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zjrobinson
24-06-2014, 11:27 PM
Evening folks,

I'm a newbie to the forum (posted in the introductory thread) and very glad to meet you all. Here is the first of my nightscapes that I would like to share with everyone:

'Migration of Spirits' (http://500px.com/photo/73866113/migration-of-spirits-by-zac-robinson?from=user_library)

This shot was one of my most complicated. Earlier this year I planned a trip to Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo around the new moon to hopefully be there during some clear skies and capture a major nightscape. After summiting the mountain the day before to look for locations, we descended a few hundred meters to get some sleep. Waking at 2:30am along with hundreds of others, I headed out for the summit in the dark by headlamp. In order to get this shot, I needed to get ahead of everyone so their lamps wouldn't overexpose the foreground.

This is the result, a 6-shot portrait orientation panorama of the Milky Way setting over the horizon about an hour before dawn. The lights on the mountains are the headlamps of some of the quick hikers.

The individual RAW images were merged in PS and cropped. The image was then edited primarily using luminosity masks, with some final global edits back in Lightroom. CC welcome.

Cheers!

iceman
25-06-2014, 05:26 AM
Stunning shot Zac, welcome to IceInSpace.

Ripper of a pano.

Octane
25-06-2014, 07:37 AM
I'd crop 1/5th from the right-hand side so as to maintain a sense of balance. The lone hill on the right with no feature in the sky is a little jarring.

Otherwise, top stuff!

H

Rod771
25-06-2014, 11:11 AM
Your effort has paid off, great result. :thumbsup:

Saturn%5
25-06-2014, 11:13 AM
Very nice Zac :thumbsup:

PeterM
25-06-2014, 04:29 PM
Wow! now one of my all time favorites in my favorite IIS forum.
Fabulous!

Paul Haese
25-06-2014, 05:45 PM
I like the image and do like the composition. Very much an interesting view.

gregbradley
25-06-2014, 05:49 PM
That's a fabulous image.

Greg.

ourkind
26-06-2014, 04:37 AM
Welcome Zac, great shot! Appreciated it before in FB's Aussie photography. Nice to see you on IIS :thumbsup:

zjrobinson
26-06-2014, 08:32 AM
Thanks very much for all of your kind words.

@Octane: I had the same thoughts, and did process the shot with a more narrow crop for symmetry. The third peak is actually the 'Spiritual summit' of the mountain though, so the story is better served by keeping it in the frame.

Carl
30-06-2014, 08:52 AM
Stunning

Regards
Carl

graham.hobart
30-06-2014, 09:24 AM
Wow! that's a ripper. Inspiring!
Thanks for posting.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Graz

StephenM
30-06-2014, 07:47 PM
Stunning pano Zac! Very well done.

Regulus
30-06-2014, 10:44 PM
Really great photo Zac

Ivan555
03-07-2014, 04:53 PM
Very nice!

MortonH
03-07-2014, 08:02 PM
I like the bit on the right for a sense of foreground.

And the story behind it is great! :thumbsup:

nebulosity.
17-07-2014, 08:30 PM
G'day Zac

A ripper of an image there! Really enjoyed it.

Welcome to IIS, it's cool to have you in Toowoomba, I live about 80k's west out on the plains. Do you ever come out nightscaping this way? The skies are pretty decent.

Cheers
Jo

xelasnave
21-07-2014, 07:54 AM
You gotta be proud
Excellent
Although I see H,a point I find current composition appealing
I like what could be called off balance
Really a fabulous capture
Congratulations