Mark Metternich wrote:
Wow amazing image!!! Congrats.
Now, I know I will be the minority because hyper Milkyway shots are the rave today, but I like more subtle Milky way shots. So, I would pull back on its luminescence a bit.
Hi Mark,
I really didnt do to much to this, here is a stitch using ACR's default, the only thing I changed was white balance.
Just read through your walkthrough Rob. Questoin: do you find there are issues stitching the stars? Or does PTGUI magically make it not an issue? The stars spin a fair amount over the course of 20 min. It certainly doesn't look like it's an issue in your shot but I always wonder when it comes to stitching stars.
I think you should aim for something in between the first and the second photo you posted (with the default settings). One thing I noticed is that the second image you posted places so much emphasis on the stars, even though they are very subtle. In the first version, the stars are competing with the foreground for attention, so you had add further processing to the sky to make it stand out.
I'd be curious to see the second image with a very minor tweak to bring the stars out just a bit more, but then add only a tiny bit more foreground exposure so it isn't completely blocked up -- just enough to give a hint of what's there. IMO, the first photo shows so much foreground detail that it loses the night feeling, and leaves very little to the imagination. Don't be afraid to show rich shadow tone. There's something very appealing about the simplicity of the second photo you posted.
On another note, I'm not sure facebook is a good gauge for the merit of an image. If something gathers a lot of attention on facebook, it's because that image is "louder" than other things in peoples feed. It's a bit like how a car might stand out in a parking lot because its car alarm is going off, but that doesn't mean you'd want that car with the alarm blaring parked in your driveway at all hours of the day. People have a very short attention span on facebook, and I don't think that makes for a good measuring point. Some of the best photos I've seen are ones that don't get much love on facebook. Those are the photos I would want to hang on my wall. :-)
RobDickinson wrote:
I processed it how I wanted it to turn out, nor for facebook or anyone else.
Perhaps it is shouting, but if you mumble no one hears.
Whatever, it works for me, sorry it doesn't work for you but that's not my problem.
Overall I think I am done with this forum, if you like my photography there are plenty of places to view it, happy to see you there.
Goodbye.
Rob,
That's... not quite what I was expecting. I was just offering some honest feedback on a really cool shot. One of the things I love about this forum is that people will often speak their mind about a shot rather than simply giving eachother pats on the back and telling them to go on their merry way. That's what facebook is for. :-) If I didn't have respect for your work, I wouldn't have taken the time to comment. We're here to help each other on this forum. Please take my words with the spirt for which they were intended...
