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A Trio of Morning Planets, 12-10-2006
A Trio of Morning Planets, 12-10-2006
strangeghost


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Sky (Expert Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM
Location: Madison, WI
Date: Dec 10, 2006
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 640
Shutter: .3 seconds
Galleries: Sky, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Dec 10, 2006

 Shot about 50 minutes before sunrise. Several advanced editing steps here, but nothing expert. This was a single raw exposure which I processed into two, under and over, ala HDR. After adjusting and flattening, several more adjustment layers to recover detail from the foreground landscape and a little tweak to the highlights to make the planets a little more prominent. A few more layers to tweak sharpening, as well as an oversharpen (25/85/2) to boost contrast. This last step is also to blame for the odd color shift right at the tree/sky boundary.

This was a difficult shot to get because the planets were at the juncture where the sky was brightening quite quickly. The atmosphere was extremely clear that morning. I have one shot of Jupiter (the lowest of the bright planets) right at the horizon. Usually the murk right at the surface prevents any visibility until an object is about a half degree up. Not this day. Very cool pre-dawn sky.

I don't believe this shot will do well. Not enough "wow" for the average viewer. I'm predicting a 5.7. The planets are Mercury (top), Jupiter, and Mars to the right. The faint object above and left of Mercury is a 2nd magnitude star in Scorpius. The sky gradient is real with a very slight boost in sat.

Statistics
Place: 42 out of 123
Avg (all users): 6.1838
Avg (commenters): 7.9000
Avg (participants): 5.8060
Avg (non-participants): 6.3073
Views since voting: 989
Views during voting: 467
Votes: 272
Comments: 11
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/21/2006 12:44:53 AM
Looks like a quartet to me, but hey, nice photo, beautiful colors.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2006 02:48:58 PM
i think i would like this more if the foreground buildings were more of a silhouette
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2006 11:17:44 AM
I like the simple colours and composition. 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/18/2006 10:02:17 AM
This is SO beautiful! Such a stunning display of colors. I love the negative space in the sky but how stunningly the horizon compliments it! Amazing photography! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2006 03:06:51 PM
Too cool you got the shot of the planets aligning. Great work, wonderfully taken and nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/16/2006 02:04:16 PM
Wowy colors.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/15/2006 12:33:26 PM
I love the transition of the colors and those 4 stars. A 10! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/15/2006 07:46:31 AM
Well done! I was hoping someone would capture this unusual event.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/15/2006 06:05:06 AM
A great moment in time. I didn't get to see this due to cloud cover but appreciate your capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/15/2006 03:23:21 AM
theres 4 :P
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/14/2006 08:06:02 PM
love the minimalist composition, don't think the factory should have been centered though, much more interesting if it was off to the side. water comes through nicely - nice job
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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