C/2020 f3 neowise

On July 10th, I ventured out to find and photograph this comet. It was spectacular to see its tail start emerging above the horizon and then then for the whole this to just be hanging there in the sky.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

I know it is not the highest of quality. I photographed it with my Nikon D2x and a fixed 400mm f/5.6 lens. I stacked 5 separate exposures with the Median stacking technique to help reduce sensor noise. Does the remaining noise make this image a throw away? Are there any better noise reduction techniques that will not destroy the detail that you could point me too?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

This post is the whole frame. I also have below some additional crops. Which do you like best?

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Each exposure: f5.6, 2 seconds, at ISO 400, RAW
5 exposures total, processed identially in Camera RAW by increasing exposure by 2.00 and adjusting for highlights and shadows to maintain detail in the tail and silhouette in the FG.
The 5 exposures were brought into PS as layers, the layers were aligned and turned in to Smart Objects and then Median Stacked to even out the noise. Then typical adjustments made for tone, contrast and saturation.

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.!

@organic_light_photography

2 Likes

Crop 1: removing that noisy band at the top.

Crop 2: 4x5 Horizontal

Crop 3: 4x5 Vertical

1 Like

Youssef, amazing and a chance of a lifetime, I find them all more then so well made !! Great techniek and the composition .I suppose you have to diced in a short moment.

@Youssef_Ismail this is really cool !!! Whats so fortuitous about this is that the comet is so close to the horizon, and you can really incorporate meaningful parts of the landscape.

I love the warm color of the comets tail. I assume that the yellow color was there in real life, and not added in post? Also, could you please indicate what hour of night these were taken at?

In terms of crops, my first preferences is crop #1, where i like the wider view for more of a sense of grandeur (but removing the top band as you indicated). My second choice would be crop #3 for more of a portrait of the comet. Actually all of your crops work, but these two are my favorites.

Crop #1 is working rather well for me. Great look at the comet and the lighting is spot on. I am not into the night images that look like daylight. This one looks like a night image. No nits here, looks really good.

Thank you Ed for the feedback. This photo was at about 4:40 am PDT. I started the sequence as soon as the comet had cleared the horizon. And yes the comet had that golden tint in it.

I like the composition of crop #3 Youssef.

Outstanding capture, Youssef! All the crops work, but my favorite is #3. I think the vertical format emphasizes the tail of the comet more so than the horizontal and I like the processing as it does look like a night time sky.

This is definitely not a throw away IMO. It would be nice if the cameras could produce noise free night time skies, but they are way better than just a few years ago. I have used Dfine 2 in the Nik collection on the few dark skies images that I have done. I just try to find a compromise between the noise and loss of details.

Thanks @Ed_Lowe. I don’t know if it will make a good print. The D2x is to old of a camera, using an old DX sized CCD sensor at only 12 MP. It is perfectly fine for the crescent moon photos I do since I can keep the ISO at 100 and there is not to much detail to worry about. But with the night photos, I need at least ISO 400 and preferably even higher, but ISO 800 is practically useless.

I vote for crop 3 but, I have to say, your logo/information is distracting in every shot. It especially pulls my eye on such dark subject matter. Does all that have to be there?

@Dave_Douglass. My logo is only placed when I post online. I’ve been posting images since almost the beginning of the internet and watermarking was the only way to protect online images. I know it’s probably fairly safe here at NPN, but old habits die hard. :wink:

But thank you for your feedback. It is much appreciated.

I like crop 3. And congratulations on capturing a rare event.

Wow. Congratulations Youssef! Incredible image. I agree with Ed that with the comet so close to the horizon it makes it easier to incorporate the landscape. I love the long slightly bending tail that this comet is known for and it’s brightness.
I just love this image. Well done!

I’m very late to the party, having just renewed a very old membership with some time to participate now. I love crop 3 but all have the strength of a wonderful subject in clear air with an interesting horizon.

I find Topaz DeNoise AI to be generally excellent for noise reduction.

For noise reduction in night sky images, StarryLandscapeStacker is very easy to use but is Mac only. A new version due out soon incorporates sophisticated noise reduction using the “dark” frames and “flat” frames that are used in astrophotography software as well as the normal “light” frames. Even using a few “light” (normally shot) frames, it will align and stack and reduce noise nicely. There is a very good tutorial on their site.