Cattle Ramp Silhouette

[iceman]

The cattle ramp provides a great silhouette against the night sky.

And plenty going on in the sky with the rising Milky Way and scorpius on the left amongst some green airglow, the Southern Cross and pointers next to the 'coal sack' (dark nebula) up the top, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (satellite galaxy) on the right. All with some clouds providing a bit of depth and colour to the image.

Single 30s exposure with the Canon 6D, Samyang 14mm lens, f/2.8, ISO6400. I used my iPhone screen to provide some subtle light for the cattle ramp.

The second two images are similar but I didn't feel the compositions were as strong. The airglow was much stronger in the direction of the 3rd one.

- Large 1 (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/download/420)
- Large 2 (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/download/419)
- Large 3 (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/download/421)

Thanks for looking.

[SkyViking]

Wow that looks very dramatic Mike, a great capture. I would agree that the 1st composition is best :)

[Larryp]

Very spectacular, and definitely the first one!

[gregbradley]

All 3 are very good. I slightly prefer the last one. I know what you mean about the composition of the first one which is probably a tad better but there seems to be a bit of oversharpening in it so I prefer the last one. All have great colours and are captivating images with lots of interest points.

That's a clever use of your iphone as a light source. I was using mine on the weekend for the timer and infrared remote on Sony camera.

Greg.

[Derek Klepp]

I'm enjoying all these shots Mike and impressed by the noise levels of the 6D.

[lacad01]

Nice composition, especially like #3 :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

done mind the first one - boy that green hornet glow stands out

[matt34]

Great Shots Mike. I've been on the lookout for a cattle ramp to use as a foreground for some star shots, havent had a lot of luck yet with ones I've found normally surrounded by trees.

[iceman]

Thanks Rolf, appreciate the feedback :)




Thanks Larry!




Thanks for the feedback as always Greg, much appreciated. They were all sharpened in the same way so not sure what's making it look more sharpened than the others. I'll have another look.

Did you need to be on the same wifi network to run the Sony remote? or does it create its own hotspot?




Thanks Derek - I'm amazed by the noise (lack of) of the 6D. Once I run it through Topaz De-Noise there's practically none left.




Thanks Adam! I liked #3 too (with the wire and green airglow) but it didn't include Crux so it wasn't my favourite.




Thanks Dave!




Thanks Matt. I've seen this cattle ramp every year at IISAC when I head up the mountain to make phone calls, and was so pleased to get it in a shot finally :)

[RickS]

#1 is my favourite but they're all very nice!

[gregbradley]

I looked at them again and you are right they are all the same and its not oversharpened. I think I was looking at them in a room with too much light. Sorry.

With the iphone I was simply using the timer function to time a shot (manually turned on and off using an IR remote).

When you do use the iphone to control the exposure it only enables actuating a shot plus a live view so not a lot of control not like the new Panasonic camera where it controls all aspects of the shot. It has about a 15 metre range or so.

I know a certain amount of star elongation at the extremities is fine with this type of imaging but I wonder if Star Tools can handle those elongated stars out far? It has the best star rounding tool I have seen. Really amazing. Great work Ivo.

Greg.

[bloodhound31]

Diggin' #1 a lot.

[iceman]

Thanks Rick and Baz!

[Ross G]

Great looking photos Mike.

I really like the first one. The composition and clouds give it a dramatic look.

Ross.

[ourkind]

Beautful photos Mike, definately captures the magic of the aussie outback and our glorious skys! Great work!

[iceman]

Thanks Ross and Carlos!

[astroboy]

Excellent shots Mike
The clouds really add some to the drama to the scene and a good move adding a bit of light to the foreground .
Do you find the 6D is a big improvement over the 5D MKII in raw at high ISO ?

Thanks
Zane

[alan meehan]

Mike no1 for me ,gotta love that camera
AL

[iceman]

Thanks Zane. Absolutely - I haven't got a side-by-side comparison yet, but I use the 6D at 6400 and the 5D2 at 3200. There's more light in the 6400 shots and no more noise than the 5D2 at 3200.

Some of the shots straight out of the camera look like daylight!




Thanks Al! I do love it. I still hate the button placement though :)