Photo of the Week 2024-07-15

I thought this week's post may have been about my recent nightscape photography, given that a lens purchased for that purpose had arrived late last week. While I did get out on Saturday to give it a trial workout, other aspects of life, namely a new puppy, had other ideas for time that I had planned to learn some new image stacking software for editing the resulting raw files.

 

So I sit here at the keyboard on Sunday night, resigned to the fact that I don't have enough time or energy to get through a new workflow to show you the results of last night's shoot (amazing as it was that I managed to stay up until midnight to see the Milky Way rise in the sky). Instead, I delve into the archive for something and ... lo and behold, there's a nightscape image from over 4 years ago (albeit from winter) sitting there, ready to share.

 

' Front Row Seats '

 Dark skies at our cottage on the Bruce Peninsula are absolutely awe inspiring ...

 

This image was made with the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 on a Canon 5D MkIII DSLR. A while after I got rid of the 5D MkIII, I also hesitantly traded in the Rokinon 14mm with plans to upgrade it down the road. Now I have with the Irix 15mm f/2.5 in EF mount to use with the EF-RF adapter and Canon R5 mirrorless. Hopefully, I'll have something to show from this combination some time soon.

 

Up to now, all of my night sky / nightscape images have been processed from single exposures, as is the image presented here. During my shoot Saturday night, I was capturing multiple frames to stack later with software specifically designed for night sky work. Why? Well, in simple terms, because processing a single image shot at high ISO includes noise that can result in bright pixels ultimately show up like stars making for a busier than actual night sky. How much difference will there be? I hope t' let ya know.

 

DJE