All Hail The Hunter

Image Critiques
1

_DSC8586_TheHunter_NPN.jpg
_DSC8586_TheHunter_NPN.jpg1500×1000 1.07 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

The other night there was some internet buzz that auroras would be seen as far south as the Bay Area in California, so I decided to just take a walk outside my house to the top of my driveway and look north to see if they could be seen. To my surprise, Not, I could not see anything. But then I turned around to head back and there he was, The Mighty Hunter Orion, and when I put my lens on him, the distortion of the lens warping in all the surrounding trees made it look like the were all bowing to him, hence the title. In addition, the other bright entities include Sirius to the left, Jupiter up top, Aldebaran and The Pleiades to the right.

Specific Feedback

Does the composition work with the trees tilted as they are?

Technical Details

Nikon D850, Nikon 50mm f/1.8 MF, at f2.8, for 6 seconds, ISO 6400. Single exposure. Processed in ACR with Denoise AI and then finished in PS where I used a mask on the bright stars and bumped the luminosity curve on them just a bit to make them stand out better against the sky.

Critique Template

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Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
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2

Youssef, Your analogy fits well. I also like how you’ve dodged the main characters in this scene. When I do a wide angle night sky view, it gets hard to pinpoint the constellations since many of the star are saturated to pure white. It does look like you’ve dodged your main characters to make them more recognizable. I’m not sure how you did that, but if you use luminosity masks, doing the dodging through one of the brighter brights masks will brighten the star with as less brightening of the sky around the star. Having Orion, etc. stand out is a good idea.

3

Gorgeous!! The sky color is dramatic and the tiny stars very nice. Yes, the wide angle distortion works very well here! And you brought out the brighter stars very nicely. This gives a good idea how small the Orion Nebula is – the brighter smear in the sword.

4

I need to try this – but I don’t think this was 50mm – more like 14-16 or whatever you have (don’t remember).

5

@Diane_Miller , sorry, you are right, I used a 14 mm Rokinon, not the Nikon 50 mm.

6

Hi Youssef,
What a peaceful looking scene. I could see myself lying on my back gazing up at the stars above. The leaning trees do not bother me as they fit your title rather nicely. Not a bad consolation prize since the aurora did not make an appearance for you.