Photographing star trails

[Highlander71]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

This is like a work of art, it's beautiful.

I also find the Bay Tree of interest. It looks so clear and in focus. Presumably it did not move much during the whole event - I mean in the breeze?

These types of image really need a strong sillouette (sp?) in the foreground, a church or bridge or something.

[pressld2]

Definitely! The one above was just a test to see if it was as easy to do as the mag suggested - it was! I've already got a few ideas for locations with much more interesting foregrounds.

Another good tip is to point your camera northwards and try to get the pole star in frame or just off the edge. That way you get more curved trails.

Dave P.

[Highlander71]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Definitely! The one above was just a test to see if it was as easy to do as the mag suggested - it was! I've already got a few ideas for locations with much more interesting foregrounds.

Another good tip is to point your camera northwards and try to get the pole star in frame or just off the edge. That way you get more curved trails.

Dave P.

Look forward to seeing your next shots soon! .........still raining here!

[pressld2]

Another beautiful clear night last night - but cold! I spent 2 hours in a graveyard to get this shot...



I'm pleased with this one - a much more interesting foreground and I managed to get the pole star in frame again.

A few more tips to impart from last night's experience:

1. Dress warm and take coffee!

2. Make sure your tripod is rock solid from the start. I was set up on fairly soft ground and my tripod settled during the first 5 shots which meant all my star trails had little hooks on them! I excluded them from the merge and only used 195 of the 200 frames to create the final image.

3. Shoot after 10pm if possible. This one was taken at Farnborough in Kent which is very close to Biggin Hill and also on the flight path into Gatwick. During my shooting (which started at approx 8:20) a total of 41 aircraft flew past and contaminated 74 shots. These all had to be manually cloned out before merging the images. But there were only 2 or 3 images in the last 50 (after 9:30) that needed to be cleaned because the later it gets the fewer flights there are.

It's cloudy tonight with rain forecast for tomorrow. Not sure whe I'll get another chance to play.

Dave P.

[galanthus]

Dave that is one stunning shot Absolutely gorgeous, tho not sure I'd stand in a graveyard during the dark for 2 mins let alone 2 hours

[galanthus]

I became extremely motivated by your pic Dave. However, after zooming around the house gathering all equipment needed, realised our torch is broken so couldn't do it from the garden without risking injury Remembered we have a balcony outside patio doors in bedroom, whooped with joy and shot off to set the scene like a rabid whippet. Opened doors, just started raining and cloud covered in sky Maybe tomorrow

[pressld2]

Thanks galanthus. This was one of those rare (for me) occasions when I had a clear idea of what I wanted the final image to look like before starting, and I'm pleased to say that the end result is very close to what I was aiming for. (Which is even rarer for me! )

Hope your weather improves soon, and Andy's too.

Dave P.

[Highlander71]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Another beautiful clear night last night - but cold! I spent 2 hours in a graveyard to get this shot...



I'm pleased with this one - a much more interesting foreground and I managed to get the pole star in frame again.

A few more tips to impart from last night's experience:

1. Dress warm and take coffee!

2. Make sure your tripod is rock solid from the start. I was set up on fairly soft ground and my tripod settled during the first 5 shots which meant all my star trails had little hooks on them! I excluded them from the merge and only used 195 of the 200 frames to create the final image.

3. Shoot after 10pm if possible. This one was taken at Farnborough in Kent which is very close to Biggin Hill and also on the flight path into Gatwick. During my shooting (which started at approx 8:20) a total of 41 aircraft flew past and contaminated 74 shots. These all had to be manually cloned out before merging the images. But there were only 2 or 3 images in the last 50 (after 9:30) that needed to be cleaned because the later it gets the fewer flights there are.

It's cloudy tonight with rain forecast for tomorrow. Not sure whe I'll get another chance to play.

Dave P.

Dave, absolutely stunning shot, you should be very proud! We haven't had a clear night for 2 weeks up here and it's rained pretty much non-stop
Don't have many churches round here and i'm struggling to think of a decent foreground although perhaps the girder bridge over Loch Leven at ballachulish (if you've ever been up this way?)
Keep up the good work, you have a saleable photo there!

Andy

[pressld2]

Had another go last night and here's the result...



Thought I'd try an upright one. Another church in the foreground - I really wanted the Bromley war memorial with Armistice Day fast approaching but it's way too brightly floodlit and I couldn't expose for the memorial and the stars. I'd have to do a combination of star trails and HDR and I haven't got to grips with HDR yet. Something for the future...

This was going to be another combination of 200 shots but in frame 154 the clouds started coming in and by frame 160 it was raining! So I cut my losses and just used frames 1 to 153. There were a few aeroplane trails to clone out but nothing like as many as the Farnborough shot.

Anyone else had a go yet?

Dave P.

[gess]

Hi Dave
saw your photo, and as I said....you are one patient person!!! but what a result I think its really interesting and a great outcome

Gess