Cindy Bilinsky  


Summer Milky Way by Cindy Bilinsky

September 2021 - Summer Milky Way

September 2021 - Cindy Bilinsky

Original

About the Image(s)

Astro modified Canon 6D
Sky Tracker
Sigma 14mm lens
ISO 4000
f2.8
75 sec.exposure

For September's image I chose to shoot the Milky Way before our season ends for 2021. I took into consideration the comments on my first astro image as I composted and captured the Milky Way galactic core.

I was fortunate to have clear skies and the wind cooperated and kept the smoke from the Canadian fires out of the sky. I set my Sky Tracker on Polaris and my longitude and latitude for my location. The core rose at 10:30 PM and the moon set at 11:30 PM so I started shooting at 11:15 PM to get my foreground. The moon was a 44% waxing crescent and had set behind the trees so there was little light interference from the moon. I started shooting the Milky Way after the moon set and was happy to see I was able to capture the Northern Cross.

For post-processing I used 4 images, stacked and blended. I imported into Lightroom and made the initial WB and color adjustments then exported to Photoshop. I used Nik's Color Effex then back into Photoshop to blend and merge layers.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
14 comments posted




Richard Matheny   Richard Matheny
I like this much better than last month's image. I don't know much about your shooting system so can't comment there. Your processing looked like it worked for you. I Like the foreground of trees but they are still a little bright for my taste. That's just a personal preference on my part. Good work.   Posted: 09/09/2021 11:27:18
 
Richard I agree with your comment about the trees. I was focusing on soley improving my Milky Way image and sacrificed my foreground. I am recovering from a broken foot and couldn't hike far for a better foreground but wanted to change a few things about how i shot and processed the Milky Way before this Milky Way season ended.

I will be working on improving full images in the future but needed to focus on improving a couple of things with the Milky Way.   Posted: 09/09/2021 11:38:42



Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
Like last month, you did a great job of processing the image. Just for fun I tried a few things to make the foreground trees less distracting and, to me, make the image look more balanced. Cropped top and bottom, reversed Milky way to climb from left to right. Just for fun in Lightroom. Thanks   Posted: 09/11/2021 07:39:12
Comment Image
 
Michael
I do like the color correction on the trees. The darker greens brings the sky and foreground together better. I also like the tighter crop on the sky.

Within the Astro photography world I would be highly criticized for changing the orientation of the milky way. The challenge becomes a balance of artist creativity, correctness and good technical execution.For me, therein lies the difference between a "snapshot" and a well thought out photographic image

Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate your work on the image and thoughtful comments.   Posted: 09/11/2021 08:28:47
Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
Well, just tell those astro folks that's the way God would have oriented the Milky Way if she had been a photographer! ;)   Posted: 09/13/2021 12:16:08
 
That's funny. You are right though. Sometimes being creative means we break the "rules" whatever those are. That's what being an artist is about.   Posted: 09/13/2021 12:19:55
 
That's funny. You are right though. Sometimes being creative means we break the "rules" whatever those are. That's what being an artist is about.   Posted: 09/20/2021 09:15:49
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Michael. I'm going to throw my 2 cents into this image. First flipping is becoming a new rage and it seems like everyone is doing it. Flipping works really well if the viewer can;t detect that it has been done. Like flipping an owl on a branch. However when a viewer knows it has been flipped,then it really doesn't work well. Those who shoot the MW know how the core looks and would spot this as being off. I agree the visually it looks better flipped as you did. But I'm an incurable realist and it feel odd. Now I'll crawl back into my world and be quiet. Did I mention I also suffer from hoof in mouth sickness? m:-)   Posted: 09/19/2021 19:10:55



Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
I like the appearance of the MW much better in this image than the one from last month. Here the stars are the stars of the show (no pun intended. I would still suggest that the MW is a bit over exposed as the sky now almost appears like daylight. In my opinion, for what it is worth MW shots should still maintain the feel of night.

When I shoot the MW I always take an exposure before the MW gets into position. Since I'm there early anyway this is no problem. That way I can check for exposure problems and change settings as many times as I need to be certain I get the shot I really want. I mention this because the foreground is so over exposed that you have created daylight. I would urge you bring this exposure way down to create a more realistic.

I say this assuming that you want to have a realistic feeling image. If you are going for a more creative, impressionistic feel, then as the maker you have that right.   Posted: 09/19/2021 19:03:59
 
Larry thank you for your comments. You are correct this image has too much light in it. Here is the rest of the story. I had a 32% waxing crescent moon and about an hour and a half to shoot the milky way. I got to my site prior to sunset and had everything set up to go. Just before the moon started to set a family showed up on the beach and tried to build a fire. They couldn't get it started and I was relieved. They left and I started shooting just as the moon set. Although the moon was setting there is light coming from the moon thus the blueness in the sky. The night sky is not blue unless there is some moonlight. In the meantime the family went up on a bluff and was successful at lighting their fire which is what lit up my trees.

I had spent so much time preparing to get this milky way I shot it despite their bonfire.   Posted: 09/19/2021 20:31:28



Bud Ralston   Bud Ralston
Cindy - I'm not really competent to comment on astrophotography having not done it myself. I can comment on your photo though as an impartial viewer. I agree that the trees are too bright. I would crop them out entirely because they don't add to the subject, the MW. Larry is right about overexposure. I would have liked to see a dark background to bring out the stars/galaxies. However, bravo to you for tackling a challenging photo subject.   Posted: 09/19/2021 19:14:49
 
Bud I appreciate your comments. You really don't have to know a lot about the night sky to comment on the image. Your comments are helpful. I appreciate this group. I have learned so much already with only two submissions.   Posted: 09/19/2021 20:36:34



David Kepley   David Kepley
Cindy, I salute you for trying to do this. I live near Washington DC and never see the Milky Way because of the ambient light from the city.

Suggestions: The whole image is too bright to be believable. You can only see the Milky Way at night after all. I''d especially darken the trees. They look like they are bathed in midday light. The sky should be an inky black. I like what you did to correct the WB from the original.   Posted: 09/20/2021 09:13:44



 
David
Thank you for your feedback. I agree there is too much light here. Correcting the white balance on images from my Astro modified camera is different than using my in modified camera.   Posted: 09/20/2021 09:18:51