Star & Trials + reworked
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was my first somewhat successful attempt at following directions and getting the remote release on my Sony camera to work. I totally missed the first session the rest of the group did and had to wait for their second session to start so I could expose the shot. It was a most frustrating event. I am thankful I got some semblance of trails from the significant “trial.” This has been cropped because I got other photographers in the shot.
Specific Feedback
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Technical Details
Sony a7iv with a FE 1.8/14 GM lens. ISO 320, f/8, 1177 sec.
Processed in LR and PS using luminosity masks.
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Thanks to both @Mark_Seaver and @Diane_Miller, I have revisited this very challenging “Trial” of a shot. The name “Stars and Trials” was not a misspelling. Mark, darkening the base was not a challenge. However, Diane, getting round star trails took several trials. Your illustration was a great help, and I thank you for it. I am glad to say that the stress of getting this shot has finally been relieved. Thanks.
Excellent first attempt, with a stunning location and some very nice glow in the sky! I love the Joshua trees. Wide-angle shots in situations like that pose a problem keeping everyone out of somebody’s frame. Does your camera have a built-in intervalometer? If not, there are plug-in versions where you can set it to shoot something like 3-6 minute exposures repeatedly with only 1-second in between, and stack them in Lighten mode to get very long trails.
I’m just back from a night photography workshop at Mono Lake and Bode – several VERY late nights – and with any luck I’ll have a couple of star trail shots to share. After I get some sleep…
Barbara, I like how you’ve offset the North star from the Joshua tree. The star trails also look good. The land is quite noisy and lacking in contrast. I assume that you’ve done considerable dodging there. Letting it go black would probably work, if you crop a bit above the base of the closest J-tree. Star trails are fun and when looking North always leave me wondering where the Dippers are hiding…
@Diane_Miller, night shots at Mono Lake and Bodie sound spectacular. The foregrounds would add a great deal of interest. I look forward to seeing them. My camera does have a built-in intervalometer. I could use it if I am not shooting with a group that is all on a set schedule, which is how we did it in the workshop.
@Mark_Seaver, I plan to rework the foreground of the composition. Thanks for the observation.
An idea for the next time: If you can manage to frame the scene so Polaris is in the center of the frame, the trails will be round. (Not easy with a group of other photographers.) Use your smart phone compass to aim north and its level to elevate the angle to your latitude, which you can get ahead of time from several sources. (To the nearest 1-2 degrees is close enough.) Then crop later for the best FG composition.
If you can’t do that, you can correct a distorted image to some degree. Stamp a top layer and above that make a new empty layer. Choose the elliptical marquee and put the cursor on the center of rotation near Polaris and hold Alt/Opt and Shift, and drag out to make a largish circle. Do Edit-Stroke to paint a circle on the new layer then deselect. Go back to the stamped layer and use various combinations of Perspective distortion, or just Distort, or Warp to push the trails into more of a circular shape. Hide the layers underneath and crop as needed.
Quick and dirty here, but you can see the idea.
Good job on the correction! Fixing the complex distortions when the celestial center of rotation (very close to Polaris) is not centered is a great challenge. Warping can be a second stage of correction.
Thanks @Diane_Miller for your feedback and encouragement.
