Moonlight fishing, anyone? Man, those anglers will do anything to get away from their wives…

Hollywood movies have somehow conditioned us to think that moonlight is blue. In reality it is not, of course. The probable reason it is blue is because most night scenes are filmed in the day and blue was added to dilute the saturation.

It is easier to film in the day as real moonlight, even on a full moon, is rarely bright enough for practical use. Plus, you don’t have to pay the cast and crew overtime in some places.

Blue filters are placed over the lens and blue gels over lights, if they are used. With electronic (digital) still or video cameras, the white balance can also be tuned to simulate moonlight. The exposure is also dialled down a bit. It won’t work for every scene or location, however.

It works when there is some highlight such as the shimmering reflections off the sea here. Combine it with some silhouettes, if possible. The clouds in the sky should also look like thin raggy night clouds instead of puffy cumulus clouds. And avoid any unlit street lights or vehicles driving around without lights.

To start experimenting, set your camera’s white balance to indoors (fluorescent or incandescent preset) when you are out in the sun. Some cameras allow you to fine tune the colour temperature which will be even better. Or you can just use a photo editing software afterwards. Whichever method you choose, have fun turning day into night.

Photographed somewhere off the coast of Malacca at 5pm.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/800 sec