For the rest of you Skyline fans

[MonikaC]

My first attempt at a Milky Way pano. It was too bad that the moon was at one end, obscuring it. What do you folks think? Leave it in, crop it, something else?

 

[Ben Egbert]

That's way better than my MW attempts from there and I was shooting with a less than half moon. I also had a lot of light pollution from Hanksville the airport and the highway.

 

[AlanLichty]

I like it as is - it shows exactly where the lighting for the view is coming from and this is still far more of the MW than is typically visible to the naked eye.

 

[JimFox]

It does look really nice, good job on this pano.

I would suggest cropping from both ends actually. Lose the moon and come in tighter tighter to the Milky Way on the left side.

 

[MonikaC]

That's way better than my MW attempts from there and I was shooting with a less than half moon. I also had a lot of light pollution from Hanksville the airport and the highway.

I wonder if the bigger moon blew out the light pollution. I only took out 1 light.

I like it as is - it shows exactly where the lighting for the view is coming from and this is still far more of the MW than is typically visible to the naked eye.

See what you think of the crop.

It does look really nice, good job on this pano.

I would suggest cropping from both ends actually. Lose the moon and come in tighter tighter to the Milky Way on the left side.

Like this? Or a little more off the left?

 

[AlanLichty]

I'll start out being a contrary (of course) - I'd like to see more of the left put back in. I like the additional feeling of depth that adds to the scene.

I played with the new crop on the right on my screen and have to admit carving the moon out wasn't a bad call in spite of my original thoughts on the comp.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I still like the original.

 

[MonikaC]

I'll start out being a contrary (of course) - I'd like to see more of the left put back in. I like the additional feeling of depth that adds to the scene.

I played with the new crop on the right on my screen and have to admit carving the moon out wasn't a bad call in spite of my original thoughts on the comp.

I like the longer, more panoramic aspect ratio.

 

[AlanLichty]

I like this one better

 

[Jameel Hyder]

The last edit for sure. Perhaps lowering the brightness of sky will highlight the MW more.

 

[JimFox]

I wonder if the bigger moon blew out the light pollution. I only took out 1 light.


See what you think of the crop.

Like this? Or a little more off the left?

View attachment 26358

Yep, I like the crop!

 

[JimFox]

The last edit for sure. Perhaps lowering the brightness of sky will highlight the MW more.

You can darken the blue channel a bit more as Jameel says and it typically will help the Milky Way pop more, though when it looks like this parts of the Milky Way have a blue cast so you can start to lose definition of it too. It’s a bit of a tightrope act.

I have found it’s best to darken the blue in ACR as opposed to Photoshop, but you still can darken it some in Photoshop.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

You can darken the blue channel a bit more as Jameel says and it typically will help the Milky Way pop more, though when it looks like this parts of the Milky Way have a blue cast so you can start to lose definition of it too. It’s a bit of a tightrope act.

I have found it’s best to darken the blue in ACR as opposed to Photoshop, but you still can darken it some in Photoshop.

In Photoshop, applying the blue channel as a mask on a layer, you can use curves or levels to get the same effect.

 

[MonikaC]

The last edit for sure. Perhaps lowering the brightness of sky will highlight the MW more.

You can darken the blue channel a bit more as Jameel says and it typically will help the Milky Way pop more, though when it looks like this parts of the Milky Way have a blue cast so you can start to lose definition of it too. It’s a bit of a tightrope act.

I have found it’s best to darken the blue in ACR as opposed to Photoshop, but you still can darken it some in Photoshop.

In Photoshop, applying the blue channel as a mask on a layer, you can use curves or levels to get the same effect.

Thanks, guys. I think I'll have to do this at home on my color calibrated desktop instead of on my laptop. Very helpful!

 

[Douglas Sherman]

I really like that little meteor streak in the middle of the image, Monika. I don't know squat about Milky Way photography so I can't help you there.

 

[Vieri]

Personally, I'd like to crop the moon out - but just the moon, leaving as much of the rest as possible Best regards,

Vieri