Originally posted by DK77 Hi Mark, and thank you so much!
I don't mind you asking. I'm going to write up a short "making of" post for this image, but I'll answer your question. It is a composite of two, but only in the sense that I took two exposures of the exact same thing with the tripod locked down - one was shorter, to prevent star trailing, and one was longer with a lower ISO to give me a cleaner foreground. So yes, the Milky Way was really there.
I am not exactly a professional, but I am trying to get there. I've only shared the photo online, it's not in a magazine or anything like that.
Again, thank you.
Hi DK77,
If your two-shot "composite" qualifies as an HDR shot (and I think it should), I would strongly suggest that you submit it to the National Geographic Annual Photo Contest for 2015 (category "location"),
but the deadline for submissions is November 16th at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, so you would need to act quickly if you want to enter it this year. Here's a link to the contest:
2015 National Geographic Photo Contest | National Geographic
I was very impressed with your photo before, of course, but I'm completely blown away that you captured the Milky Way at the same location and time. I've never seen the sky so clear at night anywhere on the Oregon Coast, so the photo you captured is not only stunningly beautiful but truly unique as well. I think you should submit it to National Geographic with the description of how you made the shot, so that it is clear to them that the sky part wasn't taken out in the desert somewhere. :-)
Again, congratulations on the shot and your win on the Pentax Forums!
With kind regards,
Mark H.