Three Gossips under the Milky Way

bristlecone · October 8, 2016

This is my first attempt at Milky Way capture. Would like some feedback from the experts here. Taken a couple of nights ago at Arches Nat'l Park. The cresent moon had just gone down, so there was some light to aid with lighting on the rocks. Canon 6d; Rokinon 14mm; f2.8; 30sec; iso 6400. I'm traveling and only have Photoshop Elements so post processing is limited.
C&C always welcomed.
-Len

kdog · October 9, 2016

Len, this is superb. The comp, the foreground illumination, the placement and the strength of the MW is just incredible. I can't believe this is truly your first attempt at the MW. My only question is, why did you post it so small? It's far more impressive at a larger size (I peeked).

-joel

Earache · October 9, 2016

Bravo Len!

I also looked at the larger size in your gallery, and I agree with Joel's points, completely!
Also, I was very interested to see your technical info because I just picked-up that lens this week and will be trying to
get the MW before it's position becomes too un-favorable for the year.
You really had a wonderfully dark sky for your shoot... I'll have to work hard to find as good a spot!
Well done!

roaddog52 · October 9, 2016

Great capture, I agree with Joel and Eric 100 percent.

Thanks for sharing.

Phil

bristlecone · October 9, 2016

kdog wrote: »

Len, this is superb. The comp, the foreground illumination, the placement and the strength of the MW is just incredible. I can't believe this is truly your first attempt at the MW. My only question is, why did you post it so small? It's far more impressive at a larger size (I peeked).

-joel

Thanks Joel.... I resized the image. I'm working on a small MacBook Air (that I'm not used to) so the image sizes I normally post at home seem a bit large here. This image was a last attempt of the evening and it turned out ok I think. Yeah, new at this but I do know a little about from reading. Post processing is also key. The foreground really should have been a second image with a longer time (4x maybe?), however I didn't do that, so I simply selected it and added some brightness & contrast. The stars had noise reduction, and the star sharpness had plenty of masking applied. Since the crescent moon had just set, the sky still must have had some light from it. Still, It's not bad considering iso 6400 and a single image.
best,
-Len

bristlecone · October 9, 2016

Earache wrote: »

Bravo Len!
I also looked at the larger size in your gallery, and I agree with Joel's points, completely!
Also, I was very interested to see your technical info because I just picked-up that lens this week and will be trying to
get the MW before it's position becomes too un-favorable for the year.
You really had a wonderfully dark sky for your shoot... I'll have to work hard to find as good a spot!
Well done!

Thanks Eric. I like the Rokinon, but I haven't use it alot, however it seems very sharp. Focusing is difficult and slow. Good value.
best,
-Len

bristlecone · October 9, 2016

roaddog52 wrote: »

Great capture, I agree with Joel and Eric 100 percent.

Thanks for sharing.

Phil

Thanks for the kind words Phil.

best,
-Len

Stumblebum · October 9, 2016

Super Len!

moose135 · October 9, 2016

That's really well done, Len, I really like it a lot! I love the foreground on the image.

bristlecone wrote: »

I like the Rokinon, but I haven't use it alot, however it seems very sharp. Focusing is difficult and slow. Good value.

I've been using the Rokinon 14mm for a little over a year for night sky photography, star trails, Milky Way and such. It is a superb lens for that. One tip I learned about focusing it - trying to focus in the dark is difficult, and just cranking it all the way to Infinity may not be accurate, so I focus on a distant object during the day - I'll shoot a couple of samples and zoom in on the LCD screen to check - then put a piece of electrical tape on the lens barrel to hold the focus in place.

joe-bob · October 11, 2016

An awesome shot. Great composition.

kdog · October 11, 2016

I don't get all the stress about focusing this lens. You could just set it on 10' on the focus ring and be done with it. The hyperfocal distance of 14mm on FF at 10' distance is 7'. Everything else to infinity will be in focus. Or if you're still nervous, go all the way to infinity and back off a little. I believe that whole range from 10' to just-before-infinity where there are no markings will yield sharp results. Am I wrong about this?

bristlecone · October 11, 2016

kdog wrote: »

I don't get all the stress about focusing this lens. You could just set it on 10' on the focus ring and be done with it. The hyperfocal distance of 14mm on FF at 10' distance is 7'. Everything else to infinity will be in focus. Or if you're still nervous, go all the way to infinity and back off a little. I believe that whole range from 10' to just-before-infinity where there are no markings will yield sharp results. Am I wrong about this?

I think you are right Joel. It's just that I am new with this lens. I did do some testing of infinity at home before leaving on this current trip and found that infinity was just under the stop. Backed off a little as you have said. Yes, I think you are right.....and thanks for all your input, I do appreciate it.

bristlecone · October 11, 2016

moose135 wrote: »

That's really well done, Len, I really like it a lot! I love the foreground on the image.

I've been using the Rokinon 14mm for a little over a year for night sky photography, star trails, Milky Way and such. It is a superb lens for that. One tip I learned about focusing it - trying to focus in the dark is difficult, and just cranking it all the way to Infinity may not be accurate, so I focus on a distant object during the day - I'll shoot a couple of samples and zoom in on the LCD screen to check - then put a piece of electrical tape on the lens barrel to hold the focus in place.

Thanks Mr. Moose, I do appreciate the feedback. The tape method is a sure way of maintaining a hold on the lens.
best,
-Len

bristlecone · October 11, 2016

Stumblebum wrote: »

Super Len!

Thanks Taz..... you know I always appreciate your input.
-Len

bristlecone · October 11, 2016

joe-bob wrote: »

An awesome shot. Great composition.

Glad you like it Joe-Bob and I appreciate your opinion.
best,
-Len

Eia · October 13, 2016

Wow! That is stunning! The whole scene is of biblical and/or other worldly proportions! It looks like they are being hallowed or beaming down.... You best hang this big on your wall!!!

Cornflake · October 14, 2016

I agree... terrific shot!

bristlecone · October 14, 2016

Eia wrote: »

Wow! That is stunning! The whole scene is of biblical and/or other worldly proportions! It looks like they are being hallowed or beaming down.... You best hang this big on your wall!!!

Thanks so much Anna-Maria... I appreciate your input. Shooting in the dark is a real new experience for me, cold, stumbling around, turning on and off the headlamp (blowing your night vision when you have to go for the white light) ... and finally setting-up and hoping for a good composition. It's magical when the results maybe work out. Now I can't wait for the next moonless night.

best,
-Len

bristlecone · October 14, 2016

Cornflake wrote: »

I agree... terrific shot!

Thanks Don!

Cornflake · October 14, 2016

PS: "I believe that whole range from 10' to just-before-infinity where there are no markings will yield sharp results. Am I wrong about this?"

I also use hyperfocal distances. My understanding, which may be wrong, is that everything from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity will be acceptably in focus. But with star shots, I use live view, zoom in on a bright star and focus manually. My star shots have been crappy compared to Len's, but they're well focused!

JonaBeth Russell · October 15, 2016

Gorgeous shot!

The Leader · October 16, 2016

I love this pic. A great shot!

Tango · October 16, 2016

Too me there seems some colors are missing in your MW, likely a software limit? MW is one hard subject, I still don't have one image where everything seems correct or done well all in one shot.

bristlecone · October 16, 2016

JonaBeth Russell wrote: »

Gorgeous shot!

Thanks much.
-Len

bristlecone · October 16, 2016

The Leader wrote: »

I love this pic. A great shot!

Glad you liked it, and thanks for looking.
Best,
-Len

bristlecone · October 16, 2016

Tango wrote: »

Too me there seems some colors are missing in your MW, likely a software limit? MW is one hard subject, I still don't have one image where everything seems correct or done well all in one shot.

I'm traveling and only have PS Elements... very limited. Also, the crescent moon had just set, so yes there was probably quite a bit of light lingering and washing out the stars. This was also 4 days after the new moon. Tried to shoot the MW on the night of the dark moon at Mono Lake, but the sky was merky and the wind was kinda blowing hard. Temps that night about 26, and I'm too old for that!
Best,
-Len

JC · October 18, 2016

It's gorgeous, but on my monitor it comes out a little too blue, what white balance settings did you use? (oh, and you might want to get a red LED headlamp if the bug has bitten you

Three Gossips under the Milky Way

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