Source of Light

[iceman (Mike)]

The Milky Way Galaxy, shining from the light of billions of stars hangs over the shining light of the Cape Leveque Lighthouse, in the beautiful Kimberley region of north west Australia.

If there’s one person I can thank for this photo, it’s Cheryl – our guide from Kimberley Wild. Without her, this photo wouldn’t have been possible.

On the first night of our stay at Cape Leveque, I saw the potential of this type of shot, however there was a big fence with a locked gate around the whole lighthouse area and as much as I tried to poke my camera under, through and around the fence and gate, I couldn’t compose my shot without getting part of the gate in the shot.

So I issued a challenge to our amazing guide Cheryl, to see if she could find the key and get permission to open the locked gate so I could get inside to get the shot. The next night, she came through! She had to wait with me so I had to be quick, but I spent the next 10 minutes walking around the lighthouse trying different compositions to get the lighthouse with the Milky Way above. And the first shot is my favourite from the night.

I've also attached 2 other compositions. Which one is your favourite?

- Large 1
- Large 2
- Large 3
- Blog

Settings: Single 30 second exposures, captured with a Canon 5D Mk II and Samyang 14mm lens, f/2.8 @ ISO3200.

It’s so rewarding when you see an idea for a shot in your head, and it actually comes out as planned.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Very nicely framed. #1 for me with the tower pointing to the milkyway bulge.

[colinmlegg (Colin)]

#1 for me. When I was up there I was cursing that lighthouse for ruining my timelapse...never thought of imaging the damn thing . Good effort!

[leon]

Very impressive result Mike, like it very much.

Leon

[RB (Andrew)]

As you know Mike, I love these shots, what a great idea for a nightscape.
I still like #2 the best as the MW looks like it's shining out of the lighthouse.
My next choice is #1 with the MW stretch over the top, excellent.

Well done my friend, and keep paying attention to the ideas you see in your head, (but ignore the little voices).



RB

[Deeno]

What a beaut image!
#1 does it for me, even though I do like the way the milky way extends from the lighthouse in #2

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Outstanding shots Mike!

[RickS (Rick)]

They're all good but my preference in #1.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Maaaate..Respecting the "Light" AND a tree ...it's a shoe-in

Awesome shot and the forground has a conection (ie relevance) - a beacon to the galaxy and even the living organism in the shot (the tree) is reaching out to the Mliky Way = very cool

Mike

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Well, they are all nice but #2 seems more dynamic. In #1 and #3 the milky way hangs over the lighthouse (which is fine) and is better exposed than in #2. But I think the strong diagonal lines in #2 give it a quality the other lack. I think you could have got a better shot if they had just turned the light down a bit.

Unfortunately I never got to Cape Leveque. We took the beach-side road (not the more inland road you went on) and wound up very up-close and personal with some mud flats just before sunset. I've never dug and jacked so fast. We got out OK and ended up staying at a beach for a week without seeing another soul. On the way back we got talking to one of the last traditional owners who was passing his knowledge on to a white anthropologist because 'the young people don't care'. I learned how to tell if a paperbark is growing on salt-water or fresh-water (and so where to dig for water) and how to get honey from native bees.

BTW did you get any sleep on the trip??

[silv (Annette)]

fantastic concept and beautiful outcome

I agree - my favorite is Nr 2, too. although it's a predictable perspective (once you see it) and in that a bit cheesy. but the drama happening is exciting.
would cut off the right part because it doesn't add anything to the story but is a party stopper.

lovely images!

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Sensational images Mike! I love them all but if I had to choose I would have to say Number 1 definitely wins it for me. That one branch in front of the lighthouse in number two takes a bit away from that image for me. Love the processing on all of them. I'm curious about the star spikes in number one. Did you add these in post?

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

Fantastic images Mike, the composition and the soft light look really beautiful. The first one is also my favourite, but they are all stunning. Thanks for sharing this.

[iceman (Mike)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Very nicely framed. #1 for me with the tower pointing to the milkyway bulge.

Thanks Marc - #1 feels more balanced for me too.

Originally Posted by colinmlegg

#1 for me. When I was up there I was cursing that lighthouse for ruining my timelapse...never thought of imaging the damn thing . Good effort!

haha thanks Colin. When I was down on the beach doing the night shots I thought the beam might impact in some of the shots but it didn't seem to.

Where's your photos/timelapse from Cape Leveque?

Originally Posted by leon

Very impressive result Mike, like it very much.

Leon

Thanks Leon, I'm glad you like it. I'd love to do some of the touring around north and west australia you did!

Originally Posted by RB

As you know Mike, I love these shots, what a great idea for a nightscape.
I still like #2 the best as the MW looks like it's shining out of the lighthouse.
My next choice is #1 with the MW stretch over the top, excellent.

Well done my friend, and keep paying attention to the ideas you see in your head, (but ignore the little voices).



RB

Thanks RB Thanks also for being the fresh pair of eyes when I needed it. When I look at my original versions now they're just not as good

Originally Posted by Deeno

What a beaut image!
#1 does it for me, even though I do like the way the milky way extends from the lighthouse in #2

Thanks Dean, that's why I liked #2 too but the shot overall didn't feel as balanced.

Originally Posted by lacad01

Outstanding shots Mike!

Many thanks for the comments Adam.

Originally Posted by RickS

They're all good but my preference in #1.

Thanks Rick!

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Maaaate..Respecting the "Light" AND a tree ...it's a shoe-in

Awesome shot and the forground has a conection (ie relevance) - a beacon to the galaxy and even the living organism in the shot (the tree) is reaching out to the Mliky Way = very cool

Mike

haha thanks Mike, the tree made for a great foreground object as well as the lighthouse. I love the subtle light shining off the limbs of the tree.

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

Well, they are all nice but #2 seems more dynamic. In #1 and #3 the milky way hangs over the lighthouse (which is fine) and is better exposed than in #2. But I think the strong diagonal lines in #2 give it a quality the other lack. I think you could have got a better shot if they had just turned the light down a bit.

Unfortunately I never got to Cape Leveque. We took the beach-side road (not the more inland road you went on) and wound up very up-close and personal with some mud flats just before sunset. I've never dug and jacked so fast. We got out OK and ended up staying at a beach for a week without seeing another soul. On the way back we got talking to one of the last traditional owners who was passing his knowledge on to a white anthropologist because 'the young people don't care'. I learned how to tell if a paperbark is growing on salt-water or fresh-water (and so where to dig for water) and how to get honey from native bees.

BTW did you get any sleep on the trip??

Thanks for your comments and story. It's a shame that some of that knowledge is going to be lost in future generations.

The very high and fast rising tides up there got someone at Broome on our last night of the tour. They got stuck on the beach with an incoming tide and the water was over the bonnet!

We had a lot of early mornings (3:30-4:30am starts) in order to get where we needed to go by sunrise, but we were all so tired we were in bed by 9-10pm most nights.

I didn't get out by myself as much as I thought I would. Tiredness, the cold, and the bright moon were major factors - plus, I just didn't feel confident in some of the places to go out by myself to try and find a better foreground.

Originally Posted by silv

fantastic concept and beautiful outcome

I agree - my favorite is Nr 2, too. although it's a predictable perspective (once you see it) and in that a bit cheesy. but the drama happening is exciting.
would cut off the right part because it doesn't add anything to the story but is a party stopper.

lovely images!

Thanks for the feedback. I actually have a cropped version of #2 for the same reason you said but I wasn't a fan of the more square aspect ratio. I've attached it here for interest anyway

Originally Posted by obsidianphotos

Sensational images Mike! I love them all but if I had to choose I would have to say Number 1 definitely wins it for me. That one branch in front of the lighthouse in number two takes a bit away from that image for me. Love the processing on all of them. I'm curious about the star spikes in number one. Did you add these in post?

Thanks Greg, appreciate the comments.

Yeh I went a bit further on #1 and added some subtle star spikes (Noel Carboni's tools) to the bright stars (crux, pointers and antares only I think) and then set the opacity to 50% on that layer.

It was a bit of an experiment but I'm fairly happy with how it looks.

Originally Posted by SkyViking

Fantastic images Mike, the composition and the soft light look really beautiful. The first one is also my favourite, but they are all stunning. Thanks for sharing this.

Many thanks Rolf, appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[silv (Annette)]

ah, I like Nr2, now. my winner

[gregbradley]

Terrific compostion Mike.

Number 2 is my favourite. The light on the tree from the Lighthouse is almost surreal and gives a wonderful colouring.

That's very arty.

Greg.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by iceman

Thanks for the feedback. I actually have a cropped version of #2 for the same reason you said but I wasn't a fan of the more square aspect ratio. I've attached it here for interest anyway

I'd consider cropping some (not much) of the foreground and making it wider. Maybe about the bottom of the bushes. The shadows at bottom L aren't doing anything and the brightness of the ground detracts from the sky. The space to the R gives the strong lines of the tree and milky way somewhere to go and some space to exist in.

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

They are soooo nice ... I like them all.
I wish for a sky like that ... so expansive ... .you could spend hrs just looking and looking ... !! ..... and go back for more ... !!!

Flash..!!

[Paul Haese]

I like the second one best, but maybe clone out that branch in front of the light house.

[h0ughy (David)]

lovely work mike, no 2 is pretty good, as too the first shot.