I took this Milky Way photo recently at Mono Lake with the tufa in the foreground. I liked the irregular and weird shapes, but I prefer the silhouettes to the tufa being lit…it’s kind of a brown color that isn’t really appealing. This was taken at ISO3200, 24mm, f/2.2, 21 seconds. Processed in LR. I know the color cast in these night shots is a very personal preference. Nothing is as the eye sees it, and that is why night photography is so fun. The lens sees so much more than the eyes. So realistic isn’t really possible, though I favor not too outrageous color processing. I’d be curious to know what others think of this degree of color.
What technical feedback would you like if any? Any
What artistic feedback would you like if any? See above regarding color
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Kathy,
A terrific starry-night sky and Milky Way image. I think you’ve done a great job incorporating and including the tufa - and especially lining things up.
Color of the sky look great - although I agree with you it’s more often a matter of taste and preference. There sure are a ton of stars captured here! Kinda blocks out the deep blue space, right?
Now I’m no night photography expert either and probably have done much less than you. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of attempts I’ve made… Maybe someone with more experience can comment, but my feedback is that in the larger view I’m wondering if the focus point is where it should be? I know there are many methods and best practices; like pre-focusing for the optimum focus ring position ahead of time and marking the lens in some fashion with tape or whatever. Or, use the hunt-n-peck method. ie. set the focus manually at infinity, take a picture, then zoom in… repeat after moving the focus point a smidge at a time until you achieve the sharpest stars, then mark that position. Anyway, I’m not sure this is what I’m seeing here and again, hope someone else with more experience will chime in.
Milky Way is awesome here.
Lon
Kathy, your catch of the Milky Way and starry sky looks great. The weird shapes of the tufa make an interesting foreground. The star field looks good to me, even with a 21 mm lens by the time you make a 21 second exposure there will be some expansion of the stars. I’m thinking that you dodged the tufu strongly, because to my eyes the difference between the lighter and darker regions looks unnatural. The colors in the sky look good, with the extra glow along the horizon very typical when there are man made lights in the distance (even 30 or 40 miles away if it’s a very dark sky region).
Kathy,
I really like how you have processed the Milky Way in this image. Milky Way shots are definitely open to interpretation, and it is easy (and often tempting) to go over the top with the processing. I think you’ve done a wonderful job giving it a more ‘natural’ look.
I agree with Mark about the difference between the sky and tufa looking a bit unnatural. Hopefully someone can chime in with some suggestions, because I struggle finding balance in these types images as well.
