Thanks Casey(he posed with his camera and tripod for me).
***
WOW! I wouldn't have guessed this although jdannels called it before the voting started. Thanks for lots of good votes and comments. It was as high as 7.96 yesterday before I crashed my update button. ;)
Elsapo's "Night Falls" jdannels "Stargazers" deserve recognition. I hoped to combine both ideas and when I noticed the position of the moon and Venus the night before, out I went the next night to find a tree. I really hoped for a single tree but this was the best we could find. Tromping around cow patties and rattlesnakes provided some urgency in our search.
Post was pretty simple and I stumbled upon a way to make the stars pop(at least on a web sized version).
RAW process, Cool temperature.
Neat image
Crop
Resize
Neat image
USM
Neat Image
USM
USM again(i think)
Fade the USM to taste.
This combination of NeatImage and USM gave pin point sharp stars without affecting too much of the detail. (Notice a small amount of blurring in the grass lower right). I think the streaks are planes although I don't remember seeing them. Possible lens flare???
Here are two outakes.
and a WW possibility
Thanks again. DPC rocks!
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 374 Avg (all users): 7.8696 Avg (commenters): 9.1765 Avg (participants): 7.7436 Avg (non-participants): 7.9623 Views since voting: 27863 Views during voting: 355 Votes: 184 Comments: 97 Favorites: 116 (view)
I've spent many a night under the stars the Moon my only companion. The night has a different smell the sounds are different in a way a different world than the day in light. This photograph with the expanse of stars overhead emphases the lonely human gazing up in wonder at the immensity of everything. You captured that feeling perfectly, with great skill. This is a photograph to be proud of.
I don't comment on winning photos. But I have to say that this is the best photo on DP Challenge. Probably because you captured the feeling of Star Gazing dead on. I should know because I do alot of it with my scope my self. Good Job.
My pick for the blue as well. I'm glad so many of us were in agreement. Congrats on a visual feast. I love the outtakes as well. My favorite is #4450 which feels otherworldly. Amazing work!
I would have to agree that the blue presentation makes this one go down smooth and sweet. Elements of the composition disagree with my slightly, but as you said, rattlesnakes are a serious deterrant from tromping around at night too much, and I don't mean to say the result is anything less than great. I know it can be a challenge to make stars really stand out without greatly exaggerating the noise in the photo, but you've managed to avoid that here and the image is quite enjoyable to look at.
Mark: to say that this is outstanding would be an understatement. There are many amongst us that find the blue weight of an image as most soothing to the senses. Now, when you get a superb capture, such as this, it simply raises the bar. My admiration here is wide open. From the framing to the interesting composition this get a reverberating sustained kudos! Oh, like the opera lover would say, "Bravo" Congratulations on your BLUE with this cool blue winner!
I really like this photo. But I want to understand how your moon seems a Full Moon, if in June 18, the moon were in increasing phase, visible only an 14%. Anyway, amazing, magic shot! Congratulations!
I noticed this too when I did my shot "stargazers", the moon was even slimmer. The two versions you posted have very short shutter speeds and show the definition of the moon and nothing else as it is all dark. For mark's shot, if the moon would have been full it would have been way to bright and you would have seen very few stars and a big white blob for a moon. The 14% visibity allows for the moon to not be too bright but fills itself in with the long exposure. It also helps that the moon is low on the horizon and isn't as bright(like a sunset) and doesn't interfere with the light of the stars. Thats what I think, but I have been wrong before :)
Joe got it right. I was concerned about the blown out moon but the stars needed all of 30s. A sliver of moon would have been perfect but there was no way to achieve it in basic.
Without the stance and presence of the photographer, it would be just another really nice night shot with awesome stars, planets and moon. WITH the photographer, it takes on a whole different and far more intriguing storyline - one that I'm sure a lot of us here can relate to. Excellent work and congratulations on the blue!
What can I say. This beautiful image was my favourite of the challenge and a well deserved winner. Congrats Mark (oh, and btw, I hate you too ;-) Good luck in the next round, you guys. You played a good game.
Wow!! your score is incredible. Big congratulations on your blue ribbon. This photo is my all time favorite, so beautiful. I saw your message on BP. Thank you for that comment.
I really like this photo. But I want to understand how your moon seems a Full Moon, if in June 18, the moon were in increasing phase, visible only an 14%. Anyway, amazing, magic shot! Congratulations!
I noticed this too when I did my shot "stargazers", the moon was even slimmer. The two versions you posted have very short shutter speeds and show the definition of the moon and nothing else as it is all dark. For mark's shot, if the moon would have been full it would have been way to bright and you would have seen very few stars and a big white blob for a moon. The 14% visibity allows for the moon to not be too bright but fills itself in with the long exposure. It also helps that the moon is low on the horizon and isn't as bright(like a sunset) and doesn't interfere with the light of the stars. Thats what I think, but I have been wrong before :)
Congratulations!! What an amazing and well deserved score and ribbon. Where were you in the thread? I knew there were better scores out there but you kept it to yourself huh? lol. This is really an amazing shot!!
I tried this over and over this past week. Same composition, except I just can't get a low moon where I am and was at the time. This is so excellent. I'm very jealous. I usually never envy one's work like I do with this. 10
the Moon and Me
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