This is a composite of 6 5 minute exposures of the southern milky way taken with my canon 350xt & a friends 17-55mm f2.8 L lens set to 17mm. Each exposure was 5 minutes long and tracked with a Losmandy GM8 mount. I also took a 3 minute exposure with the mount tracking off to get the trees in the foreground to not be blurred, I checked with SC before the challenge to make sure this was valid and they said it was.
Post challenge -- wooohoooo! thanks for all the fantastic comments and a new PB for me and a FIRST RIBBON! Now I just have to seek out those two in front of me and have my terriers chew up their cameras ;-) For those interested in the gory details of this photo, well, I've been meaning to put together a tutorial on widefield astrophotography, so check it out when you have a chance and PM me back any suggestions. I threw it together fairly quickly so would like it to grow with some feedback.
Statistics
Place: 2 out of 46 Avg (all users): 7.6894 Avg (commenters): 8.6667 Avg (participants): 7.7308 Avg (non-participants): 7.6865 Views since voting: 17397 Views during voting: 937 Votes: 396 Comments: 79 Favorites: 20 (view)
John, I'm thrilled for you...I put this one in my favorites right next to Yanko's deer photo which also landed on the front page at the same time to remind myself that ART shines best in the light of the artist's eye. Thank you for sharing these magnificent photos with all of us. Congrats and well done!! ;-)
Congratulations, and thank you for showing us what some may never be able to see as clearly and completely as this. Very pleased to see your hard work rewarded!
I gave this a 7 (the pines mainly), alas I was #81 and my vote was 'scrubbed' due to my 'call' on most of the other entries. All I can say (and hope for) is that one day they have an Astrophotography Challenge - maybe then, maybe, an authentic image such as this will be able to take the throne. Anyway, congratulations on the ribbon. I also hope those with the knowledge give you some feedback on your tutorial, widefield astrophotography. I mistook Eagle Nebula, M16 for yours. However it is good to see more of this photography at DPC. Thank you again for sharing, some of us really appreciate these images and this style of photography.
Argh! Had I known about this challenge I would've entered!! I was at a star party at a dark sky site on May 31st!!! Ugh!!
Great shot of the milkyway, and thanks to the advanced editing rules you could stack too!
Have you heard about cloudynights.com? There is a DSLR imaging forum that is quite active. I am a participant there (by my full name) as well. You would be welcome to post there, plus you might pick up a few tips.
Brilliant astrophotography shot. I’m a little embarrassed for the site that a shot that absolutely nailed the description could not get the blue. But hey I’m just one small voice amongst many.
Congrats on your ribbon, very well done but to be expected from you. I am surprised you could do that exposure so different for the trees, but thats why it pays to check first. :) That is a monster score!
I've been an admirer of your images ever since I saw them for the first time. Your tutorials on astrophotography are exceptional. I am glad you thought of combining earthly objects with the sky, I suspect that made the difference as far a dpc voters. This is an outastanding image and a long overdue ribbon. Congratulations John !!
I love the colors and extreme clarity of the detail in the Milky Way but the trees look a bit cut & pasted. There's part of a branch that isn't even connected to the rest of the silhouette and the title is a tad bit excessive but overall those minor complaints pale in comparison to the grandeur of your image.
Beautiful. Although, the image raises some questions. If you used an equitorial mount to track the stars and milky way to get this great exposure, why are the trees in unblurred silhouette? edited to add: Now I understand. Thank you! Since your procedure has been validated, this certainly deserves a top score. (10)
Excellent image, my favorite for the challenge. I'm even more impressed when I think of all the work it must have taken. I hope we get an explanation on how it was done when the contest is over.
wow...it is The Creator's Masterpiece, though I think we are really His Masterpiece...I am glad the pines are there...how do you get to see so many stars? you must be in the middle of a forrest here...8
I take that back. Must have been in a grumpy mood that day. I like the inclusion of the treeline in this shot. But I don't get it though, if you're tracking the stars, why aren't the trees blurry? I presume the software uses one exposure for earth objects and another for the stars.
If you sell this as a poster I want to buy this one!!! What a FABULOUS image. I just want to keep looking at it, as it reminds me of the Science Museum or a poster for the Museum. I keep going wow!!
The Creators Masterpiece -- The Milky Way rising over the Pines
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
