Meet the Harvest Moon

On the evening of September 26, 2026, the Harvest Moon rose into a clear, low-humidity sky. At peak illumination, it was a true full moon—a luminous and extraordinary sight that seemed to demand to be captured in a photograph. The exceptional clarity revealed fine detail across the lunar surface; however, capturing that detail with a camera was another matter.

I captured this photograph with a Sony α7R V and a Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS lens. My exposure settings were f/6.3, 1/800 second, and ISO 125. In DxO PhotoLab 10, I lowered the overall exposure to deepen the Moon’s surface, then refined the whites, highlights, shadows, and blacks to preserve lunar detail while creating a darker, more dramatic tonal range. DxO ClearView Plus helped cut through atmospheric haze and enhance surface definition. Finally, I slightly reduced global contrast and increased microcontrast, giving the image the crispness and visual impact I wanted without sacrificing the Moon’s natural texture.

Moon photographs are abundant, so I wanted this image to become more than a record of the night sky. My aim was to create a piece of photographic art: the Harvest Moon suspended as the solitary centerpiece of a deep, clear darkness—familiar, yet newly revealed.

Stuart F. James (sfj@stuartphoto.com)