Milky Way and Spirit Tree

[Don Lacy]

I have had this image in my mind for the last year and I was able to spend the night working on it here is one of the images I came away with. Not completely happy with this one I do not like light painting so I am going to buy some LED panels and try it again with more even lighting. If you are wondering how the Dwarf Cyprus ended it up in this shape it is believed that the Seminole Indians would bend young saplings as markers leading back to their camps.

Canon 6D, Samyang 14mm, 30s at f/2.8 and ISO 6400.

[Don Lacy]

Here is another version with a different sharpening method I am leaning more towrds this version what do you guys think.

[Don Railton]

Hi Don,

Yes, I think #2 image is quite a lot sharper and without apparent artifact so put a tick in that method for me.. I also find Light painting a little bit of a hit and miss affair, I used a remotely triggered flash on my recent attempts. I thought having a light source that was adjustable & repeatable in power output would help, but you still have the problem of close parts of the image being over exposed compared to the distant...sigh... Back to the torch/flashlight... Love the image concept Don, if you could get a little more detail in the FG forest using the panels without blowing out the tree then that would be a winner for me... Stars are wonderful..

DON

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Don, I prefer the second posting best. I have never tried my hand at light painting but from what I have read is that the LED light panels are a good choice for doing this. Not sure if you can get this perspective of the tree but when you re-shoot it is there a possibility of getting low enough so that the tree is mostly against the sky to accentuate the shape with the stars as a background?

[Michael Thompson]

I like the second one better too. I would try to get real low and get a silhouette shot of that awesome tree! Nice job on the stars too