The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I have never had the opportunity to photograph the stars in the southern hemisphere. So when we planned the trip to Namibia, I was mostly looking forward to enjoying the great night sky.
I already spent the afternoon in this area to find compositions for the night using PhotoPills. I took some panoramas and marked the places with my GPS app. After stitching the test shots in the accommodation I already knew exactly where to go in the dark.
The bright light on the horizon is caused by a nearby campsite and the town of Keetmanshoop.
Specific Feedback
I like how the final image turned out. But I’m not sure about the big tree at the left edge. Do you think it is a distraction?
Is there anything beyond that that I can improve in post-processing?
As always, any feedback is welcome.
Technical Details
The final Panorama consists of 7 vertical shots (16mm full-frame, Astro modified camera).
Processing the individual frames with DxO PureRaw 3 for noise reduction
WOW!! You found a great location, did the planning and the detailed processing and got a great result! I think the light on the horizon adds an interesting touch. It’s wonderful to see the galactic center so high – it’s close enough to the horizon to have a lot of atmospheric thickness and pollution in the way at our northern hemisphere mid-latitudes.
The light on the FG looks good. My only thought is to wonder about some distortion in the upper left to make the leftmost tree a little more vertical, but that is a small issue. And of course there is artist’s latitude on the color balance. I would probably go a little more toward blue/cyan but that’s a minor tweak. My main reaction is jealousy!
Jens, Another “Wow” and some jealousy, too! This is a wonderful capture of the MW. Everything about it works, including the tree on the left. I love seeing the arch above the horizon, and a great foreground really makes a difference for star photography. Your and Paul’s shots prove that.
Great photo. I do not think the tree on the left is a distraction, but what I do find a bit distracting is the lean it has to the right. I do not know if this lean is natural or due to the wide-angle lens.
Anyway, it seems I’m the minority wondering about the tree on the left. As the other bigger tree in the center somehow mimics the highest part of the MW, this one tends to stand out a bit. I’m not sure if it is necessarily a distraction. But it cancels the big-to-small-transition from FG/center to BG left/right. Without it, there maybe would be a stronger visual logic to the image.
I quickly tried another crop in LR, but I wasn’t very lucky with it either. Tree in or out – this is a fantastic image!
I’m in “Awe” of this image, the whole scene is really intriguing to me!
There’s something about the FG rocks and boulders with the trees and shrubs that works very well for me, I can’t quite provide the words that describe what I’m feeling about it but the high arch of the MW frames the FG so well!
I’m not bothered by the lack of symmetry in the center tree because I’m looking at the image as a whole rather than looking at individual elements.
The light source behind the smaller tree on the left and the mild glow of light on the rest of the horizon adds a nice sense of continuity between the MW and the FG.
I still haven’t tried to capture any MW images of my own and I still don’t have any desire to but I do always look forward to viewing the artistic work of others with admiration (rather than envy).
BTW, just to be clear, I like the version without the tree on the left side of the arch, in my view the image as a whole is more balanced without it.
Anyway, Great image! It must be very rewarding to see the results of your hard work and extensive planning.
With the tree taken out the light pollution dome just behind the smaller tree becomes much more of an eye magnet. I think the straightened tree version works best.
And, Jens, I prefer the original with the slightly tilting tree. Removing it altogether make the image a bit static. Straightening it doesn’t look realistic to me. Also, that image has a slightly darkened foreground, I like the lighter tree trunk.
