Milky Way
Milky Way galaxy over the headland of Port Douglas
Milky Way galaxy over the headland of Port Douglas
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Sep, 2014Views
2024
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Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Exposure Experimentation Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Tropical Sceneries Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
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itsnickelwell
March 18, 2015
Absolutely beautiful picture. Well framed and great colors and exposure. Congrats on being a finalist.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken while on holiday in 2014 in Port Douglas, located in far North Queensland, Australia.Time
Finishing a late dinner, we walked outside from the restaurant to be greeted with a star filled sky unlike anything I have ever seen in the city. Not wanting to miss this incredible opportunity, I raced back to my hotel room to grab my camera and tripod, returning to the Port Douglas headland at 11:00pm.Lighting
The lighting was a challenging factor while taking this shot. The night sky was showing up beautifully, however all of the foreground was showing as a dark silhouette. Thankfully, I had some assistance from a friend who was running around with an iPhone in hand, using the small light as a dim torch. With the 35 second exposure and high ISO, this small amount of light was all I needed to help supply enough light to the palm trees and grass to show just enough detail in the composition.Equipment
This photo would have to be a personal favourite of mine and I always have good memories when looking back at it. This was all done on a very basic set up consisting of my old Canon 700DSLR, a very flimsy tripod and remote. It's on my bucket list to return to this exact location with my upgraded photography gear!Inspiration
I set up the tripod in several locations of this headland to play around with composition. Settling on this final location, I captured a fascinating combination of subjects which come together beautifully to present this final image. The silhouette layers of mountains in the background, blending magically with the water and palm trees in the foreground that reach up to touch the sky, while the Milky Way almost curves around the top of the trees shows something which is almost surreal.Editing
There was minimal post-processing for this image. As it was taken on an amateur camera, the high ISO that I used already created some noise to the image. Too much post-processing would have helped add to that noise. Taking photos in RAW can eliminate some colour, so I enhanced the colour, as well as lifting the light in the darker areas which were prone to heavy shadows such as the palm trees.In my camera bag
I am still in the early stages of building up a solid inventory of professional camera equipment. However, in my bag you will find a Canon 5D mkIII, Canon 14mm f2.8 prime lens, Canon 24-70mm f2.8 lens, along with many different Hoya Pro filters. These normally go hand in hand with my Gitzo tripod and Really Right Stuff ball head.Feedback
Patience is the key! As a self taught photographer, I have spent countless hours trying to capture the night sky in different ways. A lot of time has gone into YouTube tutorials or photography books learning about the correct elements to capture the perfect shot. The way in which the aperture and ISO are set has a huge effect on the final image. Your passion to learn and improve will naturally drive you to capture some stunning images.
