Kalahari thunder help + repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 18, 2014255 views6 comments

Thunderstorm in southern Kalahari.
This is a single frame processed separately for the clouds/lightning and the stars/sky. The relative difference between the lightning and the stars made me struggle a bit to bring the milky way out. The noise handling was also a bit hard for me. Any tip on processing of the milky way from a dark frame would be greatly appreciated.

Your comments and critiques as always greatly appreciated.

Mabuasehube, Kgalagadi Transrontier Park, Botswana
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 17-40 f/4L IS USM @ 19mm
Shutter Speed: 25 Sec.
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 800

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on May 18, 2014 at 11:23 AM

I really like this image Johan, a real beauty! But if it were mine, I think I would actually consider toning down the Milky Way, because it competes with the amazing cloud for my attention. And for me, the focus in this image is this cloud, not the Milky Way.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on May 18, 2014 at 12:46 PM

This is a surreal image Johan, I agree with Roel to perhaps tone down the milky way and underplays the importance of the storm below. Great work!

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on May 18, 2014 at 12:47 PM

OUCH! This is oh so good…it hurts! Congrats on a terrific capture. I might crop a tad of the bottom…but, otherwise…print big! Nicely done!

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on May 18, 2014 at 2:17 PM

Amazing capture Johan! I like your processing of the Milky Way, it looks very much like you would see with the naked eye versus what you see in some long exposure images. My only nit is the top and bottom of the images don't look integrated. After looking at it for awhile I think it is because the black sky wraps down below the anvil part of the cloud on the right but on the left side the sky is blue. If you could process to get the black sky and stars wrapping around below the anvil on the left I thing it would integrate the image better.

Registered on January 19, 2007, 133 Posts, 1448 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on May 18, 2014 at 5:42 PM

I think this is a once in a life time image. To get the storm with a clear sky above and to capture it as well as you have is great. I think I would agree about toning down the stars just a bit. Great image.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Johan Malmros on May 24, 2014 at 6:05 AM

Thanks for your comments. I have toned down the sky a bit and tried to darken the left side as well, as mentioned by Scott. I experimented a bit with the white balance too (original post was auto wb), to see how it looked being a bit less blueish.

Registered on January 6, 2011, 20 Posts, 154 Comments