Blending a Landscape Image with a Tracked & Stacked Sky in Photoshop | Star Adventurer 2i Tracker

[@TheLightExplorer]

Timestamps --------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:25 Photographing the foreground & sky on location 05:39 Focus-stacking the foreground in Photoshop 13:22 Processing the RAW files (Sky/ Orion) & converting to Tiffs 22:32 Stacking Tiffs in Starry Sky Stacker (Mac) 29:33 Blending the foreground & sky images in Photoshop 46:04 Conclusion

[@flyfisher8475]

I love everything about your presentations. They are so easy to follow. Thank you.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks much for your feedback. Glad you found the video useful.

[@adityasoni6185]

First of all, i am so thankful to you for your SAP2i video. I just bought SAP2i few weeks ago. As i was well prepared, i succeeded immediately. Now i am watching this👍👍👍

[@TheLightExplorer]

Hey Aditya - thanks so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it. I added a section on 'Dithering' and what value to use in the pinned comment section of that video - so please check that out as it will improve your captures. Please let me know if you have any questions on this video - happy to address any.

[@adityasoni6185]

@@TheLightExplorer yes! I just checked. Its very informative. Just wanna ask of we have to move RA axis manually? Of the SAM connected to Camera will do?

[@TheLightExplorer]

If you are connecting your camera to the Star Adventurer using the SNAP cable and controlling it via Wi-Fi, then the mount and the app will carry out the dithering for you. You don't need to do anything. Of course, it will dither only in the RA axis (as the motor only controls the mount in the RA axis).

[@janesmith1678]

Yet another great video. Really love your teaching style. Its in depth but now confusing. Great job.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Hi Jane and thanks so much for your feedback. Glad it was helpful! I always wonder if I ramble on too long, but just try and put myself in the shoes of someone with no knowledge about the subject and think... what would they want?

[@Mr09260]

Wow so well presented

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks a lot!

[@justkyle518]

Just watched your setup guide for the star adventurer 2i in hope one arrives for my birthday lol. Very detailed in depth information and explanations. These videos really helped me shed some anxiety about this type of setup/ photography/ post processing. Cant wait to step up my night photography game! Thanks!

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks for your feedback Kyle. You'll love the tracker for sure. 👍

[@staradventurer9706]

Your videos are very useful. I setup my 2i based on your guidance and result is fantastic. Next will go out n try this type of shot. Thankyou

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks much for your feedback. Appreciate it.

[@Guenounovitch]

this place is incredible

[@TheLightExplorer]

It really is.

[@hangerbird]

Thank You. Very informative. I never understood on how to do it but your video clearly shows me how to do it, so now I can attempt a landscape astrophotography shot. Also, I can see how some of these techniques can be used in regular photography as well.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks for your feedback. Glad you found the video helpful.

[@vitami1]

Great tutorial! Greetings from Greece

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks much for saying hi! I love Greece. Been there multiple times. 😀

[@RafaelPalaciosJubete]

I've recently discovered your channel, and videos are really helpful, and that one is not an execption. Thanks a lot for them. I'm looking forward to see a video on how you processed the milky way in PI. Congrats from Madrid!

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks much for the feedback - I really appreciate it. I got a few other requests via email to do a PI video too and I plan on doing a video of my workflow for PI. It won't deliver an in depth look into PI (as PI is so complex as you well know and I myself have barely scratched its surface), but will give a quick run-through of basic processing in PI. Hopefully that turns out to be helpful.

[@sheji100]

Very nice video sir, easy & useful techniques.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks Sharjeel. Glad you found it useful.

[@yervantparnagian5999]

Fantastic video and work. Although I don't use PI, I would love to see how you develop your images in PS.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thank you Yervant. Yes, I intend to make a video on the PS processing too.

[@yervantparnagian5999]

@@TheLightExplorer Your followers and I would love that!

[@jimdescher6964]

I got a Star Adventurer Pro Pack 2i for Christmas. I have set it up and thanks to your videos, I'll be shooting soon. I was wondering about this video and processing. I am very good at Lightroom but not experienced at all in PS. What level of learning is required for the adjustments you've done here with the Milky Way and Orion blend? If I am a beginner PS user, can I do what you've done here? Thanks so much for your help!

[@TheLightExplorer]

Hey Jim and thanks for your note. You can do the adjustments in PS and there are a few tutorials on YT that will walk you through. I will say it is a little harder to use PS to stretch etc. I use Pixinsight - it is the defacto standard for astro processing. It is expensive (at $275 or so one time cost), but is a stellar program. They also give you a full 45 day trial license with no restrictions. So you could download that and try out the software and practice on it. Lots of tutorials on YT on how to use Pixinsight too. I will also be doing a basic beginner's tutorial for Pixinsight. Star Tools is a much simpler software to use (and much cheaper). Lots of folks like that along with Astro Pixel Processor. Finally, there is SiriL - it is completely free and has tutorials on YT too.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Forgot to mention that the Milky Way does not require extensive processing. You should be able to do that in PS or Lightroom. There are good tutorials on YT for those too. Orion is a little more involved and I did mine in Pixinsight.

[@sailingfromswitzerland]

Hello. Very nice demo (and also the video explaining the setup of the tracker). I'm curious about the sky image in this demo. I'm assuming you skipped over any edits you made to bring out the details in the sky image because this demo jumps from where you stacked 15 rather dark images to a finished sky image that is quite bright and full of detail. Could you please confirm that you did some considerable adjustments on the sky image between when the images were stacked and before you merged it with the foreground? Thanks in advance for your clarification, and keep up the great videos.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Hi and thanks much for your feedback. Yes, I did process the final stacked image in PixInsight and Photoshop. I believe I mention that somewhere in the video. I was planning on doing another video eventually showing the process - currently I am just finishing working on a video that shows how to use the Star Adventurer App.

[@amacmedia3221]

Excellent tutorial, thank you. I’ve just subscribed to your channel, do you have any tutorials for how you edited your stacked night sky image?

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks much for your note. I don't have it currently, but plan to do one in the near future as I have had several requests.

[@amacmedia3221]

@@TheLightExplorer cool, I look forward to it

[@gloubiboulgazeblob]

Suggestion for another tutorial : capturing the whole progression of Mars retrogradation event (or Jupiter or Saturn), which takes several months (this year 2022 it will take place in Taurus constellation starting end of September up to beginning of March 2023, opposition in December 8th with occultation of Mars by the full Moon !...), to take all pictures (1 per day, if possible) and blend them to make an animated GIF.

[@Chorge1972]

Very helpful! THX

[@TheLightExplorer]

So glad you liked it.

[@mahmoudeledrissi7234]

I just watched your video about the sky tracker sky watcher. I just want to ask why you didnt use star stacker software that is widely use but astrophotographers?

[@TheLightExplorer]

Hi Mahmoud - are you talking about PixInsight? I did use that in this video (but didn't show that as that is will be for another tutorial). If not PixInsight, which other software are you thinking about? Thanks.

[@BLarsenPhoto]

Very helpful thanks, and love the final image. What settings did you use for the sky, focal length and how many images was it altogether for the sky stack? Was the camera unmodified? I ask because it's impressive to see Barnard's loop so clearly.

[@TheLightExplorer]

Thanks Brendan. I used an unmodded DSLR (Nikon D850) and my Nikon 14-24mm lens. FL is 24mm. It's a stack of around 40 frames at 2 minutes each.

[@yervantparnagian5999]

@@TheLightExplorer I'm a little confused. You state a 24mm FL(focal length), yet you're using a 70-200?

[@TheLightExplorer]

Yervant, thanks much for that correction. The lens is a Nikon 14-24mm. I must have spaced out while writing the comment. I will correct it.

[@yervantparnagian5999]

@@TheLightExplorer No problem. You're doing a heck of a job. How many miles of walking are you doing to get to your sites? Looks like many!! Hopefully I'll be moving out that way this Summer. Tired of Rhode Island.

[@adityasoni6185]

One more thing! What focal length did u use? 24mm?

[@TheLightExplorer]

Yeah it was 24mm on full frame.

[@earthling-fh2mg]

Why didn’t you use starry landscape stacker?

[@TheLightExplorer]

Very few people use that. This is for the software that most people will use.

[@DougHanchard]

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