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Archive 2015 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised

  
 
tmiller9
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


One of the objectives on my recent trip to Patagonia was to work on night shots. Prior to this trip I had not really done anything with stars/late at night. Couple that with a very rudimentary approach to processing - I wanted to post my "1st" real effort for input. A typical Patagonian shot - from a very familiar location. This is a 2 shot blend - which was needed to align the Milky Way into a better position. The "red" glow is the town of El Chalten. Would very much appreciate your comments - thanks for looking.
Todd

I'm adding a revised version of the image - to adjust for WB - plus slight tweaks to Black levels & sharpness. I do like this version better - Thanks Jim & David for your suggestions





Original







Revised



Edited on May 23, 2015 at 08:49 AM · View previous versions



May 21, 2015 at 10:30 PM
savingspaces
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Very unique shot - I love it.


May 21, 2015 at 11:53 PM
Taff Dalling
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


great lines leading the eye into the shot and up into the milky way


May 22, 2015 at 02:25 AM
JimFox
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Hey Todd,

A nice looking scene with the stars. Personally i prefer a cooler WB in the sky. Usually when it looks like this i will have a WB for the sky, and one for the ground layer, then blend the two. For me when the sky gets that brown looking it takes away from it. But its all a judgment, and in tweaking the WB for the sky you dont want to over do it, but i do think the background sky should be a dark blue.

Jim



May 22, 2015 at 02:37 AM
tmiller9
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Jim
You've highlighted the one area I have spent the most time on! I have been trying to do just that - shifting WB between the ground and sky - this was the most pleasing (so far). My hope is to gain some feedback from this posting - and continue to refine the image. Thanks for your input.
Todd



May 22, 2015 at 07:17 AM
jforkner
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Since you asked & and I’m sure I’ll start some sort of controversy, but here goes…

I guess I’m a bit of a purist and find the manipulation of this and some other night sky images I’ve seen recently “crossing-the-line.” For me, moving the MW to accommodate the foreground is just wrong. While I find it honorable that you mentioned that you did it, I don’t consider it a “shot”—it’s actually two.

I do find it acceptable to take & blend multiple shots of the same image to accommodate focus or exposure. But creating a composite of different images I have a problem with. I’ve seen a lot of this sort of thing lately, most notably at 500px. There seems to be a lot of night sky images with the MW obviously taken at a different focal length than the foreground. Or a gigantic moon over a city.

For me, if the scene didn’t occur naturally (or at least for the shot), it didn’t exist. And any attempt to “create” a scene is, perhaps, art; but it’s not “a photograph.” I will acknowledge there’s degrees of acceptability for this sort of thing, like cloning out a wire or some other minor objectionable object. But arranging the major components of an image to create a composition is a problem for me. Yes, I know painters do it all the time, but this is photography. Of course this is just my opinion which may not matter to you or anyone else; but you did ask for comments.

All that said, I like the image—especially the foreground. And had you not said anything, I would have assumed the MW did appear in that position.

Jack




May 22, 2015 at 08:29 AM
tmiller9
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Jack;
I fully appreciate what you are saying. I too have seen numerous examples of "manipulation" on various sights. And, if painted into a corner, I would lean more towards purist as well. Having said that, I thought I would give it a try. In my defense, both images were taken from the same exact location, same focal length - and about an hour apart. My intent was to create an image that I envisioned while on location - and in doing so, provide an avenue to work on/improve my processing abilities.
As for the debate between art vs. photography, real vs. manipulation to create a vision - I think it would be a fun one, as I know there are a variety of opinions out there, and I think it is a worthy debate to have. Perhaps that is best saved for another day - and another post.
Either way - I value your input - thanks for taking the time.
Todd



May 22, 2015 at 09:13 AM
JimFox
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Hey Todd,

If the shot now posted has had the WB made cooler for the sky, i dont see it. Be sure to leave the original up when posting an edit so others can see the change.

Jim



May 22, 2015 at 09:30 AM
jforkner
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Nicely said, Todd. I appreciate you taking my comments in the spirit they were offered.

I've been involved in night sky photography for several years now (both with & without a telescope), and the most agonizing thing I’ve found is waiting for the right conditions—clear skies, moon/no moon, time of day, season of the year, rotation of the earth, etc. Seldom does everything fall into place; but when it does, it’s really special.

Good luck with your progress. I think you’ll find this area of photography both frustrating & rewarding.

Jack



May 22, 2015 at 09:31 AM
GOVA
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


I see what you did there - 2 milky ways!

Very nice.



May 22, 2015 at 09:34 AM
tmiller9
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Jim - No, this is still the original. I won't have time to play with the image again until perhaps this weekend. And, yes, I will post updates (keeping the original) when I do - thanks

Jack - Thank you. Frustrating & rewarding? Sounds pretty much like everything else I try to do!



May 22, 2015 at 09:39 AM
dgdg
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Hey Todd, it's certainly my dream to go back to Patagonia and do some night sky shots. What a great time you must have had.

I agree with Jim about the sky color balance. Just put a 3x3 color picker dropper tool on a patch of dark sky so you can see the color balance objectively. I probably bore people now, but I like to start in levels and look at each of the R/G/B channels. Use the left slider (or output if you underexposed) and adjust them individually to around 30/30/35, respectively. Then you can fine tune the color balance using the middle sliders on each channel without affecting the black point.

Put another color picker on compatible land, maybe the the mountain where it is midway from the brightest and darkest, then adjust the levels on each r/g/b channel using the middle sliders. This will allow you full objective control to match sky and land colors for a nice blend. Of course you are making these edits separately with layers or selections to isolate your changes.

David



May 22, 2015 at 10:22 AM
tmiller9
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


David - thanks very much. I find this very valuable, and will give it a shot later when I can spend some "re-editing" time.


May 22, 2015 at 10:53 AM
matthewsaville
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Are you sure that red glow isn't Sauron? I think it could be The One Ring being forged, I dunno...


May 22, 2015 at 11:20 AM
dgdg
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


I think the sky has a nicer color and matches the mountains.
Even though it blends well with the mountains, the background sky seems a bit too dark still. At this point it comes down to personal taste I think. Greg recently posted a night sky shot that I think gives a good example of how one might adjust the brightness of the sky.
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1366587

David



May 23, 2015 at 04:49 PM
JimFox
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Hey Todd,

Thanks for posting the edit with the original, it makes it much nice to see the changes you made. I do like the edit better. Myself I would still make the background sky more blue, but as Dave mentioned it's at a point of personal taste, so go with what feels right to you.

I have just captured the Milky Way here in the Philippines in a couple different locations, so it's fun to see how it looks at different spots on the globe.

Jim



May 23, 2015 at 11:04 PM
Gary Clennan
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Philippines Jim? Wow! My family and I lived there for a few years for work and it was a great adventure....


May 24, 2015 at 12:53 AM
kevindar
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


beautiful shot. I like the original better.


May 24, 2015 at 10:10 AM
Ipanematom
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Very well done!


May 25, 2015 at 01:46 PM
Tuan Le
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Patagonian Milky Way - Revised


Nicely done Todd. I prefer the WB in the revised version.


May 25, 2015 at 02:37 PM





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