Milky Way over Lost Lake

I'd love to hear you comments on this image.. Specifically, with regard to two issues:

1. What do you think of the noise in this web-version? I can filter it out some more, but it starts to take away from the effect I am going for (the very bright and detailed Milky Way).

2. Is there enough of a foreground to balance this image out?

Thanks! I shot this a couple of years ago during a backpack in Kings Canyon. The fact that the galaxy seems to line up with that notch in the peaks is pure dumb luck, but I like the effect.

Jason, I think the fg is fine. On my laptop monitor the noise starts to show up towards the bottom of the Milky Way, lots of red spread throughout the sky. Other than that, I like the image, beautiful cluster of starts and very defined Milky Way.

I've never tried this kind of photography, but I certainly like what
I see here, Jason. I'm not very good at recognizing "noise";
so I can't help you there. The FG works for me. Thanks for
posting, and I hope to see more of your work soon.

Jason,

I have been doing more of these type of night shots over the past couple of years. And the first thing I noticed when looking at your image was how detailed the Milky Way was. So I was thinking 25 secs or less exposure time with a wide angle. I also noticed the nice composition with the notch. Typically I like to see some foreground in these shots which haven't gone completely black. But in this case I think it works.

I didn't notice the noise until I read your post. Then of course my photographer nit picky eye kicked in and I noticed it. But honestly from the small web version it's really hard to tell how this would look in print. Maybe if you posted a larger one it would help. I know personally noise bothers me in night skies. But I have an image which had some I felt was objectional in spots which won a photo contest and also sold. So keep in mind photogs including yourself will be more critical of these sorts of technical issues.

Does it have too much to blow up and potentially sell? That's a hard one to answer. Sometimes a non photographer friend would be able to answer that more objectively.

Derek

Thanks guys for your input. Derek, this was shot at 17 mm and 20 seconds if I remember correct.

The long exposure shows stars we would not see at a casual glance. I like this a lot. The dark foreground adds drama.

--P

In regards to the noise, I see some but I don't feel it takes away from the the sky at all. The sky has the initial impact it needs to grab a viewer's emotion or some sort of connection to seeing the milky way. That being said I don't think a little noise should keep anyone from sharing a night photo.

Can't see much noise here. It's a little bit noticeable near the foreground area but I didn't really see it until asked to find it. I think your image is quite successful and I agree with Steve in that the sky immediately grabs you.

Appreciate the comments, again. I recently sold a copy of this image for use in a diamond grading publication, something I'm pretty stoked about. The noise doesn't really bother me, but I wanted to get some unbiased input.