This was shot several weeks ago. Photographically speaking, it’s a tough set of conditions. The ships’ lights are very bright unless you’re comparing them to, say, the sun in a clear sky. The visible stars are faint by comparison, but when you’re standing there, you see it ALL.
The camera’s sensor can, too, but not all in the same frame. The dynamic range is too great. But I just had to try.
The most frustrating part of this process is that last step… getting it presented on the web. Even when reduced and optimized for web viewing, hundreds of stars remain visible within Photoshop when I make the final review. But, as I look at the preview, only a handful show up. I won’t know what will be visible after a click on the image until it’s actually uploaded to the server and viewed in a browser.
Wish me luck!
ISO 200, 18mm with the A77. 25 seconds @ f/9. Noise reduction in LR4, optimized for web in PS CS5.
Post-publishing note: Well, that’s disappointing! It’s better than what Facebook does, but not by a lot. Click on the image for full(er) effect.
I’m trying!