29: An Idea

[bf2015]

Here's an idea that I really want to use for DSS #29. Last night was the first clear moonless night, and after 3 weeks of researching astrophotography and darks and flats and stacking and HIGH ISOs, I went out to Mt. Rainier and captured the following. It is a composite, and I will hopefully be able to reshoot. I'm going to try to take shorter exposures to reduce the star-trails so the focus is much sharper. First time shooting the Milky Way and it's a HUGE learning curve! But, alas, this is my very first attempt. C&C is always appreciated.

Title: Under The Milky Way by The Church (one of my all-time 80s favorites!)

http://bf2015.smugmug.com/photos/593729787_zoFiS-L.jpg

[Katmitchell]

Hi Brian..

Good to see your still alive and kicking.. haha..:wink

I love it..:clap You sure are good at this stacking stuff. I have no experience in it at all, but it seems like a lot of work goes into it.

The results are stunning indeed, and I like the color throughout. The silhouette of the trees are superb, and I like the way they contrast with the stars and low light..

Nice crop and composition.

I hope that if you decide to re-shoot that you can achieve and capture the same beautiful and subtle light and reflection on the lake..

The balance on each side of the composition of dark and light is awesome.
However, I would open up the darkness on the left just a tiny bit more. I would clone in the small yellow glare on the water too...

I agree with you on trying to shorten the exposure some to sharpen the stars up, but is this possible in such low light is the question?

I suppose if you are going with a composite, it is possible to keep the exposure shot on the lake here as is, and just use a separate round of short exposures on the stars by themselves?

Very Nice Work Brian :thumb

Kat

[divamum]

:jawdrop

Man, I wish I'd had THAT to work with for mine!!

Stunning.

[ic4u]

Saaweeeeeeeet :bow :bow :bow

Seriously...this is beautiful:thumb

[coscorrosa]

Sweet! A little more color/detail in the bottom left and it would be perfect. Night on Rainier is awesome with all the stars, this captures it well. I might head up to Rainier this weekend (Tipsoo, Sunrise, or Paradise - haven't decided) and capture the stars and sunrise.

[richtersl]

Title: Under The Milky Way by The Church (one of my all-time 80s favorites!)



Totally awesome shot!!!! :clap

[WhatSheSaw]

Sweet! A little more color/detail in the bottom left and it would be perfect. Night on Rainier is awesome with all the stars, this captures it well. I might head up to Rainier this weekend (Tipsoo, Sunrise, or Paradise - haven't decided) and capture the stars and sunrise.

I heard there is no entry fee this weekend.


The National Park Service has announced three fee-free weekends this summer to encourage Americans seeking affordable vacations to visit these national treasures. At Mount Rainier and other national parks, all park entrance fees, including commercial tour entrance fees, will be waived on the following dates: June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16, 2009. These fee free weekends are in addition to the usual fee free days: National Public Lands Day, which falls on September 26<SUP>th this year, and Veterans Day, November 11th.
</SUP>

[froller]

Spectacular shot Brian. Once you have those stars where you want it will be absolutely beautiful. My only point would be the horizon (where water meets trees) seems a little tilted to the right. I look forward to the final results.

[travelways]

Wonderful!!!

... and yes, try to play a little in PS on the bottom left :D

[The Curious Camel]

wow, awesome

[Tylwydd]

Love the mood and the colors you got. Same as others about the bottom left. :thumb

[bf2015]

Thank you all so much for the C&C. I was able to reshoot, however, after looking at this shot, I think I like this better. Instead of having the generic Milky Way over a mountain theme (which I have seen from others and I do like), this shot seems to have more of a "magical" or "fairy tale" feel/mood that I think is somewhat captivating.

I brought out the left side a tad bit, and I did a little cloning, and was able to sharpen the stars a little. As requested so many times, here are both side by side.

Original:

http://bf2015.smugmug.com/photos/593729787_zoFiS-L.jpg

Reworked:

http://bf2015.smugmug.com/photos/596685371_dzzaV-L.jpg

[Katmitchell]

Hey Brian...

It looks awesome, nice work and gorgeous capture.

I like what you did on the clean up and the adjustments..

However,, the left still needs work.

There is something at the base of the trees on the left that just keeps pulling at my eyes and the star reflections in the water on the left are a little strong and too distracting... they look fine on the lighter water, but for some reason on the darker water they are too big and strong..

Also, something I did not notice before, is the almost circle of stars in the middle of the sky, I would clone one or two of them out so it flows more naturally, the circle pattern looks a little unnatural.

You are probably getting tired of reworking, but hey, at least your almost finished, I have not shot mine yet...

Other than these few adjustments, what awesome work you have turned out here :barband I love the song too.. I am a huge 80's fan myself..

Kat