Alabama Hills Milky Way - Different Angle

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
This is from 2 weeks ago, a different angle. I am working on the batch of images from my astro modded Nikon Z6II.

I had the Nikon Z6II modded by Spencers Camera in Utah. I know quite a few people who have used them. Instead of just an Ha mod for the Astro, they do what's called a "Visible Light + Ha". Basically they mod just opens up the upper end of the spectrum more so you get more Ha (the red stuff) while also still getting the Visible light so that the ground layer, etc still has a natural look.

I had it done in January, but this is my first time really getting to use it all night, other then doing some test shots in Valley of Fire a month or so ago.

So for those interested. It does get a custom WB in the camera. And when processing the Images come out a little off color, but it's a simple correction then in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw). I just take the White Balance Dropper and draw a box around a good portion of the image and the WB is just about perfect.

The processing is also pretty simple from there, but since it's more sensitive to Ha, and you get more reds in the sky. If you look you can easily see a bunch of nebula around the Milky Way, though they are pretty tiny at 16mm. But I am experimenting a bit while processing to see the best way to preserve the Ha reds but not have magenta take over the brighter areas of the Milky Way, and keeping the Milky Way that milky color. That's going to be a work in progress I think. But for now I am pretty happy with my starting point.

Once again, the Cyclops Arch in the Alabama Hills. I used Low Level Lighting to light up the inside.

Nikon Z6II - Astro modded
Viltrox 16mm f1.8

20 secs
f1.8
ISO1250
(The Astro mod makes it more light sensitive so it looks like the ISO doesn't need to be as high)

All comments are welcome,

Jim

Z62_6599_dw.jpg
 
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AlanLichty

Moderator
Nice result. The MW mostly looks a bit more red/magenta than usual but my non-astro eyes aren't picking up all the nuances you are describing.
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Nice result. The MW mostly looks a bit more red/magenta than usual but my non-astro eyes aren't picking up all the nuances you are describing.
Thanks Alan.

Yeah, once you start doing astro with a telescope, it's amazing how many nebula's one can pick out even when they are tiny dots. And of course, after so many years I am familiar with the level of Ha that my cameras normally pick up, so even a 20% gain is noticeable. But the gain is probably about 40 to 50% more in the nebula areas.
 
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