Not Photoshopped: Photographer Uses Only Lens To Make The Moon Look Supersized (26 Pics)

The moon has always fascinated the man, who showed his admiration through music, poetry, drawings, until one day, Edward "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong landed there, an achievement that was marked in history and forever changed our perspective. One thing is certain: humanity has always kept an eye on the moon. In fact, our initial conception of a month was directly dependent on the moon's cycle, and many languages reflect this (i.e. moon-month).

The moon is one of the favorite themes of landscape photographer Zach Cooley, and most of the time, he tries to get a shot of the full moon, if possible. Some people say that his photos are "fake" and Photoshopped, and the artist is often offended by the uneducated remarks. The photos are real, though they're enhanced by a few camera tricks, like zooming, and, rarely, double exposure. In this collection, only zoom is used. Here's a glimpse behind how the artist does his magic, as explained by him: "I wanted to start by clarifying a few things about them. While done in-camera (no Photoshop or anything like that), it is two photos merged into one. I’m much more proud of the single-exposure photo, though, because there is no camera trick involved there, nobody can call it fake. I’ve so far seen that it’s much less confusing for people to just talk about either the double or single, and when asked for media publication I’ve always provided the single exposure photo. This is understandable since most people don’t walk around every day with binoculars or a zoom lens. But if they did, they could certainly see the same things they see in my photos, at least with some planning!"

Last October, he nailed it by capturing an image of the moon by opening a natural arc in Arches Natural Park in Utah, USA. With humans resting on the edge of one of the arcs, it looks like a god's eye looking down on its creation. The image went viral across many platforms, and it piqued the interest of the person behind the monumental photo worthy of becoming wallpaper, and more.

More info: Instagram | zachcooley.smugmug.com