24 replies to this topic

[Happyjax]

I thought there might be more than higher ISO..... I'll check out Flickr!

[michael13]

Ya know, on your way down or back and if the smoke clears, you might check out Res "C"  on the lava bench   on the Modoc NF. It is known for it's great night shots of the sky and no nasty city lights. Easy access from 139 or 395 has a prim cg and not many people 'cept day  fisherman.  I camp there allot myself-like to hear coyotes at night!  West side road of Smoke Creek desert from  Gerlach to Sand Pass also good area for shooting stars and neat rock formations!

 

Smoke

 

I am planning on stopping at the black rock playa, that's close enough for me to check it out. Thanks for the tip! The res would be a good place to try for a surface reflection of the sky.

[michael13]

Another secret is to take photos (locked down on a tripod) at different ISO. So foreground at a high ISO to bring out details, then shoot the sky at a lower ISO to have crisp stars. Load the images as layers into photoshop, and mask out the areas in each layer/image that detracts from the composite.

Here’s an example

 

I mostly shoot a single shot, exposed for the sky, and do as many tries as it takes to get the foreground light where I like it. But when I do make blends, I do the opposite - I expose the sky at high ISO so I can shoot faster, then turn the ISO low, stop down and shoot longer for the foreground. With Long exposure NR turned on for both. More than one way to skin a cat!

[knoxswift]

Another secret is to take photos (locked down on a tripod) at different ISO. So foreground at a high ISO to bring out details, then shoot the sky at a lower ISO to have crisp stars. Load the images as layers into photoshop, and mask out the areas in each layer/image that detracts from the composite.

Here’s an example

 

Another  question if you don't mind. Are you shooting in RAW format or JPEG?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I almost always shoot raw...

[knoxswift]

I almost always shoot raw...

Ok I think that's one of my problems too...thanks

[Happyjax]

Here is a shot I got at Gettysburg a couple years ago.

 

D810 24mm ISO1600 13sec. Edited in photoshop

Attached Files

•  Gen Lee milky way-3415 web.jpg   155.66K   22 downloads

[knoxswift]

So  what can be used  for  amateurs  if they don't have the $$ for  photoshop?

[Happyjax]

Gimp is free and fairly powerful. You just need to learn the menus. There are several tutorials available for it:)

 

Paintshop Pro is also a good alternative and if you can live with it's limitations Adobe Photoshop Elements isn't bad and can be had for a good price around Black Friday sales.

[knoxswift]

I will look up gimp. Thanks