1st Star Trail attempt

[Ruckus99ss]

Comments/advice def welcomed. I am not impressed I expected more, but what do you guys think?
http://ruckus.smugmug.com/photos/480177448_UYCb7-L.jpg

[Oliviero]

When/where was this shot? I'm not sure but it kinda looks like there might be a tad too much ambient light.

EXIF?

The composition is perhaps not that interesting but for the first try I'd say it looks good.

[Ruckus99ss]

When/where was this shot? I'm not sure but it kinda looks like there might be a tad too much ambient light.

EXIF?

The composition is perhaps not that interesting but for the first try I'd say it looks good.

it was in the middle of know where at midnight. iso 100 , bulb setting for about 15 mins or so. Next time I have to bring someone cause i couldnt see anything and heard a lot of noises all around and kept on getting scared lol

[Nighthound]

Very cool shot. You did great.

Can I make a request? I'd like to see one with the cactus just off center in the frame with Polaris just of to the side so you can see the north celestial pole and the spin.

I'm assuming you're in the desert southwest from the cactus, takes courage to be out there in the middle of the night. Lots of creatures on the prowl, good idea to have someone along to watch your back. See any rattlers?

[Oliviero]

Did you use a flash light to illuminate the cactus?

[Ruckus99ss]

nope no flash used

[amadain]

To ge the dramatic circular star trail effect you need to direct the camera at the north star. But I like the angle you have there, you can see both angles of the spin (or whatever it's called).

[Celestron]

Twin Polars and very nice shot ! Not often you see a double Pole , congratulations !

[siddr20]

Its a great first attempt.

I usually stack photos to when it comes to star trails instead of a single exposure.

Practice makes perfect and your 1st results are great :) Keep at it. Your 2nd attempt will be even better.

What lens was used and can you post up EXIF data. Ta

[Oliviero]

Here's a question for everyone. How do you know what exposure time to use? Can you leave it for 2 hours without overexposing the picture? I have no idea how bulb works.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Ruckus

[siddr20]

^ never done a really long exposure past 30mins for star trails, but i normally take an hours worth of 10-15 second exposures then combine it.

Best bet is to take a 20min exposure. See the results. If you think its alright try it at 30 and so on. Just experiment and see how you go.

Set the ISO as low as possible if you exposing it for that long.

Theres no right or wrong way for stair trails. There are many methods and each one works in different ways :)

[Joergeske]

Adding time will never overexpose the stars themselves, since we are in motion relative to the stars the light from the stars will slowly move crossed the sensor. Meaning no single pixel will see a star longer than a minute or so. However, if there is ambient light from the moon or a city you can easily over expose the sky.

Theoretically you would let an exposure run all night as long as it is dark out.

[renderwerks]

i couldnt see anything and heard a lot of noises all around and kept on getting scared lol

Nice shot.

I ended up buying an "accessory" I didn't consider when I started because of this... a pistol with a tac light.

My best friend is a cop and said he thought I was crazy for going out in the middle of the wilderness or desert overnight without one. Plus you're out there, all by yourself (sometimes), with several thousand dollars worth of equipment.

Another thing I've done to help with the darkness is to buy a couple sets of cheap solar "yard" lamps and some red glass dye at the local craft store. I coat the white LED in the lamp with the red dye and scatter them around my site. They came with spikes so I can stick them in the ground. If it's too rocky (desert), I've cut several square (3/4 x 4 x 4) pieces of wood and drilled a hole in the center that the light head will fit into. After night vision kicks in, it's nice to be able to see somewhat in a decent perimeter around you.

[Oliviero]

Sounds like a smart move. Although wouldn't such lights affect the outcome of any long exposure photo?

[renderwerks]

Sounds like a smart move. Although wouldn't such lights affect the outcome of any long exposure photo?

That was my first thought when I got the idea.

I bought some real cheapy lights from Harbor Freight Tools (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93863). I think they were on sale at $9.99 for four of them. I bought two sets.

They're pretty dim to start with, but after putting the red dye on them, I wondered if they would help at all, they were so dim! But, after about 20 minutes of being in the blackness with them, they offer just enough illumination to light up about an 8'-10' circle around them. They seem to direct their light down. I haven't noticed any artifacts in my images from them. I replaced the batteries in them with some higher capacity NiCd's and they last all night.

[Ruckus99ss]

I'll go back and check the exif tonight and post the details, i forgot to check the other day and am at work.

[dcad10]

Here's a question for everyone. How do you know what exposure time to use? Can you leave it for 2 hours without overexposing the picture? I have no idea how bulb works.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Ruckus

with film cameras, you could leave them on all night, but if you are shooting digital, you will need to do lots of short exposures and combine layers in PP. If you tried to leave your camera on for more than 30 minutes, the sensor will heat up and produce horrible noise. (pretty sure from what Ive heard, but havent ever left it on that long to try for myself).

[Schnac Vanopen]

it was in the middle of know where at midnight. iso 100 , bulb setting for about 15 mins or so. Next time I have to bring someone cause i couldnt see anything and heard a lot of noises all around and kept on getting scared lol

I'd have lasted about 15 seconds in case something with big teeth was creeping up on me :D

[Skippy29]

heard a lot of noises all around and kept on getting scared lol

haha, the same thing happens to me! Usually I am way out in the middle of BFE in the weee hours of the night, sometimes abandoned structures, etc. My senses are definitely on high alert!
I dig your shot btw, nice job.

[Ruckus99ss]

haha, the same thing happens to me! Usually I am way out in the middle of BFE in the weee hours of the night, sometimes abandoned structures, etc. My senses are definitely on high alert!
I dig your shot btw, nice job.
thanks...wish i had my camera with me out here. I'm stuck in the middle of Afghanistan and the sky at night in the mountains is awsome. Sorry for bringing back an old thread, havent been able to check these in a while and just responding back