Specific Feedback Requested
C/C welcome
Technical Details
Is this a composite: Yes
Nikon D810
Nikon 20mm
9 images stack with Sequator for the Sky
1 foreground image
This is beautiful! A very uniquely colored sky, I usually see pops of purple and orange, especially in the highlights. You have a great foreground, which I always struggle with getting a solid foreground when shooting the Milky Way. You could possibly darken the foreground down a bit, I think it would still maintain its stature in the image but potentially match a bit more closely to the sky. Overall its a stunner…I think of Milky Why photography as being like candy, it always hooks me right away, but I know if I did too much of it I would be in trouble!
Wow, this is really well done. I like the composition, but the exposure feels odd because it’s so light. I expect the Milky Way to be in a dark environment, especially the foreground. Perhaps darkening the foreground, and desaturating it a bit (because colors aren’t so vibrant after dark) would make it more realistic. Of course, this assumes you were going for realism - if not, please ignore my comments! (well, not the one about it being well done - it is)
The stars in the sky have no trails in them and are tack sharp. You have an interesting foreground although it looks like you might have had some wind or a shallow depth of field as the flowers are a little bit blurry in the immediate foreground. I think this is really well conceived but would like to see both the foreground and the sky a bit darker and less brightness in the lower horizon so it blends in better to the blue sky. Really great Milky Way shot!
Wonderful! Did you have some moonlight? I think it would be interesting to see a slightly darker treatment, but that is certainly the artist’s choice!
@David_Wallace , @Bonnie_Lampley , @David_Haynes and @Diane_Miller , thank you for your comment.
During the original edit of the photo I did lower the exposure value on the background several times until I believe it was right.
You all mention that the background is way to bright, not real - we should discuss “real” more time , but I do agree with you, so I post a darker version - not just on the BG.
Would love to hear your comments
The darker version feels more comfortable for me – there is still plenty of brightness to marvel at the unexpected blue in the sky.
First off, great image Joao, it’s got nice color, and the composition works well. In regards to night photography and whats “real” that’s a philosophical discussion in this age of high DR sensors and exposure blending. To me there is no such thing as “real” in night photography, but rather is it aesthetically pleasing, and does it meet most viewers expectations of subjective factors such as color and luminosity.
To me a blue night sky is what I expect and prefer to see, but in real life the night sky is really not that blue except at twilight. Hence “real” is not always the most pleasing to me. However I like the darker blue sky in your rework. I also prefer the overall darker luminosity of your rework (both sky and land), it better matches my expectations of seeing night images that have some foreground detail, but with a darker luminosity that “feels” more like a night shot.
I wish I could remember who said it (here on NPN a long time ago, but “It’s all guise guys.” is never more fitting than with Milky Way images. Personal preference reigns supreme. With that said, the darker version is the ticket for me.