The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We made a last second decision to make the short drive from Bozeman to Yellowstone to watch the Aurora dance over the Park. It was out-of-this-world incredible! I was wandering around the Fountain Paint Pot area when the aurora began to appear directly overhead. I was close to Silex Spring so I went up there to see if I could capture the scene in one image with my 14-24. It’s a tough spot to shoot this way because you’re on a boardwalk elevated about 6 ft above the pool. Fortunately, the corona was a bit to the south and it allowed me to get it and the pool in one shot. I shot from 9pm to 5 am and was almost too excited to sleep afterwards…almost!
Specific Feedback
I backed up as far as I could without getting the rail in the image. It might be a bit crowded around the pool, but when the lights are moving as quickly as they were, you don’t really have the option of a panorama. I have lightened the steam a bit. I tried not to over saturate the sky. The colors were visible to the naked eye all night long. Its a pretty spectacular scene that I can’t take credit for, but I’m wondering what you think of my above concerns?
Technical Details
Nikon D850
Sigma Art 14-24 2.8
ISO 2000, f/2,8, 3 seconds, 14mm
I’ve used various masks in Lightroom to enhance the sky, lighten the foreground, and increase the luminance of the steam. I used Topaz Sharpen to reduce noise and sharpen the foreground.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Wow!! Looks great to me! I wouldn’t have any thoughts about the composition, having heard so much about how it dances around and how much of the sky it can cover. The reflection and the steam are amazing! The top half feels a bit overexposed, although it is probably in balance with the lower part. But I wonder if it’s worth a tweak??
I’d love to see more! What a fantastic experience!
It might be overexposed a bit. I definitely brightened the whole thing a bit. Here’s the unedited file. It’s not very often you can overexpose a night sky with a 3 second exposure!
Outstanding idea here, Paul. A very mystical look at both phenomenons in one scene. I agree with @Diane_Miller about a possible re-tweak here for a better upper and lower balance. Maybe a simple NIK ND or other balance usage would do the trick…
Regardless, the post processing is merely a personal preference in the end…
Paul, you’ve got a fine mix of pool, mist rising and aurora light. There’s definitely a sense of dancing. Comparing your original to you final, the thing I notice most is the contrast and saturation in the pool and its lower edge. I think that somewhere in between the original and the final would let the pool’s color and saturation fit better with the sky’s saturation and color. The look of fireworks going off in the sky is way cool.
@Diane_Miller@Paul_Breitkreuz@Mark_Seaver Thanks all for your thoughts on this image. I added an edit to the top. I denatured the lower portion, tried to lessen the formation at the top but maintained the overall luminance in the sky. I also lighted the shadows in the line of dark trees slightly below mid frame so as to sort of reduce that more contrasty element of the image.
Paul, edit 11 has a much better visual balance between the pool and the sky. The extra detail in the trees fits nicely also. I’m intrigued by the lack of stars, guessing that it means the aurora was bright enough to overwhelm the dimmer stars. If you look at both of my posts, there are tons of stars, showing that the aurora was not so bright. (It’s also possible that my processing brings out the stars…)
What a wonderful composition. I especially like how the rising steam just happened to move left to allow that light green aurora burst at the top to show. I tend to like the original edit better though.
This is so cool. The way the rising steam from the hot pool merges with the aurora almost makes it look like all of that colour sprang from deep in the Earth. Oh, and I like the first image (Edit-7) the most.
I’ve been meaning to circle back to this one Paul, because it’s just fantastic. A true once-in-a-lifetime moment that your skills were able to capture.
This has a supernatural quality to it; I can’t help think of an angel appearing in the sky…
Thanks so much John. Definitely one of those incredible moments that I cant take too much credit for, other than getting myself there and staying up all night long!
This photograph is one of the best composed Aurora photos that I have ever seen. So often, I see a massive sky full of colour but no real focal point except the riot of colour, similar in expanse to a grand sunset. You have ignored most of the Aurora to show the bit that matters, well done.
The piece that may be needing improvement is to increase luminosity by about 1 F stop. You mention that some areas are blown out, but when I open your photo in ACR, only a small area is cursed with the blinkies after I increase the brightness by over 2 F stop. Perhaps a measure is to look at the background sky and stars like other nightscapes. The problem, to me, is that human eyes consist of rods and cones, whereas the rods see luminosity, the cones see colour and they stop working in dim light, so live Aurorae often seem shades of grey but the camera sees true colour. The other possibility is that the monitor you use is too bright. I have uploaded a copy of Ansel Adams and Fred Archer’s luminosity chart (https://cameraclips05.wordpress.com/resources/photographers/ansel-adams/). The point being is that if your monitor is too bright, you will lose the differences in luminosity at the extreme ends of the chart. Fixing that, and then adjusting the F stop of the photo may improve your photo immeasurably to other viewers. Some Aurora photographers do over saturate the colours, but I do not see that in your photo. Have a look at facebook and search for Aurora Australis Tasmania (I am not affiliated with facebook or Aurora Australis Tasmania in any way) for a wide variety of photos. Note that they are chasers, not photographers. I might add, I am extremely jealous of your photo. I have seen the Aurora in Norway but would dearly like to see Lady Aurora Australis.
To produce an Aurora photo of your composition quality is an unfulfilled dream.
The chart shown above is difficult to read to check monitor calibration. Here is a stepwedge I made that gives a better look. View it on a 50% gray background. (I keep my desktop wallpaper as 50% gray.) But changing monitor brightness is not a good approach. There is no substitute for a calibration tool – Google “monitor calibration”. The best monitors come with their own calbration software and hardware.
I have added hashmarks to help delineate the first and last steps. With a decent monitor setup you shouldn’t need them. The different widths of the wedges is due to differences in the gradient tool setting. (Far right in its Options Bar.) Smooth is best, Perceptual is close.
Thanks for this Diane. I dont know exactly how to use this, but it does show up on my monitor with very noticeable differences between the brightness of each tone. I purchased a monitor calibration tool for members of the Camera Club here in Bozeman to use, but it hasn’t come back around to me yet! I was recently listening to @Matt_Payne talk on his podcast about this. I use a 2021 MacBook Pro to process my images. He suggested setting the screen to the preset “Photography (P3-D65)”. I have found that it has improved both color reproduction and brightness when viewed on a variety of devices. The original image here was processed before I changed that setting. I’ll add another at the top that I just now reprocessed with a few very minor changes.
Wow @Rob_Sykes, thank you very much for those very kind and generous words. I see what you’re saying about the luminosity. I made a few very minor changes and like the result. Thanks for your thoughts!
You just use the stepwedge to see if you can diesinguish the brightness ranges. If you can, good. If you can’t, calibrate. And once you calibrate it will set its own preset – leave it alone, and don’t change brightness.
The recent MacBooks seem to have generally very good screens.
You new (top) image is greatly improved, with much better contrast. If desired you could reduce the contrast on the near FG, but not a big deal.
