Milkyway nightscapes

Great shot!

Did you use a tracker for that? That looks amazing.

J-Blake wrote in post #18590594

Gallery photo (hosted):
posted by J-Blake originally in forum: Nature & Landscapes

I like this, it appears honest.

Did you have a partial moon to help with the shadow detail?

Ranie Dib wrote in post #18590597
Did you use a tracker for that? That looks amazing.

Thanks Ranie! No/ tracker, though I own one. But the hike was too far to lug it. The sky was taken in 8 shots: 50mm, 10 sec, f/2, ISO 1600.

markesc wrote in post #18590652
I like this, it appears honest.

Did you have a partial moon to help with the shadow detail?

Thanks markesc. That may be best compliment I could receive! There was no moon out. The light pollution and stars lit the valley......the snow helped. The foreground was taken with a single 12 minute shot.

J-Blake wrote in post #18590746
The sky was taken in 8 shots: 50mm, 10 sec, f/2, ISO .

Jon, the shot is beautiful. Could you elaborate on what you used the 8 shots for?

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #18590880
Jon, the shot is beautiful. Could you elaborate on what you used the 8 shots for?

Thank you Paul! The 8 shots is a method of noise reduction, where the shots are combined in a file, aligned and then converted to a smart object where the stack method can be set to "medium" which reduces the noise. Since noise is random, this process removes it from the result and you're left with a photo with much less noise than any of the individual components. In this series, I shot with an ISO of 1600, which for my camera I've found 8 a good number of shots to merge.

J-Blake wrote in post #18590957
Thank you Paul! The 8 shots is a method of noise reduction, where the shots are combined in a file, aligned and then converted to a smart object where the stack method can be set to "medium" which reduces the noise. Since noise is random, this process removes it from the result and you're left with a photo with much less noise than any of the individual components. In this series, I shot with an ISO of 1600, which for my camera I've found 8 a good number of shots to merge.

Wonderful results! Did you stack them in PS or a star stacking program?

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #18590968
Wonderful results! Did you stack them in PS or a star stacking program?

Funny you ask. I used both. I've been doing this manually since I learned the technique about a year or two ago, but during the taking of this photo I was turned onto Sequator which I tried for the first time on this processing. I used it to align the images where I could blend them and also to provide the composite. Both versions produced similar results so I went with the blended version.

I use Sequator for skies and PS for foreground. I currently stack the FGs but will try the single long exposure next time.

Great shot!!

So I am clear:

8 shots for the sky
Stacked to remove noise
No stitching

Foreground was a 12 min shot

Post processing method:

Stack the sky

Merge 12 min foreground photo (assuming as a layer) removing the now over exposed sky

Please let me know if I am wrong. I have been wanting to attempt something similar with my 35mm 1.4 but will likely stitch images for a wider FOV due to the location of the shot I am planning.

Sequator is just for PC, correct?

Shaun Liddy wrote in post #18591167
Great shot!!

So I am clear:

8 shots for the sky
Stacked to remove noise
No stitching

Foreground was a 12 min shot

Post processing method:

Stack the sky

Merge 12 min foreground photo (assuming as a layer) removing the now over exposed sky

Please let me know if I am wrong. I have been wanting to attempt something similar with my 35mm 1.4 but will likely stitch images for a wider FOV due to the location of the shot I am planning.

Sounds like you've got what I did, but as I said before depending on what camera you're using and ISO you shoot at you may need more or less shots to stack. Your mileage and timing may vary, so play around and change things up.

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #18591179
Sequator is just for PC, correct?

I believe that's correct, though there's a program available for the mac called: Starry Landscape Stacker. I don't own a mac, so this wasn't an option for me, but my understanding is it's better star stacker and well worth the $40.

I've finally been able to get out for some Milky Way photos for the first time this year, with clear sky.
It was 26°F/-3°C but I don't mind because I was feeling like an addict in withdrawal until I could shoot our dear friend again...

Still hate that light pollution though...

i like the second one! Great work!