AB Friday – Stars
AB Friday – Stars
I’ve been too busy the past couple of weeks to participate in AB Friday. So I thought I’d better get a post scheduled for this week, before we hit the road on Wednesday.
I took this photo in Wyoming, obviously those are the Tetons. The moon was a bit too bright to shoot the milky way, but it did light up the mountains nicely.
This is the after edits shot.
I am such a novice at this star photography thing. But it’s fun to experiment, and learn as I go along.
This is the shot before any editing.
I had to do a lot of editing in LR to get it right.
I straightened it, cropped some of the foreground, and bumped up the clarity. Then I just started playing with the sliders for highlights, darkness, shadows, etc. I did use a graduated filter on the sky so I could highlight the stars more, without affecting the foreground. I also removed the car lights in the distance.
I like the end result. I am still trying to improve my night time photo skills, and hopefully I will be able to find dark skies in Washington.
Be sure to check out all the entries for this week at Aperture 64.
And don’t forget the sale going on over at Mary Hone Photography. $5 off an order of $20 or more.
it’s beautiful … one of the mountains got a silver topping :o)
You know Mary, even without the editing, you were able to capture the stars. Well done.
I sure don’t consider you a novice in any form of photography. That photo is gorgeous, and your edits made it amazing. To not be able to capture the Milky Way because of the moon’s brightness is still a lovely thing; to not be able to capture the stars because of city/suburb lights is, to me, unwelcome and sad. The moon and starts are the only “Friday night lights” I care to see. :)
I really like the modifications you made. I took one the other morning of the moon aligned with a planet. Of course we have a lot of ambient light so it’s no where near as gorgeous as yours. I should e-mail it to you and see what you can do with it. LOL it was taken with my little point and shoot.
Learning to take photos at night is on my bucket list. I love the final photo!
I can just imaging the peacefullness while shooting these. The moon provided just the right light for the mountains.
I love it!!!! The Tetons sure are a great backdrop for star photos!
You probably already have all the input you want – but just in case – I found a great book on Amazon called “Night Photography” by Jennifer Wu. It has become my handbook… that I am always looking back to for more advice. You might like it.
I think they came out great Mary! Really beautiful!!
I think you’re getting this night photography thing figured out. Very nice!
Mary this is just lovely, I really like how your edit made the sky a bit brighter and bluer. It is interesting how the car lights in the orig gave the image scale, but in the edit made the image seem more lonely and quiet. Funny how a little change can affect the mood of the photo.
I’m afraid I am just not the devoted photographer since I really don’t edit…those look great to me!…:)JP
It’s really a beautiful night shot. I don’t think you have to be hard on yourself. :-)
On first look I prefer the unedited version, I like the light behind the mountains and the mountains are more visible. Love Dolly
Breathtaking.
The editing version is even better. :)