Ok, I milked it tonight.
- Thread starter Silven
- Start date
RockyNH_RIP
Senior Member
Well I gave it the old collage try tonight so to speak and seriously tried to take some Milky Way shots. These are the result as well as one zoom burst. Feel free to tell me they suck and I need to try harder. I can take it.
Hey, look good here... I have never done them...
Like Marcel, 2nd is my favorite straight Milky Way shot.. but the 3rd also catches my eye (starburst effect...)
Nice Job!
Pat in NH
Brandonberg
Senior Member
Awesome!
Great photos. I like #2 & #3.
I want to suggest a little post editing. Most people don't realize how star filled the night sky is until they have been in a great location to shoot and then add to it all the light our cameras catch from stars we can't even see with our eyes. This all results in an image that in many respects looks like noise, but is actually faint stars. So my suggestion... Mask off the earth parts so you don't lose sharpness. Next do some noise reduction on the stars to "erase" the fainter ones that aren't really contributing and essentially look like noise. Then push up the intensity of the stronger stars. How far to push the the stronger stars is best determined by getting some prints done. I have found that in printing milky way shots without boosting the stars they tend to disappear when printed because they don't have the glow of a computer screen to make them standout.
I think these are great shots. I'm betting you're hooked and last night was a great night to shoot. I really really wanted to get somewhere remote myself to shoot. We had clear cold air where I'm at, but unfortunately would have had to drive a couple hours out to get away from the light and into good sky.
I want to suggest a little post editing. Most people don't realize how star filled the night sky is until they have been in a great location to shoot and then add to it all the light our cameras catch from stars we can't even see with our eyes. This all results in an image that in many respects looks like noise, but is actually faint stars. So my suggestion... Mask off the earth parts so you don't lose sharpness. Next do some noise reduction on the stars to "erase" the fainter ones that aren't really contributing and essentially look like noise. Then push up the intensity of the stronger stars. How far to push the the stronger stars is best determined by getting some prints done. I have found that in printing milky way shots without boosting the stars they tend to disappear when printed because they don't have the glow of a computer screen to make them standout.
I think these are great shots. I'm betting you're hooked and last night was a great night to shoot. I really really wanted to get somewhere remote myself to shoot. We had clear cold air where I'm at, but unfortunately would have had to drive a couple hours out to get away from the light and into good sky.
Slow creep of the zoom.
I very very slowly zoomed in from 16mm to 35mm over a 30 second exposure at F4, ISO 6400. Did I mention slowly? Steady wrist (truthfully half frozen.) was the key.
Thank you everyone for your comments. I wasn't sure if they sucked becasue I was in a serious state of exhaustion. After having worked a 12 hour day, driven 3 plus hours to get away from light, and then shooting for 3 or so while I stumbled around in the dark windy night with just a small LED flashlight. Trying not kill myself as I crawled through some Hoodoo and Coulee rock formations looking for a good angle for a foreground and background shot that incorporated the Milky Way while in -1 Degree Celsius or about 30 Degrees Fahrenheit weather. Needless to say the cold was very good for the sensor, not so good for my tired body.
Moab Man, I hear what you're saying but I wasn't gonna do that hastily last night. I have about 85 shots at different ISO and F stop and exposure lengths that I could play with when time permits. I just wanted to share my first actual crack at it. I'm sure I have tones to learn to really nail it down. Where I live I'm close enough to the mountains, (The East side of the Rockies) that we don't very often get clear nights. Combine that with a new moon and it was a rare night indeed. I've been meaning to do this type of photography for nigh near a year and as tired as I was after work I wasn't going to pass it up.
Your shots do look great. Just giving feedback I thought you were asking for. "Feel free to tell me they suck and I need to try harder."
And belive me I DO appreciate it and I was asking for exactly that. Thanks for your imput. Truthfully it crossed my mind to do what you suggested last night before I posted. Then I went cross eyed did a couple of head bobs and thought better of it in my state and went to bed.:fatigue:
Great shots, silven. Love the starburst effect shot. Did you take these out by Drumheller? The scenery looks familiar.
No fotojack, further South much further. Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park by the banks of the Milk River. Montana is just on the other side of the river just a stones throw away.
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Nice pics if you zoom In on photos you caught andromeda galaxy on first two.its directly over peak on first pic it looks like a fuzzy stretched star but indeed is a galaxy.I would b proud of those if I were u.nice composition.