:1orglaugh

nice pics doode!

http://thsrv.com/p/sm_CRW_5472.jpg

On second thoughts, maybe you don't need so long. This is an image I did a few years ago, there are a couple of technical issues with it but I guess it looks ok. The shutter was open for 41 minutes. (It SHOULD have been open about 2-3 times that...)

The problem is finding a direction with minimal light pollution. At least around here. Guess I could drive to Wyoming. :winkwink:

Are you using a wide angle lens?

Reason I ask is these were my best star trails, but they seem too close.



http://juliablue.com/stars7389.jpg


http://juliablue.com/stars7390.jpg

I may have been pointing straight up for those. I guess that could be part of it, but again, I was trying to avoid light pollution.

Yep, I was using a wide angle lens @12mm which on that camera is equivalent to 19.2mm on a full frame/film camera.

I tend to do my night shots well out of the city area, as well as the light pollution issue it also means I'm less likely to freak out someone (or have them harass me) because I'm sitting on a foldout chair at 2am doing nothing...

Remember for star trails (with no foreground object) you'll want to manually set your focus to infinity.

Well, we were 100 miles out in the desert, but around here if there isn't a town within 30 miles there are going to be campers . . . which is how we got the headlights.

I am not sure I understand how to set the focus to infinity.

Is it a DSLR or P&S? If it's DSLR then you should be able to switch the lens to manual and rotate the focus ring so the focus mark aligns with the infinity mark. (The focus ring on "full lock" sometimes goes PAST infinity so you need to align them visually)

If it's P&S then it's anyone's guess... if you can't focus manually then there may be a landscape preset.

Here's my experience.
If you're in the northern hemisphere (which you are :winkwink:) the point of star rotation is around the north star. Very easy.
If you're in the southern hemisphere, find the southern cross, and 'copy' its height 2.5x below its tail - that's the rotation point.

You'll start to see the effects of rotation become prominent after 5 minutes. A full rotation is 24 hours (kind of logical) - so you get 1 degree of turning every 4 minutes. Obviously the stars further away from the rotation point will appear to move further, but that may not be the effect you're looking for.

Best piece of advice w/ star trail photos is that you probably want a decent subject in your foreground. Use the widest lens possible to maximise the effect, find some nice foreground, shuffle around til you get the point of rotation right, and then off you go.

It's a nice effect, easy to have too much of it though.
One of my favourite shots is
http://www.phys.ncku.edu.tw/~astrola..._heller_c1.jpg

The guy who takes it is a master photographer (and I don't give that term lightly) - he has a terrific page with good, to the point information:

http://www.danheller.com/star-trails.html

beautiful pics dude!

It is a DSLR, however, there are no markings on the focus ring. I have contemplated adding my own. Would make it so much easier on me.

Thank you for your input. I was directed to Heller last night. Will have to check out his site.

nice shots

http://thsrv.com/p/sm_CRW_5461.jpg

For some contrast here's the same bridge from a distance... I tried a star trail but the moon also trails, which just looks weird.

thanks for sharing!!! indeed beautiful

We were watching the moon this evening as we had gone out to have dinner with my daughter and took one of the bikes. Later we walked the dog and were discussing how it was traveling across the sky here. The subject of moon trails came up.

Is it your experience that if we did a 20 minute exposure it would not be worth it?

Try to get a pic of an iridium flare, they are pretty common and should make for an impressive photograph.

Or, the space station flying overhead would leave an impressive trail without anything else leaving one because it moves so fast.

It will overexpose your photo in a snap.
Moon trails ain't so pretty :D

http://www.ninjito.com/images/2009-11-17/qx-pano-4.jpg

That's about 6m of exposure time, and you can see if it was 20, the moon would be smeared all over the place, and not look so elegant :)

fucking great pics man! keep'em coming

It's coming up to midnight again, and tonight I'm going for it. The sky is very lightly clouded so I'm banking on it clearing rather than getting heavier. Moon goes down in about 90 mins which is around the time I'll arrive at the location... a gully with a waterfall that is hopefully flowing at the moment due to heavy rains. Might even get on GFY while I'm waiting. :D

Good luck.

I'm here now, it's 3:30am, and I'm trying out my new fangled wireless internet. It's pretty dodgy but then I'm in a rural area. Things didn't go quite the way I expected - can't get a really good angle that catches the stars, water pool and waterfall - but I've set up my timer to do a couple of 1 hour shots anyway. After that the sun's up. :)

I think tonight's more about getting out than getting a good shot. I'll only have two to show, and they'll be framed exactly the same...

the pics are ugly as fuck but i got your idea, gotta be visiting the palce to feel it.

Great pics :thumbsup:thumbsup