Got out Sunday night to the Grafton Peace Pagoda, NY.
This was definitely a very peaceful special place and I can't wait to get back. It was very nice to be able to just hang out there with no distractions other than capturing images and watch the Milky Way, Jupiter & Saturn track across the sky. Bonus: Saw about 6-7 meteors and was able to capture 2-3.
A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most (though not all) peace pagodas built since World War II have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885–1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to world peace.
“As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn outside the lines of reason
Push the envelope, watch it bend
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind
Withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind
Feed my will to feel this moment
Urging me to cross the line
Reaching out to embrace the random
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come
I embrace my desire to
I embrace my desire to
Feel the rhythm, to feel connected
Enough to step aside and weep like a widow
To feel inspired
To fathom the power
To witness the beauty
To bathe in the fountain
To swing on the spiral
To swing on the spiral to
Swing on the spiral
Of our divinity
And still be a human" ~ An excerpt from Lateralus
Great shot! I think the stars and Milky Way are well processed and you it looks like you dealt well with what looks like some light pollution (or perhaps the remnants of sunset/rise?) on the horizon. There might be a little haloing around the pagoda, but that's often the case with these shots. My one criticism would be on the composition and perspective of the pagoda. I like what you tried to do, but the perspective warp from this vantage point and angle are so pronounced that it becomes a little distracting and feels almost unnatural. If you have a chance to go back, I might play around with different perspectives and compositions. Again, great shot and I hope this wasn't too harsh--I really do like this shot!
Yes, it's light pollution from a nearby city in Upstate NY. Funny cause now that I'm viewing the image smaller the haloing is more pronounced or prevalent. I think I am going to go back and see if I can D&B some of it away. As far as the perspective/angle, the position of the where the milky way is and dealing with the actual structure of the Pagoda didn't leave me with much room to change from this perspective. I do see what you mean, but it doesn't bother me. I actually kinda like how the top part of the stupa looks like it's getting sucked into outer space. Not harsh at all. If we can't learn from constructive criticism then we never progress as artists. I might post a wider landscape shot in a week or so. I got some of the sunset and one with the milky way, but this was my favorite. Thank you!