p.1 #1 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
I got to take part in a workshop last weekend at the Outer Banks. I had never been there, and figured the best way to learn about the area was to take part in a workshop...I also took my dad, so that maybe someone else can get through to him and get him out of the auto modes...it worked...
Anyway, our first night found us at Bodie Island lighthouse, the Milky Way was low in the sky, arching right over the lighthouse...a summer storm to the south west provided the light show on the last frame of this 6 frame panorama.
Shooting the Milky Way is still new to me, very new actually, so I struggled with the presentation of that element. Any thought, comments or crits are more than welcome, thanks for looking.
p.1 #2 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
I think this is a great shot Travis, I'd put it on my wall
I'd be curious to know your exposure settings. I recently called my son & suggested we go shoot some lighthouses. Maybe now we'll try some night shots!
p.1 #8 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
Hey Travis,
This looks very nice, and that's cool that it got your Dad out of the auto modes.
As for the look of the Milky Way. I think it looks pretty good. Obviously as you processed this one, you found that based on the WB alone, there can be a lot of different looks. For me, I want to sky to have a blue tone, but I don't want the whole Milky Way turned blue. So that's the tightrope we walk often. Hopefully you are using Photoshop, and using Color Range is one of the best tools to use to select just the Milky Way and stars to keep them more in the white spectrum.
p.1 #9 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
ctgoldwing wrote:
I think this is a great shot Travis, I'd put it on my wall
I'd be curious to know your exposure settings. I recently called my son & suggested we go shoot some lighthouses. Maybe now we'll try some night shots!
Thanks.
Exposures for this series were all ISO 2500, f/4.0 and 20 Seconds on the 5DMKII. I didn't want to go higher ISO than that, and wanted to make sure there were no star trails, so stopped short of 30 seconds per frame.
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Sunny Sra wrote:
Travis,
Very nicely done
Thanks Sunny,I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment.
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mysh wrote:
i really like it. this came out really well and the lightning was a nice bonus.
I am curious are the dark lines coming out from the lighthouse real or added in post?
Thank you, yes, it was a nice bonus, it really made the last frame special.
Those lines are from the housing frame on the lighthouse, they were there, and not added in post.
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martines34 wrote:
Well done and nice composition.
The image tells a story.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, glad it tells a story, I like it when that happens!
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This looks very nice, and that's cool that it got your Dad out of the auto modes.
As for the look of the Milky Way. I think it looks pretty good. Obviously as you processed this one, you found that based on the WB alone, there can be a lot of different looks. For me, I want to sky to have a blue tone, but I don't want the whole Milky Way turned blue. So that's the tightrope we walk often. Hopefully you are using Photoshop, and using Color Range is one of the best tools to use to select just the Milky Way and stars to keep them more in the white spectrum.
Jim...Show more →
Thanks for taking the time and sharing some insight on the post work for the MW...I struggled with that portion of this image a LOT! When I warmed the overall image the MW had more in it, but I didn't like that look for the rest of the scene, and likewise, the rest of the scene looking good lost some of the MW for me...its a learning process for sure. I also learned that the angle I shot it on wasn't the best, looking directly south more detail showed up for those folks...plus they had better cameras capable of shooting higher ISO and getting more details to show up...
p.1 #15 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
A really interesting, multi-faceted, image ! I enjoyed reading of your processing travails (not from a schadenfreude perspective but for educational purposes ) and Jim's comments.
I was surprised with the straight 20 seconds on each frame, I thought that might have blown out the lighthouse whilst trying to expose the MW.
Personally I'd about halve the black foreground, at close to ⅓ of the frame (and some off the left) they are taking up a little too much real estate for me and it'd increase the focus of people's attention on the top half. You'd still be left with about the same size pano but the apparent perspective would have changed and the MW & lighthouse would appear 'closer'.
p.1 #16 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
Frogfish wrote:
A really interesting, multi-faceted, image ! I enjoyed reading of your processing travails (not from a schadenfreude perspective but for educational purposes ) and Jim's comments.
I was surprised with the straight 20 seconds on each frame, I thought that might have blown out the lighthouse whilst trying to expose the MW.
Personally I'd about halve the black foreground, at close to ⅓ of the frame (and some off the left) they are taking up a little too much real estate for me and it'd increase the focus of people's attention on the top half. You'd still be left with about the same size pano but the apparent perspective would have changed and the MW & lighthouse would appear 'closer'. ...Show more →
I had to go look that one up! Learned something new today!
Thanks for taking the time to comment...yes, the trials of the editing process were more than usual on this image, from LR and PS not being able to do the stitch to getting the different elements to blend...it was a challenge for sure.
The light is not super blown out because Bodie is not on all the time. It cycles, 2 blinks and then off for 20 seconds. So timing it right for those frames means it won't be on but for a small portion of the exposure.
p.1 #18 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
ggreene wrote:
Immediately caught my eye on the FM recent photos section. I like the way it flows from Milky Way to storm as you go across the frame. Very nice!
Thanks. I will admit, the way the lightning lined up was pure luck...when I was trying to get this shot figured out in the field, to me it looked like the MW was lining up with the chimney on the care takers house, so that was my alignment point, and intention...the lightning was an all around bonus!
p.1 #19 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
I was just there this weekend, in the daytime.
Very nice shot. I think the relatively intense blue sky works fine with the shot. It does balance out the otherwise yellow city glow.
p.1 #20 · Bodie Island Lighthouse-Milky Way & Lightning
dgdg wrote:
I was just there this weekend, in the daytime.
Very nice shot. I think the relatively intense blue sky works fine with the shot. It does balance out the otherwise yellow city glow.
David
How were conditions there this week David? I am going back in early December, hoping for golden marsh grasses, great skies, no people... and no skeeters!
Glad you like it, thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.
