3:30 a.m. Laying awake on my thermarest. Got up to answer nature's call and this scene presented itself. Full moon was up providing nice illumination for the trees and rocks, and the sky was still dark enough to register the stars nicely. This is one of my favorites and i predict a decent showing, even in a tough challenge. HOpefully 6.3+, just so i can add a fresh pic to my top 6!
Crop to center tree in frame.
Use a couple of layers, one with NI to remove some noise in the upper half only.
Adjust curves in the blue channel to strengthen blue cast.
Some dodge/burn to darken BG mountain and lighten areas of the reflection. Dodge some individual stars to give them a little pop!
Burn in edges in top part of frame to focus attention towards the tree.
Bump global saturation and contrast.
Here is the original with autolevels applied and resized for web.
Statistics
Place: 69 out of 684 Avg (all users): 6.3173 Avg (commenters): 7.7059 Avg (participants): 6.3448 Avg (non-participants): 6.1957 Views since voting: 2057 Views during voting: 351 Votes: 249 Comments: 22 Favorites: 10 (view)
i bet if you'd copied countless other pictures, i.e. by placing a glass sheet with drops of water on it in front of your lens, people would suddenly appreciate this a lot more.
apparently, if a shot doesn't conform to a formula, it's no good, no matter how technically impressive and artfully striking it is.
I rarely say this, but I'm truly stunned at this score. I think your star shot is better than mine! I got a comment early on that suggested someone thought I'd cloned in some stars, so I asked for validation. Maybe you can try that the next time someone starts questioning your shot.
It'll also help for folks who've never taken a night shot like this and don't understand just how much light a sensor absorbs over a long exposure. I can't speak for you, but my shot definitely shows more light, stars, and details in the mountains than I saw with my eyes.
If you'd be willing, I'd love to see your original. Mine is here:
Ah, another shot of stars in the mountains. Unlike mine, though, you have the added beauty of the reflection in the water. And the sky color is just amazing. Bumping to a 10.
I love how bright the night is and the calmness of the water giving a perfect reflection. maybe too bright on some of the rocks on the right but it doesn't bother me, just trying to thinkof something constructive to help you out. good luck 10.
That is some seriously calm water for sure! Nice job. I think it's almost over-sharpened (?) - the reflection of the stars in the water might have been blurred just a little bit - they almost stick out too much. I like it though and I'll have to try that some time...good luck to ya!
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