Yay or Nay... with a repost...

Hi everyone....I haven't posted anything here for a long time. Cannot afford the membership right now but I really didn't think to post a link also..I am a bit slow I still have a Rebel XT so I have been trying to save up for a 5D II but I am not even close. So recently I have started shooting again. This location's light pollution is unbelievable. It is pretty hard to avoid car headlights in distance and house lights. So the end result is pretty warm colored than a cooler tone of a night shot. I have tried to change white balance settings here but it really makes the tones look unnatural. Is this a shot worth keeping? Appreciate any suggestions... feel free to be brutally honest... regards, Rajeev

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10496986

The star trails are very good, but the exposure of the foreground rocks is unbalanced with the sky, and could use a boost in levels. Nice shot.

Definitely a keeper! The colors make it more interesting, imo. I also like the touch of light on the rock formations. Your caption there is interesting too... that's why I love going backpacking for days on end... you really can get so calmed out.

Yeah, I'm w/JB, I don't mind the colors one bit. I love the shot conceptually, but being as familiar with the subject as I am, I'm having a hard time getting past the "Leaning Towers of Siam." Others who are not familiar with the formation wouldn't have the same hangup that I do. It's a definite keeper.

Thank you guys!! Bryan... interesting thought. I have to try and work on the foreground. Jack and Todd... your comments are always helpful. Todd.... I think my Tokina 12-14mm did that magic. I think there is no going back correcting that.... I just tried in PS to remove distortion....no luck. Thanks again...

Definitely worth keeping, with maybe a little tweaking.
I can appreciate the difficulty of these long exposures in that location. Haven't seen any others.
I like your other Siamese Twins star trail shot better.

Keep on posting the links.

Bill...thank you...what kind of tweaking would you suggest? Thank you for your help...

Rajeev, the bright orange streaks on the left rock are distracting.
I'd tone down their brightness/saturation. Just something to consider.

If you have Photoshop, you might try using Select > All, and then Edit > Transform > Perspective. By grabbing and shifting the three upper handles you should be able to maneuver things a lot straighter. If you pardon my lapse of forum etiquette, here's the result. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room around the main compositional elements to do much justice, but you get the idea. If you wish, I'll take this back off.

Regards, Ken

Ken..I have no problem with what you did at all. I am glad I learned this trick...thank you very much for that... eh! I am here to learn from all of you....

Definitely a keeper! I think if you can do something with the perspective like in Ken's example, it will be great! Ive been dying to get to the Gods this winter--just wish there was some stinkin snow to work with!

Follow Ken's guidance. Like the concept and the execution of the shot.

Bill Brennan

YAY! It's a sweet shot and proves that it's the eye behind the camera, not the latest, hottest gear. Keep shooting the Rebel and posting.

Looks really sweet, once correct. It's a keeper.

This is a nice capture, Rajeev! I think it is well worth the time investment with all the great input you've gotten so far.

Nice shot Rajeev. Love the colors in the sky. I wish Polaris wasn't so close to the top right corner, but that is a small nit.

Thank you very much guys..I really need to become a member here soon... I worked on it a bit... can you please take a look... let me know what do you think..

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10496986

Great shot!

Rajeev-the other image of the Siamese Twins really jumped out at me! I agree with BP. That's the keeper IMHO.

It is a sweet shot, and with the corrected distortion a wall hanger with great color.

Thank you guys.... I appreciate the help...Ken W thank you very much for sharing the trick. And thank you all for your comments.... Todd...you really helped because I was not really seeing the distortion till you mentioned. I think it is because I looked at it for so long...

I sure like it. Very cool image.