skypointer2000
The Fortress
During my August vacation, I visited one of the most scenic fortresses in Italy. My planning showed that the Milky Way would be past its prime position, but still within reach of a wide angle image. What I did not plan with, was the strong illumination of the fortress.
During my visit in the afternoon, I was worried to see many spotlights, but a local guide told me, that to his knowledge, the lights were normally not switched on, which was in line with many apparent night images I knew from the place. It was not to be... I may have been visiting at the wrong time, or maybe I was fooled by time blends and composites. Whatever, the lights were incredibly bright and caused a tremendous amount of light pollution.
When I was done lamenting, I decided to capture the scene anyway. The sky was the easy part. Now, the fact that the Milky Way core was to the far right, was an advantage, as it helped to avoid the worst light pollution around the fortress. The foreground required 10 steps of exposure bracketing to capture the full dynamic range. Processing the image was a nightmare and the result is not what I was hoping for, but at least I did not have to leave empty handed.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Tamron 15-30mm f2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 11 x 15s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
Stack and exposure bracketing of 21 images from 0.5s @ ISO100 to 15s @ ISO1600
The Fortress
During my August vacation, I visited one of the most scenic fortresses in Italy. My planning showed that the Milky Way would be past its prime position, but still within reach of a wide angle image. What I did not plan with, was the strong illumination of the fortress.
During my visit in the afternoon, I was worried to see many spotlights, but a local guide told me, that to his knowledge, the lights were normally not switched on, which was in line with many apparent night images I knew from the place. It was not to be... I may have been visiting at the wrong time, or maybe I was fooled by time blends and composites. Whatever, the lights were incredibly bright and caused a tremendous amount of light pollution.
When I was done lamenting, I decided to capture the scene anyway. The sky was the easy part. Now, the fact that the Milky Way core was to the far right, was an advantage, as it helped to avoid the worst light pollution around the fortress. The foreground required 10 steps of exposure bracketing to capture the full dynamic range. Processing the image was a nightmare and the result is not what I was hoping for, but at least I did not have to leave empty handed.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Tamron 15-30mm f2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 11 x 15s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
Stack and exposure bracketing of 21 images from 0.5s @ ISO100 to 15s @ ISO1600