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Stars, Milky Way and Moon Set Over Mürsel

A Question - but read on.

 

The idea behind this shot, and its companion, was simple. The stars visible on the Anatolian steppe are absolutely stunning, with the Milky Way clearly visible. I have never been anywhere in the world where the stars are so magnificent. So, I wanted to get a picture of the stars and Milky Way over the village where my wife was born.

 

Braving the snakes and scorpions, and in near total darkness, I clambered up onto a hill opposite the village to take this shot. Clearly it, and its companion, have a significant technical problem, the high level of noise – which is visible as coloured banding in the shadows (but not, perhaps in the Flickr reproduction).

There are some technical limitations to note. An exposure longer than 15-20 seconds reproduces the stars as ‘streaks’ – so the maximum exposure is limited by the ISO setting (and more noise) and the maximum aperture of the lens. The lens is f4 and 17mm.

 

The Question

I can probably improve the composition, although it was impossible to see anything through the lens other than the lights of the village (the rest was a guess) – and I can probably improve the noise by using a faster lens and perhaps a better specified camera – but my question is whether the subject is really worth the effort (and expense) ? My wife says, no; but what do you think ?

 

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Uploaded on February 18, 2010
Taken on February 18, 2010