Suntop Fire Lookout Sky
There is a lot going on in this panorama. Suntop fire lookout in the center of the image, Mt Rainier off to the right. Above the mountain is the arch of the m...
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There is a lot going on in this panorama. Suntop fire lookout in the center of the image, Mt Rainier off to the right. Above the mountain is the arch of the milkyway galaxy. To the right of the fire lookout is the start of the purple aurora to the north, and to the left is the setting moon and light pollution reflecting off the clouds from the Tacoma area.
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Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Wide Angle In Nature Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Genius
All Star
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Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This is the Suntop Fire lookout along the Chinook Pass 410 hwy. You can drive all the way to the top. It is a fire lookout that is still manned.Time
This panorama was taking between 11 pm and 12 am.Lighting
I light painted the foreground for every single shot on this panorama with my small head lamp. It is not a very bright one which benefits when doing the stars. You don't want to blow out the scene. I do just a quick swipe across my foreground then cover it back up for the remainder of the exposure.Equipment
Used my D600 with my 14mm 2.8 Rokinon lens mounted on my tripod. I overlapped each image by at least 2/3 to help with the stitching later from using such a wide angle lens. This image took almost 30 shots to do the full 360 degree shot.Inspiration
I had traveled to this great location to get the lady aurora that night. I only got a partial show with some magenta North but also got the milky way arch. I had this spot on my bucket list for awhile. With wonderful views in all directions including Mt Rainier it us a superb location.Editing
I used Adobe Photoshop to stitch the panorama together. It took quite a bit if processing with around 30 images making up the panorama final. I then post processed entire image in Lightroom. Increased whites, vibrance, shadows and noise reduction.In my camera bag
Nikon D600, Rokinon 14mm, Nikon 50mm, Tamron 150-600mm, nd grad filters, polarizers, lens cloths, extra cards, batteries and wireless remote. Probably more.Feedback
Always use a tripod when shooting panoramas at night and a remote if you have one Helps with sharp shots.
