I’m pretty inexperienced at astro work so would appreciate feedback on this image which is composed of two exposures - one for the foreground that was captured slightly after sunset and one for the night sky a little later in the evening but before the moon came up!
In particular I feel somewhat in the dark (sorry about the pun) regarding post processing - so if you have any suggestions or useful resources feel free to comment.
Settings for the night sky image: ISO 3200, f1.8, 15 seconds, 24mm focal length.
Settings for the ‘foreground’: ISO 400, f11, 30 second exposure.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
The sky is very well captured here, Rob and I think the composition is spot on with that hint of nebulosity shooting up from between the two rocks. Very well done in my book. I would consider opening up the shadow just a tad on the immediate foreground as it feels very dark to me. Not a biggie though, it looks pretty natural. There is also a strip on the ‘foreground’ right on the left edge of the frame that looks like a layer mask that is not extended all the way through. Should be pretty easy to correct. I would also consider cloning out that light dot on top of the hill near the left edge of the frame.
I am not quite familiar with the night sky in the southern hemisphere but based on what I know, blue is not the natural color of the night sky (my reference is this). He also talks at length about processing astrophotography image so that might help you in that department as well.
I’m not an expert in night photography but this looks rather nice to me. I do agree with Adhika though about slightly brightening the immediate foreground.
This looks just gorgeous to me, including the color, so for a novice you are already starting out way ahead with night photography. I think the color of the sky at night is really a matter of personal preference, and I like this very much. I agree about cloning out the light on the left hand cliff, but I’m ambivalent about lightening the foreground cliff. It is a nice anchor, as is.
I like this shot a lot. On your question about post processing, I suggest taking a look at StarryLandscapeStacker for post processing night sky work. I’ve had good luck using it.
Thanks Kathy/Adhika/Tom/Kathy - all good suggestions to look at. I will lighten the foreground and assess what I think of it - without taking it too far having kept the foreground reasonably dark in keeping with the night sky theme.
