something, so I leaned my elbows against the car and tried again.  Still not a great shot, but there was some improvement.

Finally, I rested the camera on the roof of my car and hit the shutter button.  It took a couple tries to actually get the moon in the shot, but eventually I did it.  I still think a tripod is in order, but I was encouraged enough to stay outside practicing until my fingers got too numb to handle the camera.  Here was my last attempt.  I love the way the branches of this locust tree look when they're bare.