Early spring night in Kansas

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Bill Schone

Bill Schone

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After what has seemed like forever, for a multitude of reasons we’ve all been facing my wife & I finally had a chance to get to test a new to me D7500 (refurbished) & fairly new lens, Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC & WHAT a night it was! Absolutely clear except for some prairie fires that we have every spring as pasture lands are burnt off to encourage new growth, but terrible for us with less than optimal lungs!

But overall outstanding. The foreground was taken during blue hour on a reservoir north of town. The Sky picture, taken at the same location about an hour later, is comprised of four 8 second exposures, 40mm @ 400 iso. In addition to this set I was starting my first “real” attempt at a time lapse sequence.

So between getting out for the first time in awhile, new camera, new lens, new time lapse project, new location, it wasn’t until it got dark that we realized there was a street light directly behind where we were taking the pictures. I’m surprised I missed it when I parked! I need to work on my observation skills & maybe just pain common sense! But once again we can have a good time at almost anything we do.

Thanks sincerely all!
 
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Bill Schone said:
View attachment 15645After what has seemed like forever, for a multitude of reasons we’ve all been facing my wife & I finally had a chance to get to test a new to me D7500 (refurbished) & fairly new lens, Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC & WHAT a night it was! Absolutely clear except for some prairie fires that we have every spring as pasture lands are burnt off to encourage new growth, but terrible for us with less than optimal lungs!

But overall outstanding. The foreground was taken during blue hour on a reservoir north of town. The Sky picture, taken at the same location about an hour later, is comprised of four 8 second exposures, 40mm @ 400 iso. In addition to this set I was starting my first “real” attempt at a time lapse sequence.

So between getting out for the first time in awhile, new camera, new lens, new time lapse project, new location, it wasn’t until it got dark that we realized there was a street light directly behind where we were taking the pictures. I’m surprised I missed it when I parked! I need to work on my observation skills & maybe just pain common sense! But once again we can have a good time at almost anything we do.

Thanks sincerely all!
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Bill, Gorgeous Photo!👍👍👍
 
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Colors, silhouettes and starry skies. I love blue hour but usually focus on cityscapes with water features. Your shot inspires me to try more landscapes during the blue hour. Just fantastic.
 
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WoW that`s an absolutely fantastic image Bill . it`s awesome to see the billions of stars in the clear sky , surely it must make you wonder "are we Really alone ?" Are we really the only creatures in this vast Universe ?


Harry.G
 
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Bill that is a beautiful landscape. It shows another dimension of how unique and special the Kansas prairie can be. I would imagine it is a shot that requires some planning to get right. Was that at shot at Perry?
Dave Allen
Olathe, KS
 
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DaveA said:
Bill that is a beautiful landscape. It shows another dimension of how unique and special the Kansas prairie can be. I would imagine it is a shot that requires some planning to get right. Was that at shot at Perry?
Dave Allen
Olathe, KS
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Dave, no actually shot at Banner Creek Reservoir, just directly west of Holton, which is 30 miles north from Topeka on Hwy 75. Very easy in & out, at least where we were & with some scouting I think there are better locations on the lake than where we were, ie no overhead lights! But for this setting I wanted the southern view & actually I think we pulled it off.
Not to sound “big headed” but the planning isn’t enormous. Obviously some experience with astrophotography is helpful, but seriously if I can do it, anyone can. The foreground was shot during blue hour, f/2.8, that probably could be shot at f/5 to f/8 maybe to help with focusing. ISO 100, 1/50 second exposure, which i shot in aperture priority, setting the iso manually.
The Sky pictures are in this case, four 8 second exposures, Deep Prime applied through DxO PhotoLab4, then stacked in Sequator to help further, & then the output from Sequator was blended with the foreground in Luminar4, it has a “sky replacement “ feature that normally makes it a very simple composition. I understand the photoshop has a Sky replacement feature now, but I don’t use PS.

All the shots were @ 40mm. A lot of Astro is done @ wider angle than 40, & I’ve shot a lot at 14mm Rokinon f/2.8, and this new lens I could use the 17mm f/2.8, which is available throughout the zoom range. I’ve also used a Nikon 35 prime f2.8, which I really like. The longer focal lengths naturally brings that Sky in much closer, I particularly like the look on Milky Way shots.
Sorry, I absolutely love Astro photography & get carried away, I apologize if I bored you, but then maybe you didn’t even read this far!o_O

if I can help with anything else or if I completely missed the mark, please ask.
Of course location & dark sky planning is in addition, but again not rocket science!
thanks for viewing & asking, but there are some absolutely great sources for this expertise on the internet.
Bill
 
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Bill Schone said:
Dave, no actually shot at Banner Creek Reservoir, just directly west of Holton, which is 30 miles north from Topeka on Hwy 75. Very easy in & out, at least where we were & with some scouting I think there are better locations on the lake than where we were, ie no overhead lights! But for this setting I wanted the southern view & actually I think we pulled it off.
Not to sound “big headed” but the planning isn’t enormous. Obviously some experience with astrophotography is helpful, but seriously if I can do it, anyone can. The foreground was shot during blue hour, f/2.8, that probably could be shot at f/5 to f/8 maybe to help with focusing. ISO 100, 1/50 second exposure, which i shot in aperture priority, setting the iso manually.
The Sky pictures are in this case, four 8 second exposures, Deep Prime applied through DxO PhotoLab4, then stacked in Sequator to help further, & then the output from Sequator was blended with the foreground in Luminar4, it has a “sky replacement “ feature that normally makes it a very simple composition. I understand the photoshop has a Sky replacement feature now, but I don’t use PS.

All the shots were @ 40mm. A lot of Astro is done @ wider angle than 40, & I’ve shot a lot at 14mm Rokinon f/2.8, and this new lens I could use the 17mm f/2.8, which is available throughout the zoom range. I’ve also used a Nikon 35 prime f2.8, which I really like. The longer focal lengths naturally brings that Sky in much closer, I particularly like the look on Milky Way shots.
Sorry, I absolutely love Astro photography & get carried away, I apologize if I bored you, but then maybe you didn’t even read this far!o_O

if I can help with anything else or if I completely missed the mark, please ask.
Of course location & dark sky planning is in addition, but again not rocket science!
thanks for viewing & asking, but there are some absolutely great sources for this expertise on the internet.
Bill
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I get over to Topeka somewhat regularly but have never been up to the Holton area. I appreciate you pulling back the curtain and sharing the details on how you shot and processed the image. In looking at it I thought there might be more involved than simply putting the camera on a tripod and making a long exposure. One of these days I would like to give astrophotography a try.
Dave
 
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DaveA said:
I get over to Topeka somewhat regularly but have never been up to the Holton area. I appreciate you pulling back the curtain and sharing the details on how you shot and processed the image. In looking at it I thought there might be more involved than simply putting the camera on a tripod and making a long exposure. One of these days I would like to give astrophotography a try.
Dave
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Dave, due to earth’s rotation, a long exposure causes star trails, which sometimes you may want, but not others. If interested check out Alyn Wallace, Alyn Wallace Photography & Nightscape Images by Richard Tattis, both have YouTube channels & can provide MUCH better info & techniques than I can. Given that, if we can get COVID cleared up & you think you can trust an astrophotographer that parks by a street light, maybe we could try a shoot together. Take care & good luck. Bill
 
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Bill Schone said:
Dave, due to earth’s rotation, a long exposure causes star trails, which sometimes you may want, but not others. If interested check out Alyn Wallace, Alyn Wallace Photography & Nightscape Images by Richard Tattis, both have YouTube channels & can provide MUCH better info & techniques than I can.
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Bill, after seeing your post and beautiful image, I had so many questions. Thankfully, you answered them as I slid on down the string. Appreciate you doing that. My D7500 is very jealous of your shot(s) and I may send it to you on loan so it can experience the joy of what a real artist can visualize and put on its SD card. :cry::LOL: Ah, well, my very best shot is going to be my next one. I promise. Thanks for sharing not only that great image but the story behind it too, including that your wife was part of the mission. Fun!
 
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jer said:
Bill, after seeing your post and beautiful image, I had so many questions. Thankfully, you answered them as I slid on down the string. Appreciate you doing that. My D7500 is very jealous of your shot(s) and I may send it to you on loan so it can experience the joy of what a real artist can visualize and put on its SD card. :cry::LOL: Ah, well, my very best shot is going to be my next one. I promise. Thanks for sharing not only that great image but the story behind it too, including that your wife was part of the mission. Fun!
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Oh my, jer thank you sincerely for those kind words, very humbling. Believe me, without a lot of help from others willing to share there experiences & expertise I couldn’t have put that shot on an SD card. There is certainly some techniques involved, but I don’t think it’s as difficult as it appears to be. Not major equipment requirements, some specific equipment yes, but I’m completely on the DX side & personally pleased with the results.
But as much enjoyment as the captures are, just being out at night, in the dark skies of Kansas & other locations, viewing the stars & the beautiful creation of God’s world, the occasional wildlife and certainly for me as you mentioned, sharing it all with my wife is the greatest joy of all. Thanks again for viewing & your very kind words. Dark skies for all!
 
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