Sagittarius
by coliwabl

Comment by sittingonthegrass:
The night sky is an amazing place. Nice photo.

Sagittarius
by coliwabl

Comment by cutlassdude70:
Wow. :) Not only am I impressed that you know somewhere that there are so many visible stars, but you must have one hell of a lens...

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by ralfw:
Another great shot! I've been an astronomy buff since the late '70s - and this is a great shot considering the tough subject and tight field of view.

Too bad about the DQ, but this just adds fuel to the reasons why we need a "Space 'n Stuff" challenge. (It had to have DQ'd even before I could vote on it! I do not recall seeing this in the set, and I voted 100%.)

Advanced editing with a special rule allowing stacks. For those without a scope - any image that conveys "Space" - thinking museums, satellite tracks, star trails, Iridium flares, etc...

Keep up the great work!
ralfw

Bright Bee
by coliwabl

Comment by ericwoo:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You have captured a terrific negative image here, as well as a great macro. You depth of field is perfect for this capture and I can tell that the focus is very crisp. I think that this could have been a top 20 finisher if you had composed or cropped it a bit differently. Centering the bee in the frame really gives the eye nowhere else to go. The negative yellows give a great blue hue, but the viewer really overlooks that by going straight to the brighter bee. While nature makes its own decisions, waiting for the bee to face the lens would have improved this even more. I know that this might not have even been a possibility, as these guys never follow a script for me either. Changing the composition would have also altered those distracting bright spots on either side of the frame. Shifting your shooting position from to the right a little would have gotten rid of the one on the left, gotten the bee out of the center, and possibly provided a very nice balance between your darks and lights. Great lighting and detail capture, right down to his hairy back and the antennae. Overall, I think you have a terrific idea that just wasn't executed to its potential. A nice capture that I would rate in the 5-6 range. The photo met the challenge very well.

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by ericwoo:
First off, the image is too small. Always take advantage of the full size parameters that DPC allows. Secondly, it just appears that there is a haze over the entire image. Looking through others that have posted similar photos, I see that there is a lacking clarity. For instance, consider this photo by Kirbic, . Even with over 2 minutes exposure at f/2.8, there is a beautiful clarity to the shot. Also, look at this one by strangehost, . It also possesses a clarity that this particular shot does not have. While I have no experience with photography stars and such, I would venture to guess that yours is a bit over exposed. You coverall composition is also lacking. The apparent focus of the image is the brightness that you composed in the center of the photograph. I would suggest applying the rule of thirds to add interest to this type of photography. Perhaps even upping your shadow level in Camera RAW would deepen your blacks here and give the photograph a better contrast. Even easier, use photoshop to make a curves adjustment to clean up the light haze that you have here. I copied the image, applied two curves points, one at I:174 O: 203 and a second at I:98 O:36, and this gave the image a much more dramatic feel. None of the stars were lost and the overexposure was remedied. I hope that this has been helpful and that there is some information that you can "practically apply" as you requested

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by DefyTime:
Awesome

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by tuffy:
Appears to be a little oversharpened on my monitor. Interesting star shot

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by igoofry:
I would love to be able to get these type of shots. My hats of to those of you that can. Good job.

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by tjmueller:
Wow- must be atached to high power telscope. Besides the subject, I also like the yellow to blue split. Good luck -8-

Rho-Ophiuchus-Region of the Milkyway (IC 4604)
by coliwabl

Comment by SandyP:
Wow! I can only imagine where you were when you were able to get such an amazing shot! Somewhere far away from the city, where there is nothing to light your way but that spectacular sky!!!!! Wow again!!!