Mark Burgess
November 2023 - Cape Palliser
Original
About the Image(s)
The location is Cape Palliser and its lighthouse. We were there August this year and I planned an astro shoot using the lighthouse as the foreground. I have called it "Jacob's Ladder" because of the Bible story and the obvious way the steps connect the lighthouse to the heavens. Processing included cloning out the brights, and many adjustments to bring the stars out. Also a significant warp to the lighthouse to remove the lean you get with wide angle and shooting upwards. Shot on the Sigma 14mm at f1.4 with Sony a7RV 15 secs at ISO1600.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
12 comments posted
Mark, this is amazing. I love everything about it... the Milky Way, the lighthouse, and the stairs. I'm sure it must have been challenging to deal with the lighting in order to highlight Jacob's ladder, the lighthouse, and still get such vivid/sharp stars. Your 15 second exposure was perfect -- as much light as possible without causing the stars to streak. I have no suggestions. It's a gorgeous image!
Posted: 11/01/2023 17:02:32
Posted: 11/01/2023 17:02:32
Thanks Oliver...happy to have picky comments for improvement because I would like to enter it into comps and I am amongst the world's worst at spotting issues! Posted: 11/01/2023 18:45:00
Well, Mark, the only thing that you might want to try is to slightly darken the bright areas of the rocks on the diagonal leading to the top right corner. They definitely need to be a component of the image; however, the one outcropping is so bright that it competes with the wonderful Milky Way portion of the image. But, that is a tiny nit! Posted: 11/01/2023 21:28:05
Mark, this is a spectacular photograph and I applaud the post-processing that you have done with the image. I do agree with Pete on his second comments so I thought I would do a little work on it too. First I dodged the FG slightly and burned in the bright areas of the rocks. Then I add a solid color fill layer (very light yellow) with a black mask. I painted white around the lighthouse light and adjusted the opacity. Next, I selected the sky to make it slightly darker. Then I increased the saturation and adjusted the hue to make it a little cooler. Posted: 11/04/2023 07:30:28
Thanks Richard. They seem like v good ideas. We are away in Japan from today but look forward to having another look when we get back Posted: 11/04/2023 19:59:44
Mark - how do you like the Sony A7RV compared to the IV? I just picked up the Sony A7R3MA on sale as a back-up to my 7RIV. You did a splendid job on this photo. It's difficult to balance the overexposure of the lighthouse with the correct Milky Way. Good job. Jim Posted: 11/04/2023 11:43:08
Well I like it a lot but it depends what you want to shoot. I like the advanced auto focus and focus stacking. For landscape I don't think you get anything Posted: 11/04/2023 20:05:17
This is a beautiful image and the angle from which it is taken accentuates its strength Posted: 11/07/2023 14:24:11
Great image Mark. Richard has made very subtle changes but I do think they improve the image. Nothing else to add. Well done. Posted: 11/08/2023 02:50:51
(Groups 3 & 83)
Mark, what a stunning image!!! Well planned and well executed in every way. Marvelous, simply marvelous! Posted: 11/11/2023 08:57:44
Thanks for your support Posted: 11/11/2023 17:06:49
Thanks for your support Posted: 11/11/2023 23:17:06