Starry Karoo night

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 17, 2011329 views9 comments

There are quite a few places in South Africa where the stars are amazingly bright with little light pollution around...but few of these places are better to view the African cosmos than the Kalahari and Karoo deserts...partly because of the clean quality of air and the sparse population in these areas.

This was captured in the Karoo. The rocks and plant made for an interesting foreground, and during my visit it was almost full moon (the moon was rising, which is the light you see coming from behind the kopje).

All feedback most appreciated.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 10-22mm USM @ 10mm
f3.5 @ 25s @ ISO-3200
Foreground painted with LED Lenser torch bounced off my hand for warmer tone and subtler illumination

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Ian Plant on July 17, 2011 at 10:59 AM

Nicely done Morkel. The foreground plant helps anchor the scene and brings it back down to Earth!

Registered on July 7, 2008, 271 Posts, 1657 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on July 17, 2011 at 1:40 PM

Wonderful creation here. You are truely an artist.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on July 17, 2011 at 2:31 PM

Beautifully done. The foreground light is very natural appearing and balanced.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on July 17, 2011 at 3:19 PM

this is nice , im agree with Ian about the green plant really complete the scene

Hamed

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 17, 2011 at 4:16 PM

We never get to see skies like that where I live. Even when the sky is not cloudy, there is too much light pollution. This reminds me of the views I had in rural southwest U.S. Amazing how grand a sky like this feels.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on July 17, 2011 at 11:08 PM

I really need to get out somewhere that I can appreciate the night sky more often. Nice!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on July 17, 2011 at 11:15 PM

nice fg painting and spectacular stars. great image

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on July 18, 2011 at 12:27 PM

Looks very good, Morkel. You attention to technique appears to have paid off.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 18, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Thanks for your kind and encouraging feedback, folks!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments