Original
Repost
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Last Friday I trekked out with @Paul_Dileanis into the Pinnacles National Park with the hopes of photographing the comet A6 Lemmon one more time. I was more interested in capturing the comet as an element in the grand land/sky scape than focusing on the comet itself. I was happy that A6 Lemmon appeared in the saddle notch between Hawkins Peak on the right (the highest land point in the frame) and High Peak to the left (near the left edge of the frame).
Specific Feedback
The color balance of the land is much warmer than either of the two photos @Paul_Dileanis presented, and that threw me off when I was processing it. It was light from the rising near full moon. Does the color of the land conflict with the color balance of the sky?
Technical Details
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 MF
Sky
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter: 30 frames at 30 sec each - tracked using the iOptron SkyGuider Pro
ISO: 800
Land
Aperture: f11
Shutter: 30 sec
ISO: 800
The sky images were processed using Siril. I registered and stacked them using athe Comet stacking technique presented in this video then used Starnet+ to separate the comet from the stars and then processed the comet image in PS before bringing it back into Siril to recompose it with the stars. The final sky image was then brought back into PS to combine with the single image for the land. Since the sky images were tracked, it caused the land in each frame to move relative to the stars and comet and so after bringing in the land frame it had shifted considerably from the sky frame. It was moved into its proper place relative to the first frame taken of the sky and then cropped resulting in an equivalent 70 mm lens for the angle of view.
Critique Template
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Vision and Purpose:
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Hi Youssef,
I think the color balance looks fine. You may want to control the haloing around the edges of the rock that borders the night sky. Other than that, well worth the hike to get this capture…Jim
A beautiful foreground and excellent image of the comet, Youssef. The colors look just fine to me. We don’t often think about it, but the rising or setting moon should have a warmer light for the same reason the sun does. Two minor issues that probably don’t really matter but I thought I’d bring up. I’ve attached a copy of your image with the area between the two peaks circled in orange and a tiny slice of it in red. The area in the orange feels a little bright to be, though I’m sure that’s just the nature of the beast. The area is red feels empty. There’s one bright star in it and the rest looks blank which seems odd.
A very fine image regardless of those minor nits that are probably mostly in my imagination.
I am not an astro photographer, but sure love the images, and this one is excellent, Youssef. You did a masterful job putting this together!
Here’s a NASA site called Astronomy Picture of the Day. A new pic is posted every day and there is a huge archive of images from ground-based and space-based telescopes.
-P
Wonderful!! I think the colors are superb – the color of moonlight is probably realistic here but the difference between yours and @Paul_Dileanis’ images is artistic choice – as is the luminosity and contrast. I like the looming shadow in the LR, which hints at the environment beyond the frame. You also had an excellent lens and sensor and went to the trouble with processing. I’ll check out the video later – I’m on a Mac and there are equivalent methods there.
AstroPixelProcessor is a basic substitute for PixInsight, on both Mac and PC.
Thank you all for the feedback on this photo.
I went back and tried to squeak out more detail from the comet’s tail and addressed the “halo” as @Dennis_Plank pointed out. I was being sloppy around the horizon. I think the repost fixed that issue, but still wondering if the comet is any better?
There is more detail in the tail now and the comet is a little lower – both changes good – but the original is still strong.
Excellent job on the rework, Youssef.
