Hello! This is my first post here, but that doesn’t mean you should go easy on me.
This is an image from my first trip to the Canadian Rockies 2 years ago. It was complete happenstance that we got he milky way placement right over Starburst mountain like that and it was a truly spectacular night for my wife and I! I am looking to make a relatively large print of this (24x30) for our bedroom but because it is a focus stack/twilight blend I am having a hard time “finishing” the image. The biggest things I am struggling with:
Crop: Balancing enough sky to get the sense of wonder that I felt at the time vs having it feel static.
Luminosity levels: Does it feel too bright/dark? Since it will be printed it will likley need to be a bit brighter than I would normally like a night scene.
General: How Natural does it feel to you? My first couple attempts at edits I felt were not believable and felt photoshopped. I know there are some small editing artifacts that I can’t get rid of, but is there anything really detracting left?
This is a spectacular night image. I can see why you want to enlarge it. I would darken the sky considerably. I’m not sure what to do with the Milky Way.
Welcome to NPN and a wonderful first post! I need to state that night photography is not a genre I practice. I am sure others here can offer much more technical expertise. Regarding the composition, I do like the balance and the amount of sky you included. I also agree with Igor and would darken the sky if you can make a quality print.
I look forward to seeing more of your work here on NPN.
Welcome. Very good first image. I’m really liking @Igor_Doncov’s processing. The only nit I have is the strange look of the mountain/land on the right and the section below the snow capped peaks on the left. They look all washed out to my eye. Don’t know if that’s how they looked in reality or the processing. Still an exceptional image IMHO
Welcome to NPN. Hope you enjoy the ride as much as I have. A very dramatic scene beautifully rendered. Thanks for taking us there.
I wondered what would happen if the mountain and mid ground were darkened a bit to let the sky take over the scene a bit more. Dodged the LR rock a bit. What do you think?
Welcome Keith – a spectacular first post! Is the gorgeous light on the landscape moonlight, which would account for the blue in the sky? But you said twilight so I assume the landscape was shot in last light. You found a beautiful composition, with the eye following the FG rocks to the water and around back of the jagged peaks to the Milky Way! I love the reflection of the stars, too – you got them in calmer water than is usually seen. The only oddity I see is that the low contrast on the distant hills on the right doesn’t seem quite right. A little darker in the sky does feel good – maybe in a gradient as Igor did. I don’t see any sign of an unnatural transition between land and sky. It would be good to see a version with a little more sky, just for comparison. I’m curious as to the artifacts you can’t get rid of. I’m also curious about the reflection of the distant peak to the left of the Milky Way. Shouldn’t the peak and its reflection fall on a vertical line?
Thanks Igor! I see how the darker sky helps to keep the eye contained and emphasizes the mountain more. This was an earlier edit I did that I think is closer to what you showed.
I thiink I agree with you on the washed out mountains. In the twilight images there was a haze that gave the mountains that look which I kept to give separation from the main peak, but I’m not sure it’s working. the later shots for the milky way did not have the haze.
Regarding the tech details - 3 images for the foreground at 14mm, f/4, 20 seconds, 400 ISO. and the milk way at 14mm, f/2.8, 6400 iso, 30s.
I did not have my remote for bulb mode so the foreground was a compromise setting. Additionally, I found this one late in the evening or I might have had more time to get the foreground perfect. Doing it again I would close down my f-stop more for the foreground and shoot in bulb mode, then maybe not have to focus stack.
Thank you! The foreground/mounting from the image was taken in last light and milky way was taken in the same spot about an hour after then blended together. The light is from the sunset afterglow to the right, but hopefully my processing made it feel like moonlight The reflection to the left is actually completely untouched I think the high vantage point is why it looks different than you would expect. I agree that the washed out mountains and darker sky are a good idea.
Yes. I would treat the nighttime landscape as though there was a full moon with the sky darker than the land below. That is the time when the night is most bewitching. The warm colors of the mountain glow nicely against the dark sky. And the distant snowpacked peaks stand out as well. Given that there are strong shadows throughout (that haven’t been produced by artificial lights) I believe that we are witnessing directional moonlight. You have a very beautiful image shot under the best nighttime light. I, personally, would not put so much emphasis on the Milky Way. It actually gets in the way of this composition.
Thanks for the techs. I would think with a 14mm lens @ f/4 even focusing @ infinity should give you enough DOF down to around 2.5 feet without focus stacking. But like you say you could always stop down a little more since FG was taken @ twilight. As for the sky @ f/2.8, you could have dropped down to ISO 3200 @ 20 seconds to eliminate a little more noise and star trailing which will likely show up in a large print. I can even notice the star trailing in your post.
Hi!
Welcome!
Great picture! I like this WB in the sky better. I would darken and dehaze the mountains in the back of the main peak, to make the transition with the sky less abrupt and emphasize the main peak.
Cheers!!
I’m finding that much of the bottom 20% of the image is not adding much, as well as some of the left. I hope more of the Milky Way is available at the top😊.
Here is different crop and some lightening of shadows, but I know the sky is too light.
