The Time Machine

Probably one of my favorite images that I have ever taken. Right from the planning to the sudden upsets along the way to the final processing part, I have enjoyed making this image as much as my first ever picture with a DSLR.

It took a lot of planning to figure out when the Milky way would be over the arch. It was a small window of time, and when I got there, the whole sky was blocked out by clouds. The weather forecast had said clear skies, but nature never gives you a moment's rest. Praying earnestly that the clouds would clear up, I waited for nearly 2 hours, setting up my composition, testing light painting strength in the hope that something would give. Lo and behold, 2 hours later, the clouds parted revealing the milky way in all its glory.

I had to work fast, since this would be a panoramic view, and I took about 14 vertical shots stitched horizontally. The challenge here was that the light painting had to be consistent across individual frames, and the exposure time had to be as little as possible to ensure a proper stitch of the stars. Once I had the shots in the bag, I thanked the heavens for the stroke of luck I had. You can see some of the clouds on the right side of the frame.

In post, it took a lot of work to warp, and stitch the frames together, and then blend in some detail for dynamic range.

I took up photography 3 years back, and I never could have imagined that one day, I'd be able to pull something like this off. That's why I call this image "The Time Machine"

Please see the LARGER Version

As always, your comments and critiques are much appreciated!

Sairam