The Stars the Lake and the Swan!

[david.saunders40]

Hi,

Taken with my Canon 450D 18/55mm lens, 20sec exposure, F5.6, ISO800 tweeked in Photoshop.
The place is Buscot Park and Lake in Oxfordshire..

The blob in the water was a swan that was determined to get in the shot, did edit him out at first but thought ,hey if he was that determined I'll keep him in.
He didn't help my nerves much being alone,in the dark. Couldn't see him only his hissing every now and then.

Dave.

[llewpics]

Dave,

I think the strength of this photo is in the sky. The swan does not add much to the image, and considering it is only a blurred shape, it is difficult to even guess what exactly it is without you pointing it out. I would consider a composition where you crop everything blow the swan and make it all about the sky and some water / land. Talking about the sky, I do like the star pattern on the stars ...it adds to the feel. The yellow light in the distance would need to be muted or turned greener to blend in a little better - a PS adjustment would work. Finally, the image is noisy - I am not sure if this is due to post processing, long exposure time or both ...perhaps try running it through some noise reduction software like noise ninja? I really like the concept and the potential this scene has.

[gahspidy]

I agree with llewpics in that the stars and sky are the strong subject here. The swan is merely a distraction, and the water below is not adding anything. A crop from the bottom to just above the swan helps a lot, but the mass of trees on the right keeps the image feeling lopsided and without a pleasing balance. Still, the crop makes for a better image and that great sky is worth having

[armando_m]

very nice !!

I did a bit of an edit as suggested by Gary and llewpics
noise reduction and then a high pass filter to give the stars a bit more pop
also changed the color balance on the illuminated tree to make it gree and on the water to make it resemble the sky,
looks really nice

I have done a few night shots in far away lonely places and it gets a bit spooky

[david.saunders40]

Thanks guys for your advice, Ive done a edit myself and can see the improvement (hope you can).
Didn't want to crop right side too much as I would loose one of the main stars but cropping the lake has made a big difference to the balance of the image. I don't have "noise ninja" but have ProDigital software that has a noise reducer, don't know if it as good but it has reduced some of the noise.

Dave.

[gahspidy]

Very nice, big improvement. The sky is magnificent and the bit of lake and land set it off very well.

[jetrim]

I like the edit much more. Nice work :thumbsup:

[Anbesol]

Looks like the sharpness of the trees took a beating from that noise reduction. And at this resolution, I don't see any improvement on the grain in the sky, and the ripples in the water get lost. I like the original better, but with the crop of the second one.