I thought that I posted this for the @Alister_Benn review, but I don’t see it anywhere. Maybe it’s because I had to take a break between starting the post and actual posting.
I traveled to the Badlands NP in May 2021 for the total lunar eclipse. When I arrived at my chosen spot to photograph the eclipse I was surprised and awestruck by the way the super full moon lit the Badlands. When shooting, I envisioned this in B&W, but to be honest it is just as impressive in color. Being Spring and with recent rains the center foreground is green. The transition of light blue to dark blue in the moon lit sky is remarkable. The clouds below the moon couldn’t have been placed any better.
Specific Feedback Requested
I’m looking for feedback on the subject and composition but accept all comments/help. To be honest, I have never seen a photo like this.
This is the first time I have taken a photo at night. Before embarking on this trip, I reviewed extensively the techniques for photographing the moon and a lunar eclipse. I wasn’t prepared for the challenges of photographing objects (other than the moon) at night. As a result I feel that there are some issues that I may not be able to overcome in post. Specifically noise and focus. I’m still honing my PP / PS skills, so maybe I’ll figure out how to fix these problems one day.
Technical Details
Canon 5D IV | EF17-40 | f4 | ISO 100 | 17mm | Exposure 25s for FG & 1/250s for moon
PP in ACR and Photoshop
Tripod | 4 shot panorama | Cropped ends and top to a 3:1 ratio
…The moon at 25s exposure is nothing but a big white blob. So the moon was photographed separately and blended into sky (at location of moon)
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Dear David, I am sorry you had issues with your post and I am happy to review it even though the critique session has ended.
Night photography is challenging as I well know. My very first eBook published in 2012 was on Night Photography, and I spent 3 years researching all of the complexity and problems that we face, simply because back then, there was no book on how to do it.
Making photographs at night has the same problems as daytime, plus a load more.
The first thing I notice with this image is an inconsistency in the quality of light between the land and the sky. Any shadows in the landscape should actually be darker than the sky. This is how light works and when we ignore that in our photography we depart from reality and create images that somehow just don’t look right.
It is best for me to be honest and that way you can review it and decide whether you agree with me or not.
An area of deep shadow out of direct line of the moon cannot be brighter than the sky. There is a lot to like about this image, the expansiveness of the pano and the quality of light around the clouds below the moon. There are some flaws though, and from a critical point of view these can’t be hidden or ignored.
The transition from sky to land is particularly harsh on the far right of the horizon:
Establish a more natural transition between foreground contrast and the sky and the image will be a really great one.
Hope you take this in the spirit I intend it. I spent years working on these techniques and would do you a disservice if I just said it was perfect. Kind regards,
Alister
Thank you for taking the time to review my photo and for your honesty. It is my belief that we grow through our experiences. Having a mentor to share their experiences and provide honest feedback hastens growth and makes the chosen path easier to travel.
I was simply awestruck by the beauty of this scene and the quietness of the morning. I plan on pursuing night landscape photography. I need to learn the techniques used for photographing night landscapes and I purchased two of your e-books to get me started. “Seeing the Unseen” and “Expressive Landscape Photography”. I look forward to reading them over the next few weeks.
For this photo, I took three panoramic sets using different settings. Keeping in mind the points you made, I’m going to start anew by re-evaluating each set.
Thank you very much for your time and honesty.
David
P.S. I’m learning a lot by reading your evaluation of other photographers work.
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No problem, I really wanted to review your image. Even though Seeing the Unseen is now a decade old!! I still believe it offers a huge amount of insight into the how and why of night photography. Understanding the landscape and how light works is so critical in all photography, but at night it gets even harder.
Good luck on your journey. I can strongly recommend my Luminosity & Contrast, and Colour of Meaning books too. They are a great way to start seeing the world creatively.
