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Archive 2014 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake

  
 
rparchen
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


So I bet no one saw another Milky Way image coming from me! But I thought I'd take advantage of the new moon over last weekend and hit Crater Lake for some night-time fun. I've shot some of the darkest skies in the country but I keep going back to Crater Lake. It's a pretty awesome experience out there. Shot with A7r and Zeiss 21mm. Some people will probably say this is over the top but I guess that's just my style for night shots. Light painted with multiple LED's, lots of patience, and an unhealthy dose of caffeine. Enjoy!




Jul 30, 2014 at 09:20 AM
Ben Horne
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


It's pretty cool how you captured the reflection of the milky way in the water. It feels a bit more bluish than I would expect, but perhaps that's the blue water of crater lake at work. Do the sky and water have the same white balance settings, or were they processed from separate exposures? If this was mine, I would tone down the blues in the water since in feels more like a distraction.

The light painting for the foreground feels very harsh, which gives the tree a strong cut-and-paste feel rather than an element that's part of the overall scene. I realize you say that it's your style for the strong light painting, but just keep in mind that it breaks up the harmony of the scene and makes it look like you overlaid a day-time exposure on a night scene.



Jul 30, 2014 at 09:40 AM
dgdg
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


I think it is a cool shot but would echo Ben's comments. That being said, night shots are what you want to make of them and for that, I would not change a thing if it is the style you are wanting. My milky way processing is continuously evolving as my tastes and skill change, for the better I hope. What I lack in the east is the access to great foregrounds.

If you warmed the sky a bit and reduced the highlights you may see some better colors in the core. Blending the color balance of sky and foreground is the most difficult part for me right now. Moving the comp a little to the right will capture Anteres a bit more along with the rest of Scorpius, a very nice part of the milky way core.

Again, nice shot. Post more!
David



Jul 30, 2014 at 10:20 AM
rparchen
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


I really appreciate the critical feedback guys! Ben, the WB was the same for the tree and foreground/MW and I think the blue came from the already deep color of the lake. It's an easy fix to tone that down a bit. The light painting on this one was definitely more difficult since the tree was so close in the foreground (and the tree was slightly reflective) which is probably the cause of the overall brightness in comparison. I already had to fix a bunch of hot spots so I may have lost sight of the overall brightness as I was digging too much into the details. David, I'll reduce the highlights and see what that does. I unfortunately can't change the comp as this wasn't cropped at all so I'm stuck with that I have. I'll spend some time on it tonight to see if I can balance things out a bit and I'll repost. Again, I really appreciate the critical comments as those allows me to grow the most.


Jul 30, 2014 at 11:07 AM
Timmeh
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


Hi Rick,

Very well done! This shot definitely has a wow factor to it. The LEDs do seem harsher than the bristlecone, but it doesn't bother me (it may be that the bristlecone snag had more branches, so there were more pleasing shadows). Three points on the shot do seem to be cut off to me:

The top of Wizard Island seems crowded by the branch, and it's very tough to pick it out from the background mountains. The knot (or whatever it is) on the left edge of the frame has a bit of shadow poking into the frame and it seems incomplete. As David mentioned, Antares is right at the edge of the frame and the head of Scorpio is missing. Great shot overall though!

Tim



Jul 30, 2014 at 11:18 AM
JimFox
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


Hey Rick,

Myself, I like the sky being blue. When I do my WB for the sky (which I keep separate from the ground WB) whether I am liking a more blue tone to the sky, or perhaps some magenta, what I usually use as a guide if I do it too much is I check what color my stars are. If the majority of the stars are still white, then I am usually fine with the look of the sky.

My only suggestion would be to tone down the lighting on the tree a bit more. I know light painting is almost an art form all to itself, but as I light paint, I try to keep it on the dimmer side, and also I have been painting more from one of the sides, trying to imitate the direction that it feels like a light source would be coming from in the shot.

Really nice work overall, and above all, it looks like you are having fun, and that's truly important.

Jim



Jul 30, 2014 at 10:32 PM
khilleg
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Watching Over; Milky Way and Crater Lake


Having been there myself (only once though) it is amazing how blue the water is and the sky compliments that. The tree is bright but isn't that point of it since it's the main subject here?

Love the shot. Keep 'em coming. I can only dream of these, my 5Dc is not good for this.

Kevin



Jul 31, 2014 at 12:51 AM





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