First decent go at a nightscape

[fittolive (Dean)]

After picking up a new camera a few months ago after being extremely frustrated by my inability to get a decent night scape, i went out on Friday night and managed to capture my first decent shot with the new camera. It was suggested to me that this would be a great forum to further my technique with like minded people. The shot can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/fit_to_live/7614269732/

I would love any feedback that anyone can offer that might help me to capture even better shots in the future.

[MrB (Simon)]

Nice shot Dean, I know exactly where that shot was taken.
This is not the normal viewing angle for the site which adds to the composition for me. I like it alot!

Oh, and welcome to IIS

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Welcome to IIS Dean and what a great first post. Not sure I can offer any tips for improvement. You shutter speed looks to have been very good with no sign of major star movement. Focus is great and you have picked up some nice detail in the foreground. White Balance of the stars is really a personal choice. Initially I thought it was a bit too 'cool' to my taste, but then I noticed that it looks like the blue lights from that sculpture(?) are shooting up into the sky and blending with the colour of the Milky Way. What ever lens you are using shows very good optical qualities with minimal coma of the stars at the edges. Any chance of sharing camera/lens details?

You certainly have all the basics (and more) nailed down. Now it's just a mater of finding more good locations to pair up with the beauty of the night sky. Clear skies and happy shooting.
Cheers
Greg

[gregbradley]

Great shot and welcome to the D800 club!

You must be a great guy with such an informed and intelligent choice of camera!

Greg.

[iceman (Mike)]

Nicely done!

The bright light is a little distracting and I find the stars a little too blue, but a fantastic effort all the same!

[silv (Annette)]

gorgeous!
how the yellow light explodes right in the middle!
there's a lot going on in that part of the image. the tree, the sculptures, their light cones, the water reflection...
The color choice speaks very well to me, personally, too.
it's beautiful.

because there is so much going on that deserves to be the eye catcher of this image, I find it distracting that the sky part of the image takes up so much of the composition.

How about making it a 3/3 crop - the earthen part of the image determining the size of the three thirds?

I took the liberty to take a screenshot of the cropping I am proposing. (I'd cut it even a bit lower than that.)

Then, the fascination of seeing the Milky Way bulge is no longer the "reason" for the image. But there are "better" shots to transport that fascination in everybody's memory, already. What makes this image unique deserves to stand out more easily.
Allow the observer to focus on it.
And as an additional treat, after they are satisfied with the eye catcher, their fascination will continue to the upper part and - wish for more. ....

[fittolive (Dean)]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I will take some of the suggestions and have another go at editing it and see what i can come up with.

I did struggle a little with the bright street lights just to the south of where i was shooting and the resulting very warm light pollution that resulted. I guess that is part of the reason i chose the white balance that I did. Any warmer and the whole lower part of the sky lit up a bright orange. I also liked how the light from the artwork seems to be illuminating the bulk of the Milky Way in that relatively blue light. As i said, this is probably the first nightscape that i have been particularly happy with. My old D90 just didn't cut it once you stepped up over about ISO1250. I did do a few shoots earlier in the year down at Wellington Dam near Collie in the south west and then up at the Pinnacles a couple of hours north of Perth but didn't get anywhere near the detail i got with this shot.

As far as details go this was a 30 second exposure at f3.2, ISO 4000 with my d800 and 14-24mmf2.8 lens.

Now i really want to find some good conditions to get out again and do some more in places where light pollution is not such a big problem and i can get the white balance a bit more accurate.

[Adelastro1 (Wayne England)]

Great effort Dean and welcome to the D800 club too! And the 14-24 club as well!
I agree with everyone's comments I think too - crop down a bit to use the rule of thirds, the yellow light is a bit too overpowering, and I like the beam of blue light from the sculpture appearing to light up the Milky Way (you could even accentuate that a little more to make the edges of it stand out).

[multiweb (Marc)]

A nice shot in a beautiful location. Gorgeous colours.