Wir fotografieren den Mond am Ufer.

We photograph the moon at the shore.

Breakdown of Wir fotografieren den Mond am Ufer.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• wir: we
• an: at
• das Ufer: the shore
• der Mond: the moon
• fotografieren: to photograph

Questions & Answers about Wir fotografieren den Mond am Ufer.

Why is den Mond in the accusative case, and how do I know it's the direct object?

The noun Mond is what the action is being done to, so it's the direct object. In German, direct objects take the accusative case. The definite article for masculine nouns in accusative singular is den, so der Mond (nominative) becomes den Mond (accusative).

What does am Ufer mean, and why is am used instead of auf dem or an dem?

am is a contraction of an dem. An is a two-way preposition that uses the dative case to indicate location (answering “where?”). So an dem Ufer becomes am Ufer, meaning “at the shore” or “at the bank.” You could say auf dem Ufer (“on the bank”), but when you mean “by the water’s edge,” an is more natural.

How do I conjugate fotografieren here, and why does it look like the infinitive?

The subject wir (we) is 1st person plural. In present tense, verbs in German use the infinitive form for wir, so you get wir fotografieren (“we photograph” / “we are photographing”). No extra ending is added beyond the infinitive -en.

Can I use a different expression for “to take pictures,” like Fotos machen?

Yes. You could say Wir machen Fotos vom Mond am Ufer. There you use the verb machen with the noun Fotos, and you introduce vom Mond (“of the moon”) because machen requires von + dative to indicate what you’re making pictures of. It’s a bit more colloquial than den Mond fotografieren.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense?

Use the present perfect (Perfekt) for spoken German:
Wir haben den Mond am Ufer fotografiert.
You need the auxiliary haben plus the past participle fotografiert. If you prefer the simple past (written style), you could write:
Wir fotografierten den Mond am Ufer.

Could I specify which body of water, e.g. “the lake”?

Yes. Add a genitive attribute:
Wir fotografieren den Mond am Ufer des Sees.
Here des Sees is the genitive singular of der See, so an dem Ufer des Sees contracts to am Ufer des Sees.

What’s the difference between Ufer and Strand?

Ufer means “bank” or “shore” of any water (river, lake), not necessarily sandy. Strand is specifically a “beach,” usually sandy and often associated with the sea or a lake beach used for swimming and sunbathing.

Where is the article before Ufer? Why don’t I see das Ufer?

The article dem (dative masculine/neuter singular) is hidden in the contraction am = an dem. So the full form is an dem Ufer, where dem is the article for the dative case.