star trails

[mattsartin]

question number one: how? do you have to havea cable release on bulband just hold it down a long time? can you use a wireless remote? i'm lost and curious. thanks in advance.

[Bob]

Restate your question - what problem are you trying to solve?

[mattsartin]

i want to take a picture of star trails and i don't know how

[mpphoto12]

A cable release on bulb mode for however long. It will be a long time so get an ac adfapter for your camera so it doesnt die during the exposure. Also a good tripod and try not to do it in windy areas.

[Ehcalum]

There are a couple of ways:


1. As mentioned, a cable release and a boatload of battery juice. A trail will start forming based on thefocal length. A longer focal length will show trails faster than a wide. Generally, the longer the exposuer thelonger and brighter thetrails.


2. Stack images. This is my preferred method.Instead of a single 45 min long expouser, take a series of smaller expousers of the same length and f stop (say2' at F8)and stackthem using Image Stacker or photoshop. If you have an interesting fore ground element, take a singlelonger exposuer, say 5' versus 2and blend that frame into the stack.


Makesure you have something interesting in the foreground. An egg timer helps with timing of expousers. Bring a book, caffinee, and warm clothes. In the northern hemisphere, the sky is better for starts in the dead of winter and not the height of summer. Having the NorthStar will cause full circles of trail and then arcs depending on how far the NS is away from the image.

[mattsartin]

Thanks! sounds like i should wait awhile since its about to be the summer