Milky Way over Maui + repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 9, 2010353 views10 comments

**Update: reposted further down with a rad more brightness on the horizon just to improve the separation between clouds and ocean***

Hey all. Just got back from a holiday to Maui, Hawaii. My main subject I wanted to try and photograph was the Milky Way. I had a loaner D3s and a 14-24 for the trip, but it still proved tricky! Eventually my best shot was taken with my 'humble' D3.

Seeing the Milky Way so vividly really was amazing. More shots and full write up of the experience on my blog post here

I used a torch to light up the foreground waves crashing off the rocks as I thought it made for a more interesting image than just having a thin band of horizon and a huge expanse of sky. You can also see some of the smaller islands off in the distance, as well as the light from a light house on one of them.

D3, 14-24, f2.8, ISO 6400, 30 seconds

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on October 9, 2010 at 12:41 PM

Oh how I love (and miss) Maui.
Lovely night shot. Shots like this have me missing my D3/14-24mm combo I use to shoot with.
Nice work Richard.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Taylor on October 9, 2010 at 2:59 PM

Very nice shot. I love the exposure and the amount of stars that you have caught
Matt

Registered on July 31, 2010, 5 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on October 9, 2010 at 3:30 PM

Hey Richard, tough shooting conditions. It would have been nice if the lighthouse had some form to help place the horizon. I found it difficult to get my bearings at first with this angle. But after more than a glance I figured it out.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pederson on October 9, 2010 at 4:06 PM

Well done...although I would like to see a tad more detail between the horizon and the waves.

Registered on August 12, 2010, 29 Posts, 108 Comments

Comment posted by Adam Gibbs on October 9, 2010 at 4:49 PM

Mission accomplished, great job Richard. Illuminating the foreground was definitely a good idea.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 168 Posts, 870 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on October 9, 2010 at 10:57 PM

Awesome!

And oh how I too love and miss Maui! I want a house there one day!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Peters on October 10, 2010 at 5:37 AM

Thank you for the comments all - appreciated.

Regarding the lighthouse, it really doesn't look like more than a couple of white pixels at websize and you're right, it does look a bit odd. But at higher res I feel it helps give a sense of scale to the horizon.

Also, regarding the separation between the clouds and ocean. That's a good point, I had two attempts at editing this and the first time it was too light, but looking at it now on two separate screens it does look a little dark now so I'll go back and lighten the horizon a tad I think.

Thanks all

Registered on December 22, 2005, 28 Posts, 126 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Peters on October 10, 2010 at 8:53 AM

Repost with slightly more detail brought out between the cloud and ocean. Not too much, but just enough to give some separation.

Registered on December 22, 2005, 28 Posts, 126 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on October 10, 2010 at 4:02 PM

Nice combo of elements. Great view of the Milky Way.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on October 10, 2010 at 7:51 PM

The milky way as a subject for single 30 second exposure. Who'd a thought that would happen. Very lovely.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments