Today's Take: USA TODAY's top reader photo

Mother Nature has treated stargazers and photographers this year, and today's top reader photo features the night sky's beauty from Eddy, Texas.

Your Take contributor Mike Mezeul II photographed the blood moon in April, but he says when October's came around that he was tired of seeing boring shots of the moon from up close. He decided to try something different.

Mezeul began by photographing the barn and field beneath the full moon with a Nikon D800.

He then used a 2-minute-long exposure to take in as much light in the foreground for the colors to pop. After this, Mezeul used a Nikon 70-200 mm telephoto lens to photograph the moon every 30 minutes, documenting its transition from start to finish.

In creating a composite of the images, Mezeul pulled the moon down closer to the horizon for the final image.

"I love how it turned out," Mezeul says.

Mezeul suggests adding something in the foreground to your moon photos. "It really adds life to the image," he says.

Additionally, shooting at moonrise or moonset will make the moon appear larger, Mezeul says.

Find out more about Mezeul and his photography on his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.

To see more fabulous photos from folks just like you, go to yourtake.usatoday.com. Have great original photos you'd like to share with the nation? Sign up for Your Take using your Facebook or Google+ account, and then follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and on the Yo app, justyo.co/YOTAKE.