This is the original RAW file of the above picture
Critique Style Requested:Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I live in an area with so much ambient light that I can barely see the stars. This was my first attempt at photographing the milky way during a photo workshop in New Zea Land. I can’t describe what it was like to see what my camera captured because there was nothing much to see because of the ambient light.
Specific Feedback
I have included the original RAW image and would like feedback on how I processed it. I am unsure about the way to handle the color of the sky. I wanted to darken it to more like it actually was.
Technical Details
Sony a7lv, 14mm/f1.8 GM lens, ISO 6400, f/1.8, 15 sec.
Opened in DXO PureRAW 3 with Denoise, exported to Lightroom for basic exposure adjustment and color balancing, final processing in Photoshop CC with additional denoise and sharpening in Topaz DeNoise, and then luminosity masking to edit the picture further.
I think this is an excellent capture with great processing! You got good focus and the lens has good stars in the corners, only slightly elongated. (Corners are a problem with most wide-angle lenses.) You got a good exposure and did a good job with noise. It looks like there was a lot of moonlight – the light on the mountains is a very nice touch. The processing looks excellent, and in keeping with a not-really-dark sky. The color is very pleasing and believable. The reflection in the lake is a lovely feature, with the disturbance of the distant water making a very nice separation. Your processing removed the corner vignetting and I like that you removed the tree.
You were in a major meteor shower (I’m pretty sure they are meteor tracks) – they can be removed with careful use of the Spot Healing Brush in PS but I think they add to the scene and I like that you left them.
Diane, thank you so very much for your affirmation. We were just outside of Queenstown, which is the reason for the ambient light. I am so afraid of over-processing an image. I was delighted to see what looked like a meteor shower. It speaks to the wonder of our universe. Again, thank you.
It’s fascinating to me to see the Milky Way from the other side of the world! It’s upside down and backwards and I love it! Really nice image, especially for a single. Is that a hint of Aurora in the lower right sky, or magenta airglow? I never worry about the way I process the sky in a night image, since the camera already makes it look way different than our eyes do.
“Upside down and backward” is interesting. I sware I was not standing on my head! There was light coming from Queenstown which actually made it very difficult to even see more than just a faint haze in the area of the Milky Way. Sunset was shortly after 5:00 pm and we started shooting around 6:30 pm. The light was afterglow. Thanks for your comments, Paul.
@Karl_Zuzarte could be right about planes but I’m surprised there would be that much air traffic over NZ. I’m curious as to the date it was taken – would be interesting to see if there was a meteor shower in progress. If you look at the raw file at 100% (before any NR) can you see any hint of blinking lights? Meteors would normally show some tailing off at both ends if the shutter was already open. Satellites are also a possibility – I wonder how long their trails would be over the 15 sec shutter speed? And of course a mix of all the above.
This is what 100% looks like on the RAW file of the area around the brightest line to the right of the main body of the milky way. This picture was taken at 6:49 pm on June 14 just outside of Queenslown. I certainly do not have the expertise to understand what they are. Any thoughts you all have are much appreciated. Thanks @Karl_Zuzarte and @Diane_Miller
Not planes. And I’d be surprised that satellites would be orbiting in such varying directions, but that’s way beyond my expertise. I don’t find that time period noted for any major meteor showers in the southern hemisphere, but it looks like you caught a remarkable array of them. (There are always some.) A major shower usually has a something like few dozen per hour. I have seen them making tracks in odd directions like this, though. Whatever you caught, it seems remarkable.
It’s an exciting new direction, and the newer cameras make things possible that weren’t several years ago. I hope you’ll find it worthwhile to hang out here and join in a fantastic voyage!
I should have asked above, regarding the mystery traces, if you did several frames that night. I assume they all would have showed about the same thing? Any longer exposures might have some clues.
Thanks, Diane, for the encouragement. I have other photos, but they are the same exposure. I sent the question about the streaks to Gary Hart, one of the instructors. He is sure they are satellites. He has done a lot of night sky photography and says finding a shot without a satellite streak is rare. He will take out the most prominent lines. That says something about how many satellites are circling our Earth! Thanks again for engaging me in this interesting conversation.
I did a couple of Yosemite workshops with him back in the last century (he’s semi-local to my area) and trust his judgement. That would account for the sharp beginnings and ends of the trails and the even widths.
I’m not an Astro Photographer, I’ve never even tried it, I do have a couple of shots of the moon but that doesn’t count so I can’t give you any meaningful feedback on the image other than to say that I really like it as presented, to me, it’s a gorgeous image!
Thank you, Mervin. I like you have only done a few shots of the moon in the past. This was done under the very watchful eye of two gifted instructors, Don Smith and Gary Heart. I did not come close to being able to manage it on my own.
Wow, Barbara, that sounds like a wonderful experience for you!
And yeah, I would likely need one on one guidance for this type of photography, most other genres I can manage with little help but this one takes more knowledge and skill than I currently possess.
It does help that I’m learning bits and pieces along the way by reading all the comments in the Astro Gallery.
The results look great, Barbara!
I can see why this would be an exciting venture!
