Going Vertical + Edit

[JimFox]

Here is a Vertical composition from a week or so ago while I was playing out in Death Valley in the Mesquite Sand Dunes. This is from the Sony A6400 with the Samyang 12mm f2.0 that I set up to go vertical because the Milky Way is getting higher sooner in the sky. I was mainly shooting with the Nikon D850 and the Sigma 14mm f1.8 and shooting pano's and some different comps. So I left the Sony focused on the core and going vertical.

The moon had set, so in this I light painted the foreground with a headlamp that had dying batteries and it gave out a nice dim light. The sand tiles might be lit up a bit more then I might do at night normally, but I liked processing and presenting something a little different then my norm.

This was shot at f2.0, ISO 3200 and 25 sec. I am liking that this little camera is turning into quite a versatile back up camera. I am definitely going to have it as a backup when I go backpacking this summer up in the mountains in Colorado. I only wish I could find a lens for it that was wider then 12mm (18mm full frame) as I would like to go sharper. I like that the Samyang is really pretty sharp at f2.0 and so I like the extra light shooting at f2.0 brings. I really don't want to have to go to f4 to get wider lens that is also sharp wide open.

All comments are welcome,

Jim

Original

Edited

 

[Ben Egbert]

This is nice Jim and for some reason I like it better than the pano.

 

[JimFox]

This is nice Jim and for some reason I like it better than the pano.

Thanks Ben! I do like this one too, so it's great to hear your thoughts on it.

 

[AlanLichty]

The foreground seems a bit on the light side for as dark as everything else is but overall the shot works - esp. for the MW itself.

 

[JimFox]

The foreground seems a bit on the light side for as dark as everything else is but overall the shot works - esp. for the MW itself.

Thanks Alan. After posting it I had the thought that maybe lightening up the background sand dunes and hills might help the foreground not stick out quite as much. Though I do kind of like it as it is.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Jim,

A nice image and fun to see the different treatment of the vertical framed image. I like the pano better though - capturing the full arch of the MW from end to end is really special. Nice to see this smaller camera and lens combo working so well for nightscapes though.

I kinda agree with the comment above about the foreground lightness compared to the far hills. To me it doesn't quite have the same natural look you have been achieving in virtually all your other MW shots, to have these 2 so different in brightness. I am guessing making either the hills brighter or the foreground darker could mitigate the issue for me - probably would experiment with both approaches (or some combo of the 2.)

ML

 

[JimFox]

Jim,

A nice image and fun to see the different treatment of the vertical framed image. I like the pano better though - capturing the full arch of the MW from end to end is really special. Nice to see this smaller camera and lens combo working so well for nightscapes though.

I kinda agree with the comment above about the foreground lightness compared to the far hills. To me it doesn't quite have the same natural look you have been achieving in virtually all your other MW shots, to have these 2 so different in brightness. I am guessing making either the hills brighter or the foreground darker could mitigate the issue for me - probably would experiment with both approaches (or some combo of the 2.)

ML

Thanks Mike. I will brighten up the hills a bit as I don’t want to darken the foreground the more I think about it. If I darken those sand tiles they will end up being too dark and disappearing. If the sand tiles can’t be seen, then there was no point shooting with the sand tiles.

The tiles were clearly visible to me by my naked eye, so I don’t want to lose that feel. I appreciate all of the comments as they have helped me think through this one.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

I really like this image, Jim. I think the polygonal ground layer makes a nice contrast with the dark hills and the Milky Way. I remember seeing an image from the Race Track with circular star trails that I thought was outstanding a number of years ago. This is in that category.

 

[egrimm]

I really like the vertical view. Very nice!

 

[Alisa]

I like them both! Beautiful MW!

 

[Jim Dockery]

I like em all! Not sure which I prefer. Glad to hear the 6400 + 12mm is performing so well.

 

[JimFox]

I really like this image, Jim. I think the polygonal ground layer makes a nice contrast with the dark hills and the Milky Way. I remember seeing an image from the Race Track with circular star trails that I thought was outstanding a number of years ago. This is in that category.

Thanks Doug! I was getting to Death Valley late that day and I wanted to shoot the Milky Way with the round tiles from Cotton Ball Basin, but when I went to scout out the location the ground out there was too wet still, so Mesquite Dunes was plan B. I knew I could go out there in the dark and find the sand tiles and get set up to shoot the Milky Way.

 

[AlanLichty]

The edit seems more consistent for the ground level elements in the scene.

 

[JimFox]

The edit seems more consistent for the ground level elements in the scene.

Thanks Alan, I like the edit better too. As I was first processing this I was thinking about the hills being too dark, I should have listened to myself...

 

[Mike Lewis]

Yes, the edit makes an already amazing shot better.

ML