Widefield Milkyway from Kulnura

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi guys

I took this shot on Saturday night, 15th September, at our new moon meetup at Kulnura, on the Central Coast of NSW.

Canon 350D + Sigma 17-70mm lens @ 25mm, f/4.0, ISO1600.

5 x 300s exposures, Camera ICNR on, mirror lockup on.

The 5 lights were rotated (bad drift alignment) and stacked (average) in Images Plus. Processing in Photoshop adjusted saturation, curves and levels.

I'm really happy with how this turned out, it's probably my best widefield milkyway shot so far. The two attachments are the same image - I've just tried a couple of different things with web presentation as well (feedback is appreciated )

Thanks for looking.

EDIT: I replaced one with the reprocessed version.

[Alchemy (Clive)]

i like the black border particularly as it stands out with the lighter background , this may not be the case if your sky was really dark.

Its nice to see you entering the deep sky world ( give in to the dark side my young padowin---- best said in a sith voice)

[NQLD_Newby]

WOW!

Absolutely awsome shot Mike. The dust clouds are very prominent and the detail is astounding. For the record I too like the black backround, it seems to give the picture more contrast.

[mib]

Impressive image. I think the one with the black border works best.

[Garyh]

Ah yes! the dark framing I think always looks more spiffy in my eyes!
Very nice pic Mike, nice color balance, maybe a little darker or a little more contrast...other than that its a beauty!

[rogerg (Roger)]

Looks like you've got nice raw data there Mike. Not over processed, good detail across the field.

Personally I'd downgrade the presence of the text at the bottom which for me is almost outshining the image its self, and play with the levels, bringing the midtones down and adding a tiny bit of saturation. In photoshop something like levels adjustments of 27, 0.56 and 255 is where I like it. Saturation of +10.

[Ingo]

Very sharp...but looks pretty bright

Great!

[okiscopey (Mike)]

Yes, black border one looks best!

Amazing amount of detail too. Probably exactly what we'd have seen on the night if we had 'integrating eyes', given the viewing location. However, I think it looks better as a stand-alone photo if the sky background could be just a bit darker.

Wait a minute ... is this a newbie telling Mike Salway how to take photos?!?!

[iceman (Mike)]

Thanks for all your feedback guys.. I resisted moving the black point too far up the histogram so as not to lose too much detail, but I can see that I probably stopped a bit too short.

A bit of contrast really adds more depth to these milkyway shots. I'll have another go

I also agree that when opened in the attachment window, the black border looks best. However when viewed on a black screen, the white border looks best (to me)

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Lovely shot Mike. The Kiwi really stands out. As you said, it depends on the back ground which one looks more pleasing.

I'd also agree to a slight non-linear stretch using the gamma adjustment in levels, or a slight contrast adjustment in curves.

[iceman (Mike)]

Here's an adjusted version - thanks for your feedback everyone, and your tips Roger and Paul.

Better?

[erick (Eric)]

To my eye, yes, much better. That's a lot of stars (and stuff!) - nicely displayed, Mike. Thanks

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Wow, that is wicked Mike. Nice lens and processing. You can even see the dark nebula in Coronal Australis, top left center.

[iceman (Mike)]

Thanks Eric and Paul.

Paul I noticed that in the brighter version too - I was wondering what the dark nebula was from.

It's no Gary Hill, but i'm pleased with how it turned out. Next time I'll go for a mosaic covering more area, or like Gary's, a mosaic at higher resolution.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I reacon if you looked at the full image you would even see the blue reflection nebula buried in the dark nebula. I'm not sure but I'm pretty sure I can see some "blobbiness" around the stars where it is.

[iceman (Mike)]

This (David Malin Award Winning) shot by Gary Hill (Garyh) is what I hope to get one day... just beautiful.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

btw, aren't you at work???

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

It's a shame Antares is just out of the picture for you.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by iceman

Here's an adjusted version - thanks for your feedback everyone, and your tips Roger and Paul.

Better?

Nice, I prefer that, but it is personal preference and just because we think it's better like that doesn't mean you can't be an individual and prefer the original

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

To true Roger, and we also need to remember what looks good on one monitor may look a fright on another.