Stars and Milky Way over String Lake in GTNP

[Mike Jackson]

http://www.bestofthetetons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/WebStringLakeStars1_Oct24.jpg
I went out again last night and retraced a few of the places I went last night. This one was taken near the footbridge at String Lake. I used a mid sized flashlight to light the trees and rocks.
I shot some at String Lake, then The Chapel of the Transfiguration, and finally at the Barns. The other photos are on this page:
http://www.bestofthetetons.com/2013/09/30/october-daily-updates-for-grand-teton-national-park-and-jackson-hole/
The Chapel had the Big Dipper over the cross. I stayed at the barns until the moon started rising over Shadow Mountain. The introduction of the moon light made for some interesting night shots.

[Byron]

Hey Mike...you're pictures are oustanding!!! I'm really enjoying looking at your work. :2thumbs:

[oldno7]

Very nice Picture and composition.
What did you use to light the foreground?

I did an edit of this picture, the sky seemed a bit aqua.

I'll post it if you want.

[Mike Jackson]

70335oldno7, Yes, post it if you can. I'd like to see your adjustments. Just a couple of notes: Images I put on my daily updates are usually the second or thirds and not often the best of the shoot, and I seldom spend too much time processing them. The dingy olive color at the lower left is caused by the light pollution from the town of Jackson, Victor, and Driggs, along with a potpourri of light from the airport. I could negate that with a localized adjustment in Photoshop, but seldom do that on the quick edits. Most are global adjustments in Lightroom. MJ

[oldno7]

http://www.bestofthetetons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/WebStringLakeStars1_Oct24.jpg
I went out again last night and retraced a few of the places I went last night. This one was taken near the footbridge at String Lake. I used a mid sized flashlight to light the trees and rocks.
I shot some at String Lake, then The Chapel of the Transfiguration, and finally at the Barns. The other photos are on this page:
http://www.bestofthetetons.com/2013/09/30/october-daily-updates-for-grand-teton-national-park-and-jackson-hole/
The Chapel had the Big Dipper over the cross. I stayed at the barns until the moon started rising over Shadow Mountain. The introduction of the moon light made for some interesting night shots.

Color and editing is a very subjective thing. I wasn't there, you were, take this with a grain of salt. It just seemed a little tinted towards aqua.

Your shots are well done:2thumbs:, What did you use to light the foreground?

[oldno7]

Hard to edit such a small file, compression kinda killed my version.

[oldno7]

Was trying to get the snow more to white for white balance.

[oldno7]

ended up with shades of purple in the sky, I didn't intend.

[Sombeech]

Excellent stuff!

[Mike Jackson]

Oldno7,Thanks for the comments and color adjustments. The world of the night photographers doesn't have many guidelines or restraints. I see some of them where the sky is almost as bright as daylight, but with stars... and some are very saturated. I tend to stay darker, but go for a "mood" more than trying to imitate a neutral gray or black night sky. The magenta/green slider can take green out, but it can add a lot of magenta, causing the sky to go to royal blue. I live in a spot in the country where the sky is actually unpolluted for the most part, especially once I am in the park. The sky is amazingly bright and clear. I photographed an old school house just over the hill in Idaho. There was an amazing amount of orange light and night pollution from Idaho Falls...50 miles away! It bakes into a shot after 20 seconds or longer. Even here, the airport lights can add a red cast in some areas. http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/ This site gives you a good idea of night skies and light pollution across the country. Cheers, M.Jackson

[oldno7]

As I stated--You were there, I was not.

I have shot the night sky quite a bit, as in all photography, there is certainly room to "create" a mood.

As long as it represent's what YOU want it to, then it is right, regardless of guidelines or restraint's.



As an example, heres one I did, were the city lights of a small town(Page,AZ.) illuminated the clouds.

A full moon was coming up on the left, very hard to compensate for these thing.

Light pollution is very difficult to eliminate in most the US especially when we shoot long exposures.

Photography is an art form that is very subjective.

You have a great area to photograph, I enjoy you sharing them on this forum.

[Mike Jackson]

oldno7, Beautiful shot! I love the composition, along with how all of the elements work together. Your image was captured during what the night photographer's call the "blue light" period between sunset and the hour or two past sunset. I like that period best, or the blue light period in the mornings when you still get some natural color in the sky, features are at least partially lit up, and stars dot the sky. Once the night passes into the astronomical night period, you have lots of stars, but less natural color to work with. After almost a week of clear skies, we now have clouds, rain, and maybe some snow here in Jackson Hole. Te weather report suggests cloudy skies for he next week, so I won't be doing any more star shots for a while. Thanks again! Mike Jackson

[oldno7]

Good conversation, Mike--Thank You.

Very windy in Southern Utah today, hope you are getting snow up there.