Moon with a foreground

I tried taking photo of the moon and this is what I got with first try:

I was on Spot metering, ISO 64, f2.8 and focal length 200mm on a FX camera. The problem is it is a lonely moon! I want some trees, leaves, etc... in the foreground too but everything else was so dark I had to just crop the moon.

So my question is how I take a picture of the moon with some visible foreground elements in it? not just the moon alone.

Answer

If you want the moon to be your only light source, the difference of brightness between the moon and the landscape is similar to the difference of light between the sun and the same landscape (i.e., Lightsource - Landscape).

You never expect to have the sun "well exposed" but of course you want to see the moon's features.

So you have 3 options.

1. 
   
   

   If you have objects close to you, use additional light sources, probably some off camera flashes (don't use the camera's built in flash please) so you can combine the aperture for a well exposed foreground object and the long shutter speed for the moon.

   
   


2. 
   

   Make multiple shoots and combine them in post production. This will work best for general landscapes.

   
   
   
   
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     A normal masking technique.

     
     
   
   
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     An HDR tone mapping technique.

     
     
     
   
   
   
   


3. 
   

   You can probably shoot the moon while there is still some sunlight at dawn or dusk. This will give you additional light and a different mood to your photo.