Look up to the Stars

[photomarcs]

so... what do you think?

Star trail I did up at flat rock

[CraigVTR]

Great shot. Love the colours and the cloud coming through at the angle. I must go outside after dark and try one of these myself.

[surenj]

Looks like a little light pollution may be at play! I had been taking BigV shots for granted. I had forgotten how difficult these are!

Do you have exif info for this shot Marcs?

How did you know where to find the centre of the universe?

[photomarcs]

Thanks Craig

@ Suren,

If I shared the exif, someone would kill me for my unorthadox settings. hahahahahah

[surenj]

If I shared the exif, someone would kill me for my unorthadox settings. hahahahahah

I did notice the ISO 3200-7D type of chroma noise there... or is it ISO 1600? I sure hope those bands are not from the sensor...

[photomarcs]

If I shared the exif, someone would kill me for my unorthadox settings. hahahahahah

I did notice the ISO 3200-7D type of chroma noise there... or is it ISO 1600? I sure hope those bands are not from the sensor...

Hahaha it's a 5D Mark II actually... at 1000 ISO to be exact. F4 I think...... and about 850". oh! and the 24-105 f4L at 24mm was the choice of focal length. There. Now shoot me.

[surenj]

at least I got the Canon part right!

Thanks for the exif info Mark. How many batteries did you go through that night?

[Wink]

What's the preferred method for star trails? Or what give the best results?
I've seen both long single exposure and many shorter exposures blended in post with some form of software.

[Big V]

A fine start to this area of photography.
As to which method is better - that is determined by how much light pollution you are facing and how much noise your camera generates on long exposures. If you are in a light polluted area, then you will have to use short enough exposures that record the stars but not so long that the sky colour changes to that horrible brown/orange hue. In dark skies, the general rule of thumb is go as long as you can - easily 5 to 10 minutes will work. Light polluted area you may be restricted to 30 seconds as a max. Another hint do not use to high an ISO and use arounf F4 for good results. Stacking the frames to create the trails is easily done in PS and there are many examples of how to do this - google is your friend.