Warning: This one is more than a bit on the geeky side
If you’ve been following my most recent posts from Yosemite, and maybe the one from Arches National Park, you’ve seen some really cool photos of the night sky and Milky Way. And you might have thought…”Wow, that old Rich guy is a really great photographer.” And then, “How come I’ve never seen a sky like that before?”. For a good reason. I’m not that great a photographer, although I wish I was. I’ve got a lot to learn before I get close to that level. And, you’ve never seen a sky quite like that, because it’s never visible to the human eye (or brain) like that. And in some cases, the images I’ve created are to some degree, artistic creations that are not entirely real! Here’s why – take a look at the before and after photos of one of the image’s I’ve posted.
The original photo was taken pretty much at dusk, while there was still some daylight. The sky still had some blue in it, and you could see the stars, but overall, it’s really dark, especially Half Dome and the mountains. It was very under exposed. How did I turn this dim photo into an eye-catching creation? I do not have a magic wand, but I do use Adobe Light Room Classic, part of the Adobe suite of image processing tools, used by most serious photographers to enhance the images captured by their cameras. I’m not going to bore you with a lengthy descriptions of what LrC (or other Adobe products) can do – basically, if you have raw data files, you can change colors, exposure, contrast, clarity..pretty much every aspect of a digital image, all real-time using a complex menus with what seems like a hundred different sliders. Here is an example of the application, with that same photo in the Development panel.
Adobe Light Room Classic Dashboard
One of the little sliders on the right side of the application window controls exposure. Slide it a bit to the right, and the result is pretty much what I was looking at through the lens when I pressed the shutter release on my camera. A nice view, post sunset but not even close to the final product I posted on the blog.
The real view. Meh….not so great
So why is this an issue? The simple change I made to that image was considered to be acceptable post processing. There was no physical change to the image – nothing added, nothing deleted. All I did was change the exposure. You can make quite a few changes to an image before a competition judge starts considering the results to be unnatural / over-processed – unless you are being judged for artistic creativity. Adding some crispness to an image is OK, but adding levels of contrast, clarity and dehazing can result in edges that are too sharp. Enhancing color is OK to a limit, but changing the sky or ocean to an unnatural shade, electric blue for example, is unacceptable in competition. And using tools which remove unwanted objects or people is definitely not allowed.
The cool Half Dome Starry Night photo definitely pushes the limits on acceptable post-processing. The most obvious issue is the deep blue cyan cast across the sky – I used a mask for the sky, which allowed me to alter the color and overall sharpness, so that the stars stand out. The edges of the mountains against the sky were sharp to begin with, but I over-processed the contrast to increase that sharpness – that leaves a bit of a halo or glow along the edge, something judges would notice.
I really like the over-processed version, and intend to order either a metal or glass print, and find someplace in the house to display it. But if I want to submit this for a competition, the photo below is likely what I’d have to submit. Same, nice looking composition, but it just does not have quite the same pop to it. And the sky might still be considered over-processed.
Stars, Clouds and Satellites Over Half Dome – Nightfall at Glacier Point, Yosemite
The only remaining issue are the large number of satellite tracks whih you can see if you exand the image – I’ve never seen this many before and masking them would violate rules. Not much I can do about that…maybe complain to Elon Musk? There is also a bright spot on Half Dome – that was a from a climber using a flashlight – not sure why someone would still be up there just before dark. I hope he made it back down. Safely that is. As I used to tell the rock climbing classes, haste makes paste.
Now I have to go back through all my Alaska brown bear pictures before I submit any for competition. I may have pushed a few over the no-no edge. Sigh. That might at least keep me busy until my next adventure in early November (Patagonia). I’m back home and bored already. Maybe I’ll get some photos of my upcoming cardiac procedure and post those. I used to send gross injury related photos to a friend at Google. He stopped opening any e-mail or texts from me. Smart guy.
Time for one of those mind dumps of all the odd thoughts that have crossed my mind this past week.
Astrophotography
I’ve never been more than just mildly interested in astronomy – I like looking at starry skies, and can pick out one or two constellations, but I rarely go out of my way to look for comets, satellites, eclipses or any other astronomical event. The same goes for night sky photography – I’ve never been able to even get a good shot of a full moon, and have never made much of an effort to learn how to do that. Last summer was my first attempt, when I spent an evening at a (mostly) dark sky state park (Mitchell Lake) up in the Sierra, to photograph the Milky Way. I did some Google/Youtube research, and made a few reasonably good shots without really understanding what I was doing. So when I saw the workshop description in a Mike’s Camera e-mail, I thought it might be nice to get some education and hands-on experience, in a National Park that is on my bucket-list to visit. Here’s my thoughts on this rather specialized category of photography, after my five day deep dive:
This is probably the most technical genre of photography that I’ve been exposed to so far (yes, another intended pun). You really need to understand low-light photography, the relationships between ISO, aperture and shutter speed, how images are stored on sensors, and all the bells and whistles that your camera has and how to use them. You cannot just set your camera on fully automatic, and hope for the best, even with the new AI features in the latest offerings from the camera manufacturers. Someone asked me what my Kelvin settings were….I knew at that point that I was in trouble.
Adobe Lightroom (or an equivalent image processing software package) is mandatory once you have captured an image, no matter how good your camera is. And, you need to have more than just basic experience with the software to produce anything worthwhile unless you are really lucky. Example of luck: a passing car light painted the Balanced Rock as I was shooting. Came out pretty nice.
It’s really incredibly dark in designated dark sky locations – you need to be able to work your camera and tripod without light. And you need to be comfortable with walking down potentially rough paths with minimal lighting from red-light headlamps. If you have balance issues (I do – really awful neuropathy), a hiking stick will be a must – it is easy to lose your balance when you are standing in the dark, and it is easy to trip and fall even when you are simply shuffling in place. Unfortunately, one person in our group did take a fall one night – she did some damage, but was able to continue on that evening, and for the rest of the workshop. A dedicated photographer!
And not only will it be pitch-black dark, depending on the time of year and what you are focusing on (ex. Milky Way, meteor showers, etc.) you will likely be up way past your usual bedtime. Get used to staying up until the wee hours of the morning, and learning how to nap for a few hours during the day. You never really catch up on sleep until the trip is over.
Another thought struck me the other day, related to the dependency on post processing tools such as Adobe Lightroom. There is a great deal of artistic creativity involved in generating those beautiful star and Milky Way photographs you see in magazines and galleries. You really do not get that with the naked eye, at least in the two locations where I’ve recently seen the Milky Way. So much depends on the sensor in the camera, and how the camera stores all that information down to the pixel level. Our eyes and brain cannot do what the camera and computer can do to process that information. When you process the image with Adobe Lightroom, you are adding (or removing) colors, adding brightness to the stars, accentuating the colors and brightness of the Milky Way core, and even bringing out some of the detail of the foreground, which is completely dark to the naked eye, and underexposed in the image. Some post-processing is considered kosher in club competitions and contests – but it just seems like the processing required to make a starry sky shot really pop is pushing the limits.
Some thoughts on the Workshop
I’ve done a few hands-on photography trips before, but these were all one day and done, not multi-day with significant travel requirements like this one. I was not sure what to expect, but this definitely exceeded all expectations both known and unknown. The trip was offered through Mike’s Camera, but organized and run by a photographer who has his own workshop company, specializing in all aspects of night-time, low-light photography. I do not normally advertise for anyone, but this one was special:
He is a veritable fountain of knowledge when it comes to low light photography, and works closely with each member of the group, no matter what their experience level is with their equipment. He plans out each evening, based on his knowledge of the area, the weather conditions, and from mapping out the times the stars will be positioned at each location to get the best photographs possible. Craig runs workshops for the Milky Way, Northern Lights and other astrophotography experiences. Check his Web site out if you are interested in a great learning experience.
OK, end of advertisement. I’m not getting paid for it – just thought he was a great guy and with all the tens of viewers I have on this blo, it might be nice to give him some free blogosphere visibility.
What was really different for me, as I mentioned in a previous blog, was to be on a trip where the focus was entirely on photography, with a bunch of fellow ‘gear heads’. The National Geographic/Lindblad trips typically have a number of semi-serious photographers, and their is always a NG photographer on board who are more than willing to provide guidance and advice – but this workshop was a non-stop learning experience for me. I now have a much improved understanding of many of the features of my Sony A7R5, as well as more than just the basics on setting ISO, shutter speed and F-stop for low lighting situations.
We also spent a lot of time discussing (and using) Adobe Lightroom Classic, for post processing. Craig has a very detailed workflow for processing Milky Way images, which he demonstrated (using one of my shots) in one of our afternoon sessions, and then shared a document which describes each step of the workflow in detail. Absolutely invaluable information. It is absolutely amazing what you can do to a RAW image with this application, especially once you gain some expertise with all the features.
As an example of novice vs. expert, here is my first attempt at post processing (top), versus what Craig was able to do in a few minutes (bottom). Mine was OK, but his really brought out the color and increased the contrast between the dark sky and the stars.
Moab and Arches National Park
I was really impressed with Moab – yeah, it’s extremely touristy with lots of tacky souvenir shops and 4-wheel adventure tour companies, but then there are lots of really good restaurants and brew pubs (can’t say that from experience though), multiple ice cream/gelato shops (tried four of them, yum), and lots of nice hotels. There’s even a parking lot for food trucks. This is usually the kind of place I try to avoid, but I kind of liked the place.
It seems like every time I go to a national park that I’ve never been to before, I forget all the other parks I’ve been to and it becomes my new favorite. This time was no different. I spent the better part of seven days, day and night, wandering through ANP, and did not have the time to explore much beyond the parking lots. I also missed out on sunrises, which should be spectacular with all the red rock formations, and would love to see more sunsets as well. I will not cross this off my bucket list yet – I really do want to return again. But spend more time when the sun is out.
Highs and Lows
Best Day Overall – probably the Monday everyone else left. I did not enjoy being alone, but I was able to see a lot of the park during the day, did some hiking, had time for a dip in the spa, and had perfect weather for my solo Milky Way shoot that night.
Worst Mistake – not checking out my selected setup spot at the Sand Dune Arch. I should have noticed that the two trail signs would wind up in my photos. All I had to do was find a spot a 20 feet away in either direction. Duh. Fortunately, I can sort of hide the signs with post processing. A close second was my major, time wasting goof when we were shooting for a star trace, sitting in the car for an hour without confirming that my camera was actually taking photos.
Best Arch – well, I did not see them all, but I thought the Double Arch was the most impressive. I’d like to have seen that at sunrise or sunset, and perhaps done a night session there as well. Maybe next time.
Best Ice Cream – tough choice, the four I tried were all good. The Moab Coffee Shop had the best gelato though. The Spoke Center restaurenat had excellent ice cream (Orange Creamsicle).
Worst Conditions – Friday night – the sky was clear, but the temperatures dropped down way past my threshold. That was my other mistake – I prepared for rain, not for cold weather. I wound up buy a set of thermals and even with those extra layers, I had to bail out before the last session. I was numb.
Best Hike – that’s easy since I only did a few. The Landscape Arch trail. Great views along the way, and a nice workout. I really wanted to do the length of Park Avenue, but ran out of time and energy.
Best Milky Way Location – another tough choice. I’ll take the Balanced Rock as my favorite since it’s a narrow, impressive feature and you can get the MW centered above it.
Good Health News – no cardiac issues at all!
Not so good health news – Hiking during the day on even paths is OK, as long as I’m careful. Rock scrambling is a problem for me now – I had to be very careful in the Double Arch area, and was too wobbly around the Garden of Eden to go very far. And standing still in the dark is a problem – I had to hold on to the tripod at times. Neuropathy sucks.
Summary – Overall, a really great trip – fantastic scenery, fun group of people, excellent trip lead and a great learning experience.
And if you made it this far reading this post, here are a bunch of curated photos.
