A nice clear night in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies with Mount Glasgow in the distance. I think August is the time when the milky way core would line up with Glasgow and the river will lead to it but i still took the a shot when i had a chance and i am happy i did because now wild fire smoke is making it a lot harder.
Original:
I am curious to hear opinions regarding the compositions. Are there too many elements that break the photo?
With the core to the side, does the way i composed the river and the subtle S curve work?
Any other feedback is welcome specially regarding processing.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Is this a composite?
Sony A7ii / Sony 20 mm f1.8
Sky:
10 frames (10 sec, f1.8, iso 6400) stacked in sequator
Ground:
3 frames (4 min, f1.8, iso 3200) stacked in photoshop for noise reduction
Both sky and ground were taken from the same tripod position within 30 mins.
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
Awesome. This image is a great example of a night image, as opposed to an atrophotograph. I like how the river leads the eye to the Milky Way. I agree with Mario on the two trees on the left. But that is minor. I think the overall scene might be a bit too bright for nighttime. Not sure how to bring in some black level without losing some of the details…maybe a local contrast?
Thanks for the feedback @David_Bostock
Are you sure your screen is not too bright? Or perhaps my screens are too dark because i see that any more darkening will kill all the details i suppose i can darken the river a bit but i dodged on purpose to lead the eye
The only local contrast i think i can add is in the mountains, the rocks in the foreground on both sides i will try that then repost
Hahaha
If yours is calibrated i blame mine
Not calibrated yet
Don’t worry man i don’t take feedback negatively at all
In fact i love the ones that shred my photos to pieces that is how i learn
I like the composition a lot. You made very effective use of the sweep of the river, it’s curved lines pull your eye through the scene. The Milky Way is in a bit of of an usual position bring this far off center. But I think the composition ends up being balanced by the mountains and spruce trees being so far on the right. The area in the center is not dead space to me, because the river adds interest there. I agree with Mario about the two trees on the left though.
Brightness and luminosity in night-scape images usually ends up being a matter of personal taste, more than about calibration. Some people prefer darker night images, some others lighter, and that’s totally subjective. I think either way can work, as long it is handled consistently across the image.
And thats where I have some concerns here. The mountains on the right feel too light relative to both the mountains on the left, and to the trees in the middle of the image. The gravel bar on the far side of the river is much brighter on the right than the left (and much brighter than the adjacent trees). The shore in the LRC is much darker than the far shore. So to me this is not about the overall image being too bright. Rather I think some localized dodging and burning of various areas could better balance luminosity across the scene.
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk
Before i read your comment i had darkened the mountains a bit (see image)
But now i see what you mean with the gravel bar at the deep end of the river
Gravel shore however when darkened further makes the overall image way darker than i like
