What technical feedback would you like if any? Am relatively new to editing Milky Way shots. Am curious if anybody would do anything different, and why? Someone suggested I shrink the size of the stars down to accent the Milky Way…but wasn’t exactly sure how to shrink stars in LR or PS?
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Am interested if the bright star is too distracting? And does anybody know if that star is Andromeda?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Single shot, 20 secs @ f/2.8, ISO 1600…tripoded w/ locking remote, Sony A7R2/Metabones Adaptor/Canon 24-70 F2.8 lens.
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.
dougbluntphotos
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Very majestic, presenting the Matterhorn with all those stars! I haven’t shot many Milkyways myself, and like with anything else, post processing it is hugely personal taste. Here, I think dodging up some of the brighter parts and adding more contrast will make it more visible, it doesn’t really pop right now.
Zooming in in the thumbnail I noticed the stars are not completely sharp. Visually, it doesn’t look like the shutter speed was the problem, so maybe just the focus. I have seen many nightscapes where the foreground was shot during blue hour or a bit later and combined, if you’re into that; a great way for foregrounds with less noise.
Thanks Ron. Yah, I noticed I had minor star trails, which I thought was odd @ only 20 secs…which may have accounted for some of the blurriness. I prefer to nab the shots in one take rather than blending…just me…but I sure understand the value of doing 2 shots to get the foreground right. Thanks for your thoughts and comments
Never having shot stars I can’t help you with your inquiry. However, I like the shot. I am intrigued by the small triangular cluster of stars above and to the right of the peak of the Matterhorn. They stand out in the enlargement.
What is the focal length you used? You used a 24-70 mm, I guess at 24 mm? The wider you go, the longer your shutterspeed can be before you get startrails. On my D810 at 14 mm with f/2.8 I theoretically (NPF rule) can use 17.42 s to avoid blurry stars. So 20 s on 24 mm will give some added unsharpness.
Using with a single raw is fun too, if I have that for in example auroras, I tend to double process them, seperately for the foreground/shadows and the sky.
Thanks Ron. You raised an interesting point about shutter speeds and focal lengths. I just Googled NPF rule … and now understand what you are referring to. Thanks so much!
Doug, this is an fine look at the Matterhorn with an outstanding field of stars. In the large view, the stars have a bit of a checkmark look, which suggests that you didn’t use mirror lockup. Yes on a 20s shot, you need to be extremely wide not to get some trailing. I’m also going to guess that this was taken in the middle of the zoom range. At 24mm on a full frame camera, I’d expect the Milky Way to stand out more clearly from the surrounding stars although it does look like there were some very thin clouds, which will reduce the sky contrast. Having some detail in the land adds a lot to this view.
What a majestic scene, Doug! You have captured it very nicely. I especially like the clouds hovering at the base of the mountain. I would recommend trying to darken the sky a bit to see if you like the result.
