A critical review of my favourite milky way image from this season
If I was honest – I think this is the best milky way
landscape photo I have ever taken. But, then if I critically review it
carefully – I know there is significant room for improvement.
The background to my summer season of milky way photography can be found at https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2026/09/an-epic-milky-way-summer-16-nights-2000.html
Horizon & Edge Alignment
Engine House & Stack Seam: The masking around the stone
engine house and chimney stack is very clean. I can’t see any obvious dark
halos or light bleeding around the tight masonry edges, thus keeping the
structure sharp against the sky.
Ground Horizon Seam: The transition where the rolling
moor/cliff background meets the sky shows a distinct reddish-brown glow. Is
that a good thing? Along the left horizon, the blending is smooth, but the
intense red ambient cast makes the background landform bleed visually into the
lower atmosphere, so obscuring the physical horizon line slightly.
Lighting Consistency
Foreground Lighting: The light painting on the stone wall is
dramatic, emphasizing the rugged texture of the granite. It was what I was
aiming for on the night. However, the warm, intense orange/red cast covers not
just the engine house, but also the ground, the lower sky, and the distant
horizon – so I need to improve my light painting techniques.
Colour Balance: This photo suffers from a heavy global colour
cast. At first I really liked it; now I’m not so sure. The sky transitions from
a strong, saturated reddish-orange glow near the bottom to a deep olive-green
hue at the top (an unintended colour shift from my overly heavy-handed white
balance and/or noise processing). Actions? Lowering the red/orange cast
on the landscape and correcting the greenish tint in the upper sky will make
the scene look much more natural and cohesive.
Storytelling and narrative
Narrative Impact: This is quintessential South West Coast
Path iconography – it was why I wanted to holiday in the area for a few days. I
hope the historic tin mining heritage against the backdrop of space tells a
powerful story of spirited human history beneath timeless skies. I think it
does.
Composition: The framing is visually pleasing. Positioning
the engine house chimney on the left creates a stunning dynamic pairing with
the vertical sweep of the Milky Way on the right. The smaller structure in the
mid-ground gives the scene a great sense of depth and scale, which is what I
was hoping for.
Final Verdict
Compositionally and narratively, I feel this is a strong
image that perfectly captures the history of this part of the south west
coastal footpath. However, the heavy red lighting cast and the green/red
gradient in the sky are its main technical drawbacks and this is where some
people have loved its dramatic tones and moodiness; whilst others have felt it
has failed to capture the night sky and landscape in their true colours on the
night. Thus, it is a misrepresentation. Bringing the colour balance back to
neutral night tones would address this. My problem? I really like the moody
dramatic tones. Beauty is in ‘the eye of the beholder’ after all!
So, if I were to improve this image in affinity photo
v1 – what could I do?
I could neutralize the intense red light cast on the
foreground and fix the green airglow tint in the upper sky by:
1.Removing the Red/Orange Cast from the Engine House: Foreground
Adjustment.
Adding a HSL Adjustment Layer directly above my foreground
layer. Clicking the colour dropdown menu and selecting Reds - dragging the
Saturation slider left (around 30% - 40%) to strip out the oversaturated red
tint, would help. Switching the dropdown to Yellows and dropping saturation
slightly (around 15%) would leave a natural, warm stone texture without the
intense glow.
2.Neutralize the Green Tint in the Upper Atmosphere: Upper
Sky Adjustment.
Adding a Selective Colour Adjustment Layer above the sky
layer and selecting Greens from the dropdown menu - moving the Magenta slider
to the right (+15 to +30%) to counteract the green hue, would help. Similarly, selecting
Yellows and shifting the Cyan slider right (+10%) to cool down the remaining
sickly undertones in dark space would also benefit the image.
3.Harmonize the Sky and Land Colour Temperatures: Global
Colour Balance.
A White Balance Adjustment Layer at the top of my layer
stack - Shifting the Temperature slider toward blue to give the sky deep
night-blue tones. If the foreground becomes too cool, I could invert the White
Balance adjustment mask and paint it onto the sky layer only using a soft,
white Paintbrush Tool (B).
4.Restore Deep Space Blacks with Curves: Contrast
Fine-Tuning.
A Curves Adjustment Layer targeting the sky to pull down the
shadows slightly – will deepen the background sky contrast, push out residual
colour grain and make the stars pop against crisp, dark space.
Verification: Toggle the visibility of the adjustment
layers on and off. The engine house stone should retain warm, lit highlights
without looking neon red, and the space behind the Milky Way should look clean
and dark blue rather than green.
When I have had time to test this work flow proposal – I will
post the re-edited image here and we can decide which one looks best.
As always, if you have any constructive criticism, tips and
advice about the image, drop it in a comment box below so that we can all learn
and benefit from it.
Take care, keep looking up, have fun under the skies
Steve
Aka Plymouthastroboy
