star trails

[Jon Ruyle]

I don't think the north star is relevant unless you want it in your picture.


I hope you'll post your reslults... I'd be interested to see them.

[mpphoto12]

haha thanks i can only shoot by my house for now so idk how great they will be lol If ther efis surrounding light like from a town do i need to zoon in more to get rid of it or just stop down to like f/20 for a lonnngggg time lol

[btaylor]

Stopping down isn't going to remove ambient light from a town/ city etc. That light is still going to filter into the shot and essentially reduce the time you can expose your shot for before everything gets washed out by ambient light. At f/20 you're going to find it difficult to pick up the light from the stars anyway unless you have a high ISO - which is the worst thing you cando for long exposures apart fromleaving the lens cap on.


The major downside of taking night shot near city lights is that you will see a lot less of the stars. Getting out of town makes a huge difference. I live in outback Australia and thestars are amazing if you travel into the middle of nowhere.

[Jon Ruyle]

I live in outback Australia and thestars are amazing if you travel into the middle of nowhere.

Living there is a fantasy of mine. I envy your starry southern night sky. (I just looked in the mirror and I'm actually green. Hope that clears up before I have to go to work...)

[mpphoto12]

could one of you maybe post some results? thanks

[mpphoto12]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpphoto12/3564691791/ Jon.... Here are the results of the big dipper i got a picture of tomight





Edit: this one is better but you can look at the others as well http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpphoto...n/photostream/ feedback would be greatly appreciated

[Jon Ruyle]

Okay, you guys have me hooked. I tried a few star trails last night and they came out okay but with not much aesthetic value. I think I need to try a recognized asterism as mpphoto12 did, or a wide angle with earthbound features included (as Colin did- I like that one).


What focal lengths and exposure times did you guys use? Colin's looks wider, and must have required a longer exposure (and a darker sky, I suspect). Did either of you try subtracting background glow?

[Colin]

Settings...


Shooting ModeManual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed )993 (seconds)
Av( Aperture Value )2.8
Metering ModeCenter-Weighted Average Metering
ISO Speed100
Lens16.0 - 35.0mm
Focal Length16.0mm


It was on a Rebel XT, so 1.6 FOVCF... If I had a full frame body, I think I would have still kept the 16mm (wider), but gone horizontal.


I don't even know how to subtract background glow []