Moonrise over Manaslu - Nepal

[shadowblade]

45-minute exposure of star trails over Manaslu, the Earth's 8th highest peak, in Nepal. The onset of moonrise at the end of the exposure illuminates the mountain from the southeast.

EDIT: Again, the JPEG compression kind of kills it...

[Lloyd Mayeda]

Great photo!  Thanks for sharing. 

I even clicked on it a second time to enjoy it again.

[Tony Jay]

Beautiful image!

Regards

Tony Jay

[francois]

Stunning image. Everything is "right", star trails and Manaslu well lit.
Congrats!

[Enda Cavanagh]

Absolutely stunning. Oh how I wish for a long exposure capability on the Hasselblad. Longer than the measly minute (or ninety seconds or so when used the view camera)

[shadowblade]

It took three attempts on three consecutive nights to get the exposure and timing exactly right, lying in the snow at 4500m and -32 degrees centigrade for an hour each time!

[Petrus]

Almost too many stars there...    Great picture and worth the effort.

Where was the viewpoint, we tried to do the Manaslu circuit in -09 but had to turn back form Samagaon as the pass was blocked by snow. Continued back to Arughat, took a bus to AC and went to Naar-Phu.

[Chris Calohan]

Freaking awesome! I know, such an educated response...but really, it's freaking awesome. 

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I agree. The correct technical term is "freaking awesome!"

[Jeremy Roussak]

I agree. The correct technical term is "freaking awesome!"

Only in polite online company, Eric. In less genteel environs, the first word may be strengthened a tad.

Jeremy

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Ok, time for a little rain on this parade (or would "meteor shower" be more appropriate?)

I must be the only one who finds it cliche and mildly annoying, thus ruining perfectly good photographs. I mean it was really cool to see it, like, 30-40 years ago, when it was a rare sight, but after a gazillion versions in the digital and internet age, it lost its luster. It is on the path to become as ubiquitous, cliche and kitsch as orange sunsets. I also find the sheer amounts of it in this particular photo rather excessive.

But again, it must be just me.

[dreed]

Ok, time for a little rain on this parade (or would "meteor shower" be more appropriate?)

I must be the only one who finds it cliche and mildly annoying, thus ruining perfectly good photographs. I mean it was really cool to see it, like, 30-40 years ago, when it was a rare sight, but after a gazillion versions in the digital and internet age, it lost its luster. It is on the path to become as ubiquitous, cliche and kitsch as orange sunsets. I also find the sheer amounts of it in this particular photo rather excessive.

Orange sunsets, kitsch? You know, I'm almost inclined to agree with you.
But wow, where does that leave the photographer?
And would sunrises fit into the same basket?

I do agree that this photo is ... not special? The star trails are over done.

[Chris Calohan]

So, what then would constitute a "freaking awesome" shot for you? I am not being snotty in my response, but part of my awe lies with the knowledge he laid in snow for three hours making the shot...and, while it may well be an overdone shot, what really hasn't been a copy of something someone else has already done? Photography is very much like movies, once you've hit the Seven Deadly Sins in plot structure, everything else is a remake. Hopefully or perhaps thankfully a better cliche, some producers do it quite well. Oh well, I would be proud to call that shot my own.

[Chris Calohan]

These forums aren't threaded so please get into the habit of using the quote button and showing the most relevant bit of the comment that you're replying to - that way the rest of us can see exactly who and what you're responding to :-)

Primarily to Slobodan Blagojevic, but as well to some of the others who felt the image was too glitzy. This is one of those agreeing to disagree moments. I certainly respect all people's opinions, but I don't always agree.

[Chris Calohan]

Thanks for that clarification (it would have been even clearer if you'd named more names rather than "some of the others").
But you did seem to agree with dreed, you said - "while it may well be an overdone shot".

What if you hadn't been told about the effort required to make the photograph? What would the photograph mean to you?

Overdone was an incorrect term on my part. I should have said it was a shot recreated many times over. I am not sure anything would change in my initial response as it is still an extremely well crafted shot. Had the moon not risen..who knows, had there been less stars, again, who knows. I like the combination of everything and how it all seems to tie together. Hey, but I am just a bit of a newbie hack in the digital world, so ask me again in a year.

[luxborealis]

I'm sad to hear how this thread has ended up. The OP made a stunning photo and others agree. But then Slobodan rained on the parade, which although is unfortunate, is not entirely without precedence on these forums. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I thinks it's great that people share what they see and photograph. In this case, it wasn't posted in "User Critiques" but in a more general forum. Yes, we've seen star trails before, but we've also seen the Big Sur Coast, Yosemite, the Mittens, rainbows and a whole host of sunsets in these forums without anyone saying "Oh, we've seen that a million times before." In fact, it would be difficult to post a photo on this forum that people haven't seen before. One of the steps in growing as a photographer is being able to achieve a certain, difficult technique - even if it's been done before. Shadowblade did that and did it well enough for a number of excellent photographers on this forum to say so. It's called encouragement.

And...
Slobodan: "I also find the sheer amounts of it [star trails] in this particular photo rather excessive."
dreed: "The star trails are over done."
...to criticize the number of stars!! Give me a break - you guys need to get out more often! That's what the sky looks like in true wilderness away from noise polluted cities! How can you criticize Mother Nature for having too many stars!! Or perhaps you want the photographer to brush a few out!

Thanks for sharing Shadowblade - don't let the turkeys get you down! Keep shooting what you like shooting. If others find it "ubiquitous, cliche and kitsch" - ignore them. Perhaps they think they are try to help you by pointing this out. I dunno?!?

I, for one, would like Shadowblade to tell us how he managed a 45-minute exposure (I assume, on a digital camera, but may have been with film – he doesn't say) without a level of noise that overwhelms the photo. As well, how is it that your batteries didn't give out at that temperature? On a manual, mechanical film camera, I can understand, but on a digital??

[John R Smith]

Terry

Slobodan was completely entitled to have a different view from others, and to say so. This is not, or should not be, a place where one posts a picture and everyone replies "great shot" or "+1" (or though that seems to be the case these days).

I thought shadowblade's Dune picture was terrific, and said so, even though we have all seen a thousand dune shots already. That one was special - and I did say why I thought so, in some detail. In this case, even if the photographer did have to endure extreme discomfort in a remote location, this picture - as a picture - does nothing for me. It simply relies on a gimmick to grab our attention, a gimmick which has been so overdone (just like sunsets, sunrises, long exposures and misty water, foreground anchors -oh, and Yosemite from that particular viewpoint) that I have no interest in it.

Thank you, Slobodan, for having the courage of your convictions.

John

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Terry, I will not engage in a spitting match with you, i.e., will not comment on your assessment of my postings, nor the fact that you just called me "a stupid and inept person" (a.k.a. turkey), I think all that should be between you and your mother, or whoever raised you.

But I do want to address two points:

How can you criticize Mother Nature for having too many stars!!

I do not... I was referring to recording that many stars as star trails. I would definitely prefer to see them without the trails.

Another point is that I already expressed my admiration for two other Shadowblade's photographs on this forum. Thus my post was not a criticism of his photography, and not even of this particular photograph in general, but of one single element of it (I did say it "ruined a perfectly good photograph").

[luxborealis]

Slobodan was completely entitled to have a different view from others, and to say so.

That's what I said in my post: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion." I just chose to disagree with him and take him to task for it.

No, these forums shouldn't turn into a forum where everyone replies "great shot" or "+1". I just find that it too easy to simply criticize rather than provide critical input towards improvement. It is so easy to say "Yep, it's been done before" that even that comment is now "ubiquitous, cliche and kitsch".

My feeling is that we, as a community, would be better served by having constructive criticism, not criticism for the sake of criticism.

[Chris Calohan]

Here is a similar shot without as many star trails from a photographer I greatly admire, Yan Zhang.