Full moon over Joshua Tree wrecked my long exposure game

Was out near the Hidden Valley campground last month trying to get the Milky Way core rising. The moon was up past midnight and I kept wondering why my 90 second subs came out washed out. Checked my histogram and realized I was blowing out the sky entirely. Switched to stacking 15 second exposures at ISO 1600 and dropped the aperture to f/4, that cut the glow enough. Anyone else run into this when the moon is anywhere near your framing? Do you just wait it out or plan around the lunar phase?

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1 Comment

ward.jamie10d ago

Just wait a few nights, or embrace the ghostly glow like a free light leak.