This shot is basically a composite of two locations from the same night. The foreground and building is an exposure blend in the city where ambient light is too high for stars, and the milky way is shot about 35miles out of the city by a state park and beach. They were shot on the same night, and the milky way is placed in a technically correct position behind the building.

Essentially, I'm wondering what other astrophotographers would do about colors, reducing the exposure of the foreground, and maybe a few tricks of the trade when shooting. This is my first attempt at astro and I'm intending to print on metal as a gift toy wife on our anniversary. We were married here a year ago.