Kyle Jones
Moderator
I'll provide some details later, but I'd be interested in anyone's impressions before I do that.
Collecting thoughts - composite Aurora?
- Thread starter Kyle Jones
- Start date
AlanLichty
Moderator
Jaw dropping scene - I like what you have done with this. For my eyes the village and the mountain are the focus and the aurora is an amazing decoration in the sky. Not sure I would want to darken the village.
I am with Alan on this. I like it as is. Stunning scene.
Peter Michal
Well-Known Member
Excellent scene Kyle..brilliantly done as it is! The village with the hill is a wonderful gem in this photo and the aurora over the village is a lovely bonus. I like this kind of night photography very much, because it is a realistic scene, from my point of view, much stronger than the sky full of stars.. and those red houses make my feeling even stronger.
(Maybe I'd take a slightly wider lens to see more of the village on the right side of the photo. But I don't know if the composition would then lose this charm..)
Bravo Kyle!
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Kyle Jones
Moderator
Thank you all for responding. I think you all answered my first question, which was "is this believable?". The image is a composite. I captured the base image of the village and mountain on a clear night in Lofoten in early February. There wasn't a hint of aurora in the sky. I captured the aurora during the big solar event from my home in Montana. I thought it might be fun to blend them, especially since I didn't see any aurora in Norway that reached this far up into the sky.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, as I don't have any interest in presenting composites as "real". That said, I do think it works.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, as I don't have any interest in presenting composites as "real". That said, I do think it works.
I do think some taming of the highlights makes sense. I didn't spend a lot of time on this one trying to bring them under control since I haven't decided what I want to do with this. As noted above, I was curious if people with a good eye would immediately realize this wasn't real.
I agree on the focus, and I wouldn't want to lose that. Thank you for your thoughts!
Thank you Jameel!
Thank you Peter. This scene is somewhat challenging as there are several bright lights and, say, "unattractive" elements further to the right.
Douglas Sherman
Staff
Thanks for mentioning this critique on my thread. This is a stunning image. The Aurora looks like a butterfly to me.
Michael13
Well-Known Member
Truly amazing image! I think anything you do to make an image is OK, as long as you tell the truth in how you did it. If you try to pass it off as something it is not, that's where I draw the line.
I would maybe make the town just a bit darker, especially that first patch of snow in the lower right.
This would make a great big wall poster!
I would maybe make the town just a bit darker, especially that first patch of snow in the lower right.
This would make a great big wall poster!