More sunspots

[Diane_Miller]

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

The sun has been very active for a while. There were times a year or two back when there wouldn’t be any, or at least any big enough to see. I was setting up to practice for the upcoming annular eclipse, mostly checking out a shim to make the solar filter a little more snug.

Specific Feedback

All comments welcome!

Technical Details

Solar filter of course. Exposure brought down in LR. Into PS for a crop to 30% of the full frame. (With a full-sized sensor, 1000mm is rarely enough.) Nik CEP’s Detail Extractor brought out some of the detail on the surface but created a halo in the dark sky. I selected the sun with the Quick Selection tool, feathered and inversed it and made a Curves adjustment layer. The selection masked it and I moved the lower left corner handle straight in until it was past the histogram data on the left edge, to insure an evenly black sky.

[Jim_Zablotny]

This is a very unique shot. I like texture of the sun and there is enough shading present to provide a 3D view. Sunspots also add some abstraction to the image as well. I like tis one as presented…Jim

[Diane_Miller]

Thanks, @Jim_Zablotny! It’s surprising to me that with our “everyday” cameras and processing that we can begin to see the detail on the sun’s surface. There are very specialized cameras and filters that the grownups use.