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Image Description
Yesterday I went out into a German moor. Is was the first clear night for some time. Finding a good composition shooting the Milky Way was quite difficult, as apparently in August the wooden paths no longer match the direction of the MW’s center.
At one point I turned my back and saw the Big Dipper in the sky, which matched quite well with the wooden path. So, I took my lantern and shot this one. I am not sure with the outcome as I’m not an astro photography pro. Also, the colors were a bit all over the place so I had to rebuild them with color graduation.
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Specific Feedback
Ok, the name says it. But would you have seen the constellation Big Dipper all by yourself?
-One cannot distinguish the person in the distance (me) holding a lantern. So, is it a bummer?
Al in all, do you think, it’s a keeper?
Please be honest, I can bear it 
Thanks!
Markus
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Very nice!! The Big Dipper stands out very nicely and the overall star quality in the corners is excellent – not the usual case with most lenses. The SS was fast enough to prevent stars from elongating. Definitely a keeper! I like the lantern – it adds a bit of mystery and a nice compositional element.
The horizon is slanted a bit clockwise and the leaning tree adds to the impression of the camera not being quite level, but that’s not a big deal. I would probably make the closest post vertical and see how the rest looked, just for interest. That would probably level up the horizon.
I think a nice touch could be to do a subtle graduated burn from the bottom – a quick mask with the gradient tool and then let the selection become a mask for a curves adjustment layer.
The colors are a bit subdued – I wonder if more saturation can be brought out, probably in the raw conversion. Night exposures are definitely tricky to bring out the best quality but it looks like you have a very good file here.
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I like this image as is. I’ve been out at various times of the night lately, looking for presides meteorites and I’m thinking that you shot this just before dawn, judging from the position of the big dipper. All of my night time looks have been to the north. Well done.
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As is often the case, my thoughts are more about changing position on-site when you shot this. I do really love the subdued tones I this one. The hazy, dusty look is quite nice in my mind. I think the composition would greatly benefit from moving to the right and using that fence more effectively as a leading line. Put the tree just left of center and have that delicious curve of the fence pull you right into the tree. This would put the headlamp light directly behind the tree and might enhance its effect, although I would prefer the scene without the headlamp. You might also think about moving your gear bag behind the camera 
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Hey Paul,
you‘re right about the gear bag, haha! Haven’t seen it.
For some reason that I don’t remember, it wasn’t possible to move to the right. Absolutely, I would have done that, too. It’s possible, there was some kind of sign at this part of the fence
Totally get that. A lot of times a boardwalk really restricts you, but also keeps you out of a swamp! Love the image.
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