Dark Matter

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 8, 2014449 views9 comments

Some of you may remember a version of this image from several months back. This is the 180 degree pano version, stitched from 12 exposures. I struggled several months back trying to make the pano work, but decided to revisit it this week. I think it's certainly unique, but I'm still not sure how well it "works" overall. Your thoughts?

The sky exposures were at f/2.8, 25 sec, ISO 5000; the terrain was around first light of dawn, f/8, 30sec, ISO 100. I brought down the foreground exposure quite a bit, and the rest is luminosity mask magic, dodging/burning to taste, and other minor adjustments. Oh, (as you might have deduced) the stars in the pool reflection were cloned in from above, as they weren't visible in the reflected sky at dawn. Your frank C&C is always much appreciated.

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on October 9, 2014 at 4:31 AM

Fascinating Jared. Personally I would prefer a slightly less luminous Milky Way. Love the tree on the right with its luminous skeletal appearance in the water hole and in all honesty I find the right side much more interesting than the left half. I think I would have just stuck with a square format of the right side and not worried about cloning in the stars.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 9, 2014 at 6:38 AM

I think you handled the exposure and technical aspects well, but the left portion just doesn't hold as much appeal as the right side. The milky way is strong on the right and the tree is bright and pulls my eye, while the left seems empty. If the left hole were closer to the right, it might see more connected. A vertical from the right would seem the way to go for this one.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gosewisch on October 9, 2014 at 7:53 AM

I agree with Harry. Cut the image in half and keep the right side and toss the left. I like the luminosity of the Milky way. I think you processed it well. I would also remove the stars in the reflection. I think the key to this image is the Milky way and the tree. Well done.

Registered on June 3, 2012, 17 Posts, 59 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on October 9, 2014 at 8:49 AM

Jared,

I agree with the others that for me the interest in the image is the tree and not the left hole. Love the tree and the milky way.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on October 9, 2014 at 11:31 AM

Technical wise you handled this very well. Also the exposure looks good. I also agree with the other opinions concerning the compoosition - but still I think this is a good image

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on October 9, 2014 at 3:34 PM

Jared, my first impression of this is that I see a skeletal face in the land with two eyes and a nose. Combining that sense with the fine arch of the milky way creates an interesting image that grows as I spend more time looking. The tree in the right pothole is a neat addition and gets me wondering if you might be able to pull just a bit more detail out of the backside of the left pothole, which might help the balance.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on October 9, 2014 at 5:12 PM

I think the key to this image is the Milky way and the tree. Well done.

Yep. Also, the stars in the pool aren't working for me. I think Mark's comment about brining up some detail in the left hole might balance things out more. Good effort!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on October 10, 2014 at 5:01 PM

Definitely a bizarre and very radical shot! This is one of my favorite areas in the entire SW. Well done.

I only wish the left hole was not cut off, for symmetry purposes. Still a very unique shot man!

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

Comment posted by Bill Reid on October 14, 2014 at 4:29 PM

Very unique shot Jarred and your processing for these night shots is wonderful. I agree with Mark's idea to lighten the second pothole for balance. A wild idea would be to clone part of the tree into the second hole to make it more face like. But I really like how you keep pushing your images for uniqueness. Well done.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments