SOLUTION #2: Make a Double Exposure

On many models of Nikon cameras, and on some models of Pentax and Canon cameras, you can use the camera’s double-exposure feature to capture the best of both worlds at moonrise. Let’s say the moon is coming up behind you, to the east, but you want to shoot the landscape or cityscape in front of you, to the west. Using double-exposure mode allows you to photograph the scenery in front of you, and then turn around and shoot the full moon behind you, composing it exactly where you want it to be in combination with the landscape that was in front of you. Press the shutter release and voilà! You now have the moon “setting” in the western sky, saving you a return trip at dawn to shoot the actual moonset.

To do this, set your multiple-exposure setting to two exposures. (To determine if your camera has this feature, refer to “Multiple Exposure Settings” in your camera’s user manual.) Now you can shoot the full moon up there in the eastern sky, surrounded by all that black, with your moderate telephoto lens at f/8 for 1/125 sec. with ISO 100. Place the moon in a portion of the frame that won’t conflict with the buildings you’ll capture in your second exposure. Then turn around. With your camera on a tripod, shoot your city skyline with a standard zoom lens at f/16 for 4 seconds. Presto! The camera processes both of your exposures into a single full-moon city skyline exposure. If ever there was one function on my camera that allowed me to stay true to my motto of “get it done in camera,” this is it.