Image Title: Aurora & Shooting Star

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Image: Aurora & Shooting Star

Description: Aurora and Mountain Peaks Reflected in Lake. And a surprise appearance: The Arrival of a Shooting Star.

Specific Feedback Requested: All Feedback Welcomed.

Pertinent technical details or techniques: This image was captured on a recent Alaska Workshop at 17 Mile Lake along the Denali Highway. Camera: Canon R5. Lens: RF15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM @ 35mm. F 2.8. Shutter Speed 20 sec. ISO 1000. Edited with Camera Raw, Topaz and Nik CEP 5.

Aurora & Shooting Star
Aurora & Shooting Star2067Ă—1368 472 KB

3 Likes
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Robert, the diagonal of the aurora to the mountain and how clearly the stars show both above and below it look great. The shooting star is a fine surprise that adds even more drama to an already fine scene. The reflections in the lake let the bottom of the frame contribute well.

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Thank you for your kind comments, Mark.

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A striking aurora scene and well composed, Robert! The shooting star (or satellite) is always a nice bonus when taking these kind of photos. The only critique I have is that it’s got a pretty noticeable tilt to it (based on the horizon line at the opposite side of the lake).

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You’re right about that tilt. I am working on fixing it. The angle of the tilt is such that when corrected, I loose a bit of the shooting star. I tried to use the content aware crop and was not happy with the result, but got a couple of ideas using that approach to try out yet.

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Wonderful aurora picture! I’d guess the shooting star could be an iridium satellite, but they are part of “nature” now. Try correcting the horizon with Edit > Transform > Distort and pull down the LR corner. Then Reveal All and try CA fill for the bottom.

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Thank you, Diane for your comments and especially a big thank you for the transform>distort idea. It may be a satellite, but this has a javelin type tip on both ends of the streak, not very evident in this copy’s resolution, but is very obvious in my edit here at home.

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Outstanding Aurora… I would just level it and not worry about the shooting star.

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I did use part of your idea with a little change and got to where I wanted it. Thank you again. Bob Engle

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Hi Robert. That is a nice smooth aurora shot. I really like what you’ve done to denoise it, feels just right. It is very well composed and the shooting star works well. It seems that often objects caught in night sky images are distracting but I like how that one works.

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That’s exactly what I would have done, but the Aurora lasted almost an hour that night, so I was able to capture several images of it. The shooting star made this one unique. So, I wanted to work it out. Thank you for the kind words. Bob Engle

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Thank you, Cameron, for your kind words. Bob