Starscape + thunderstorm

[Simms]

I went out with another member of the forum last night in spite of the moon and visited our Essex dark site. Whilst there I kept seeing flashes in the sky, however these were not fireworks as they were coming from the direction of the North Sea - we finally realised there was a thunderstorm going on many many miles away from us and we could see the lighting exploding in the clouds - so I set up my spare DSLR on a tripod and hoped I could catch some of it in a long exposure. You can see from this image I did manage to capture it along with some celestial favourites! I have embellished some of the stars for artistic reasons which should annoy the purists but I approach my astrophotography the same way I approach my nature photography - I love eyecandy!

Includes: Moon, Jupiter, Orion, Taurus, Lightening illuminated cloud & Hyades cluster.

Enjoy!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Really nice image under tough conditions (the moon). The Hyades is looking amazing.

[Ags]

How do you embellish stars?

[Simms]

How do you embellish stars?

StarSpikes Pro plugin for Photoshop.

[saturn5]

Its a great bit of software.Excellent shot and if it annoys the purists then the jobs a goodun.

[Ags]

StarSpikes Pro... but i don't see any star spikes - does it also brighten stars?

[Simms]

StarSpikes Pro... but i don't see any star spikes - does it also brighten stars?

Yes, you dont have to use the star spikes, you have `secondary flare` as well - generally I tend to use that.

[turbotim]

I like it!

[nytecam]

Yes, you dont have to use the star spikes, you have `secondary flare` as well - generally I tend to use that.

Yep - the stars can be very inconspicuous and need a boost - BTW - you didn't list the colourful UFO

[laser_jock99]

Pity about the brightness of the full moon- those thunder clouds would have looked really good I reckon?

[Dangerous-Dave]

Very nice. Have you tried cloning out the lens flare, given it doesn't coincide with any stars?

[Ags]

What lens did you use?

[Simms]

What lens did you use?

Canon 16-35 f2,8L - I think I had it set at F4 though.