Barbara Gore

May 2022 - Price Lake

About the Image(s)

This photo was taken at Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC in Sept 2020. Two images were used, one for the foreground (lake area) and one for the sky. The foreground was taken about 2 hours before the MW in order to have some light
on the water as light painting was not feasible because of the location. I also used the NPF rule on this image to determine my shutter speed and obtain less star movement. The calculation per PhotoPills came to about ~7 sec. Because the area was so dark I decided to raise my
Shutter speed to 13 sec and up my ISO. I was happy to see most stars were pin point and the noise wasn’t too bad.

Other than combining the 2 images, minor edits to the MW were done. Both LR and PS were used. Highlights, whites, dehaze, and gaussian blur was used. Additionally the radiant gradient tool
Was used in LR to make adjustments to the MW.

SKY
5dMark iv
16-35 mm lens @ 16
2.8 aperature
13 sec
ISO 6400

FOREGROUND
Same camera, lens @16, 2.8 aperture
1/500 sec
ISO 250

11 comments posted

Michael Jack

A well composed image at a great time of year to capture the horse nebula. Good decisions on your camera settings. The NPF setting does work better than the rule of 500 (or 400 or 300).
I see you used the radial gradient which works well for the Milky Way processing. If you wanted to go for a bit more contrast, using the brush tool to bring out highlights and another brush to darken shadows adds a bit of pop. The disadvantage with blending two shots with water included is there is not reflection of the Milky Way which looks a bit odd. Overall, nicely done though. Posted: 05/05/2022 10:58:41

Barbara Gore

Thanks for your feedback Michael. I have another photo similar to this one which I added star reflections before printing. Comparing both, I see your point. I always feel like I'm cheating when I add something that wasn't there lol.
Posted: 05/06/2022 08:39:24

Michael Jack

Not cheating. Just being an artist.... Posted: 05/06/2022 10:39:42

Barbara Gore

Thanks Jack! Posted: 05/11/2022 14:26:18

Larry Treadwell

Welcome to the sky pollution era of photography. I see you have captured one of the ring of communication satellites. I get the same one based on it position to the core quite frequently. It is only going to get worse.

You did a nice job of getting pinpoint stars and that always look nice in the photo. You choice of shutter speed was perfect. I also like your two shot approach to getting a finished photo. Often in the dark areas getting a foreground is hard and shooting your foreground before dark is a great idea. Michael's "artistic brushing" idea works well. One suggestion in using it. Before you start brushing take the exposure slider and make the entire image black. Then slowly increase the exposure. Watch for areas where the light begins to appear. then use the brush to play in these areas. Remember your eyes will see light places in the dark that the camera will not. So you really are not cheating just exposing what your eyes actually saw. Posted: 05/11/2022 09:14:03

Barbara Gore

Thanks for the star reflections tip. I will try it. Posted: 05/11/2022 14:27:07

Bill Peake

That's a great image, Barbara! I like Michael's suggestion to increase the contrast in the Milky Way to make it pop better. You could also add reflections to the water by adding an inverted layer of the sky, and masking it for the lake and lowering the opacity to about 30% and darkening it a bit. You can add a motion blur parallel to the waves to and a path blur perpendicular to the waves to simulate distortion of the reflection by the water. Posted: 05/16/2022 22:45:07

Barbara Gore

Thanks for the inverted layer tip and comments. I plan to try both your's and Larry's star reflections tip. Posted: 05/22/2022 19:19:40

Arne Skinlo

You have put a lot of effort into this image and you have succeeded, indeed! Taking parts of a scene at different times is new knowledge to me, thank you. To me, the composition and exposure is spot on. I would not change a thing. Posted: 05/17/2022 00:38:17

Barbara Gore

Thanks Arne! Posted: 05/22/2022 19:20:03

Barbara Gore

Thanks Arne! Posted: 05/22/2022 19:20:16

PID Digital Dialogue

Group 36

Barbara Gore

May 2022 - Price Lake

About the Image(s)

11 comments posted

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PID Digital Dialogue

Group 36

Barbara Gore Select Another Member Image Barbara Gore Larry Treadwell Michael Jack Arne Skinlo Bill Peake Richard White

May 2022 - Price Lake

About the Image(s)

11 comments posted

Select Another Member Image Barbara Gore Larry Treadwell Michael Jack Arne Skinlo Bill Peake Richard White

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Barbara Gore