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Moonrises and moonsets are very difficult to accomplish in single exposures, due to the extreme brightness differences between the moon, sky, and earth after sunset. Both of the images above -- taken from a research station on Convict Creek in the eastern Sierra -- are double exposures. I first shot a photo of the moon and then adjusted the shutter speed downwards and shot another image of the scenery (both images were taken within a few seconds). The two images were combined in Photoshop. I did not, however, move the moon -- it was exactly in the positions shown. The left image shows a 1/4 moon setting shortly after sunset; the mountain is Laurel Peak. The other image -- a telephoto view -- shows a full moon rising over a sage-scrub covered ridgeline.
The only time when it is feasible to get good exposure on both the moon and nearby scenery during a moonrise or moonset is when the moon is full -- so that it rises just at sunset or sets just at dawn -- and it is very low on the horizon. In this situation, the moonlight is darkened by passing through a lot of atmosphere (which gives it a very yellow-orange color), and there is a bit of daylight to illuminate the topography. Unfortunately, when the moon is very low, its image is usually distorted by the miles of turbulent, dusty atmosphere through which its light must pass to reach the camera. The picture below at left shows a setting moon over Laurel Peak, just as the morning sunlight hit the peak. This was a fairly easy shot in terms of exposure, although I had to be up at dawn to get it. In the photo below at right (also taken in the eastern Sierra), I got a lucky chance of a full moon rising on a very clear night. Even so, the moon's image took a lot of sharpening to get this result and it isn't as crisp as in the upper right photo, which was taken with the moon much farther above the horizon. But neither this or the other pictures below are double exposures!
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