• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

A7RII Astrophotography + Aurora

I got back out in the mountains a couple days ago and was very happily surprised after checking my first star shot that the mysterious glow behind Mt. Shuksan (no city in that direction) was the aurora! I shot a bunch, set up a time-lapse and went to bed, then got up just after sunrise to get some shots of Mt. Baker. My wife and I went on a nice hike along Baker Lake after that.

The camera did great in most respects, but some longer shots (over 10 sec. have hot pixels that show up rather dramatically in dark areas (I've worked on them in these shots). I experimented with long exposure noise reduction on/off and it did help.






20791693353_956e867a0e_b.jpg

Blend of two exposures - one at late dusk for the foreground, another after the stars came out.





21166709760_aa7b766f4e_c.jpg

Mt. Shuksan Aurora 1





21344042932_4274979594_c.jpg

Mt. Shuksan Aurora 2





21166706820_16753d408a_b.jpg

Mt. Shuksan Aurora + Milky Way





21401896382_8bd5f1fd39_c.jpg

Sunrise on Mt. Baker





21225888529_889568fd4e_b.jpg

Mt. Shuksan morning​
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Jim,

All stunning works!

Several have aspect ratios somewhat "unexpected" for a "outdoors" shots but very appropriate for the concepts here.

Glad the machine worked so well. It is certainly making its mark in these precincts!

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I got back out in the mountains a couple days ago and was very happily surprised after checking my first star shot that the mysterious glow behind Mt. Shuksan (no city in that direction) was the aurora! I shot a bunch, set up a time-lapse and went to bed, then got up just after sunrise to get some shots of Mt. Baker. My wife and I went on a nice hike along Baker Lake after that.

Jim,

Yes, it's great when one's wife also enjoys the trip! Is she a photographer too?


The camera did great in most respects, but some longer shots (over 10 sec. have hot pixels that show up rather dramatically in dark areas (I've worked on them in these shots). I experimented with long exposure noise reduction on/off and it did help.



Did you find this in just the brightest spots. As there's something in the construction of the Raw image that makes exceptionally high contrast areas non-optimal.


Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief





21166706820_16753d408a_b.jpg

Mt. Shuksan Aurora + Milky Way



Simply divine, and your very parsimonious black border works!

Asher
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Yes, I'm lucky to have a wife who agrees to come with me on moderate hikes. She isn't much of a photographer, but is going to get into it a bit more now that she'll have my NEX-7 to play with. She mostly shoots for future quilting ideas - her retirement thing is art quilting.

The hot spots are not in high contrast areas, not sure it has anything to do with the RAW compression issue. They are easiest to see in totally dark areas like the mountain in the last image. one way I've delt with it was to select that area and apply a dust removal filter - not any detail in there anyway so it doesn't hurt much.
 

Andy brown

Well-known member
Jim.

Awesome. Absolutely awesome.
Sometimes nature smiles upon you and treats you to a spectacle of epic proportions.
You got to enjoy that and also (with your substantial skills) got some astounding images. Money shots to be sure.
I'd be doing cartwheels looking at those on my monitor!
They are all excellent but for me Aurora Mt Shuksan 1 is quite magnificent.

Occasionally, you get a shot (so I'm told) where you think, "Gee, I nailed that one!".... I reckon you nailed that one with a sledgehammer.
 
Top