Milky Way over Portland Bill

Bardo

Bardo

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Jason Brown
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Lovely evening on Portland Bill last night with clear skies and no moon made for perfect conditions for a spot of astrophotography. Shot at ISO3200 - 30 second exposure - f2.8 using a Samyang 14mm and a Nikon D4. Processed in Lightroom CC - the new 'dehaze' tool is superb for this sort of image!

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Very impressive, was there some light painting on the rocks?
 
Very, very, very nice. Out of curiosity, what's the blue feature immediately above the horizon to the left of the rocks?
 
Cool shot Jason, I tried earlier in the year to get the MW down there with the lighthouse but not that easy to do! Just a point...the rocks on the left hand side on the ledge look kinda 'ghostly'? Is that just me or is something happening there?
 
Rich_Ellis said:
Cool shot Jason, I tried earlier in the year to get the MW down there with the lighthouse but not that easy to do! Just a point...the rocks on the left hand side on the ledge look kinda 'ghostly'? Is that just me or is something happening there?
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I noticed that too. Really not sure what's going on there other than it highlighting the fact that the Samyang 14mm isn't a 'premium' lens? To be honest, I may invest in a Nikon 14-24mm to get better edge sharpness. Either that or the rocks are slowly moving? ;-)
 
Bardo said:
I noticed that too. Really not sure what's going on there other than it highlighting the fact that the Samyang 14mm isn't a 'premium' lens? To be honest, I may invest in a Nikon 14-24mm to get better edge sharpness. Either that or the rocks are slowly moving? ;-)
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Haha, yeah, I have the lens too and notice strange things about it. I dared say it was lacking a bit in quality on another thread and got shouted down...ho hum. Its ok for the money but the distortion is difficult to sort well in post.
 
Rich_Ellis said:
Haha, yeah, I have the lens too and notice strange things about it. I dared say it was lacking a bit in quality on another thread and got shouted down...ho hum. Its ok for the money but the distortion is difficult to sort well in post.
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I've noticed the same things, to be honest - it's a great lens for the price but people need to keep it in perspective (if you'll pardon the pun). It's definitely not a rival for a premium lens like the 14-24!

BTW - I think this second image of the Lighthouse was actually shot with the Nikon 16-35mm
 
Stunning shots, really great.

Were the rocks lit by any artificial light? Or was there a slight moon?
 
Its a nice warmth the light, flashes can be a bit blue at times without a gell. Its worked nicely.

Also did the the lighthouse not over expose that part of the image?
 
Bardo said:
Not entirely sure tbh - coastline of France perhaps?
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I would put money on it being tidal currents swirling off the bill causing waves in the sea, I have seen it there many times. Liking the shots BTW
 
alsos said:
I would put money on it being tidal currents swirling off the bill causing waves in the sea, I have seen it there many times. Liking the shots BTW
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Ah right - now I know what you're referring to. Yes, you are correct - that is what is known as the Portland 'race'. I thought you were referring to the lights in the background!
 
They are both cracking shots, wonderful to see the milky way in photos.
 
Brilliant images. I'm looking at buying a Rokinon 14mm - not sure how it will perform with my APS-C canon 7d mk ii.
 
Zanshin999 said:
Brilliant images. I'm looking at buying a Rokinon 14mm - not sure how it will perform with my APS-C canon 7d mk ii.
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I suspect you'll loose a lot of the coverage with an APS-C camera, to be honest. If I were you, I'd be looking at something like a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 as it'll give you a much wider coverage!
 
Excellent shots. I'm down that way in a few weeks, and hope to do some night stuff. How did you find the levels of light pollution in the area? Any particular issues?
 
julianhj said:
Excellent shots. I'm down that way in a few weeks, and hope to do some night stuff. How did you find the levels of light pollution in the area? Any particular issues?
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Light pollution is fairly minimal right at the very end of the Bill - well, apart from the bloody great big light house sweeping light across the sky like a POW camp on lockdown! lol

No real issues - just make sure you take along a lamp to aid with focusing and your footing! Portland Bill can be treacherous at night so always light your way...
 
Thanks, any excuse to dig out my array of torches. I might take my Lenser V24 as well for a bit of abstract light painting, if there's time.

I'd always thought that Southern England was far too polluted for decent Milky Way stuff, so I'm really excited about the prospect.
 
julianhj said:
Thanks, any excuse to dig out my array of torches. I might take my Lenser V24 as well for a bit of abstract light painting, if there's time.

I'd always thought that Southern England was far too polluted for decent Milky Way stuff, so I'm really excited about the prospect.
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Certainly worth taking along some lights - the rocks in the first shot were illuminated by a very quick 'blip' of light from a 1400 lumen video light.

As for Southern England being far too polluted for Milky Way stuff, you should also visit places like Dartmoor! It gets pretty darned dark there, you know ;-)
 
Bardo said:
I suspect you'll loose a lot of the coverage with an APS-C camera, to be honest. If I were you, I'd be looking at something like a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 as it'll give you a much wider coverage!
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I've got a Tamron 10-24mm f3.5, I'll give it a try, if I can get a night without any clouds or rain!
 
I do love this type of photography and your shots are perfect for me
I like the way you lit up the foreground too.
 
Lovely shots the both of them! Also liking your light painting whilst waiting. Do you need a good stable tripod for Milky Way shots?
 
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