Just can't seem to do it!

Right now I'm sat in my car, in a dark country lane, kicking myself because I simply cannot seem to ever get any good star shots. Its only 9:30PM, can it really get much darker? I'm also suffering from slight light pollution from the near towns. I haven't lived here long so I was not sure where to go. I might have to drive an hour or so North to get a totally black sky.

I've been reading these forums for ages for tips etc but when I try to follow, I simply cannt seem to get them to work! All I wanted was a couple of single exposures to get me started!

Big sigh.

Ryan.

Can you post some samples?

And can it get darker than 9:30? Yes, it can.

I can't at the moment because I am on my mobile. Yeah I realised that was a silly question. I guess around midnight is best?

Pricey wrote in post #14127739
I can't at the moment because I am on my mobile. Yeah I realised that was a silly question. I guess around midnight is best?

Hi Ryan! It's hard to say what time is best in your location, one big thing is the moon and when it rises/sets and what phase it's in. Another thing, at least where I used to live, was that most of the businesses that were open after dark closed by 10:00 or 11:00pm and turned off a lot of their exterior lighting, reducing light pollution and making seeing much better after midnight.

Don't give up or get discouraged, I took many, many horrible shots before I got a good one. I still have nights when nothing seems to go well, but then when I do get a good one, makes it worth while. Where I live now, near a major metropolitan area, there is very limited chances to get any good shots, and it generally involves a bit of driving. Years ago I used to live in the northern part of the state where all I had to do was walk out the back door to have dark skies.

I do see quite a few members here from your area of the planet. I don't know how many are into astrophotography but you might want to start a thread in the general section asking that very question... Someone might know where in your area of Scotland can you find dark skies, and is there anyone willing to possibly join you and give you some pointers, or perhaps shoot some pictures and learn together. I would love to come over and help you... you live in such a beautiful area. Visiting Scotland is on my "bucket list" so one day...
Good luck and keep trying!

Yes, to answer the original question, we'd definitely need to see an example picture, and also know where exactly you're trying to take the pictures from "Scotland" is a big place....

Also, knowing precisely what you're trying to accomplish would be helpful as well. When you say you're trying to get "star shots", are you saying you just want a simple photo of the sky with some stars in it (like enough to make out a couple of constellations)? Are you trying to get star trail photos? Or are you trying to get a photo of the sky bursting with billions of stars (like those amazing Milky Way pictures that seem to show the entire heavens in the photo?)

I'd love to get the billion star version! Haha.

I'm currently in the car again. Just waiting. I've drove about an hour north past a place called Callander and sat next to a loch. I can hardly see my hand infront of my face.

The sky is filling up but I'm struggling of what mode/settings to start on. I've kind of been experimenting. Will try get a pic when I get home.

Can you see stars ? Can you see some you recognize ? Can you see the milky way ?
Let's start somewhere. Do you have the 50D and 50mm lens with you ?
Select ISO 200 and put the dial on M. Set the aperture to 1.8, shutter speed to 30 seconds and the shutter mode to 10 second delay.
Is there something like a house or a street light that's more than 100m away that you can get an autofocus lock on ? Maybe even a bright star. If so, focus on that and then flick the switch from autofocus to manual.
Point the camera at something you'll recognize (using a tripod or sitting on some rocks or something stable) and press the go button. Your camera may do an internal dark frame which means that there will be another 30 second delay after the 30 sec exposure. Just so you're aware of it.
Let us know how you get on.

Thanks! I shall give that a go now. I cannot see the milky way as of yet. Fingers crossed.

Though I mist ask, as silly as it sounds. How do I change aperture in M? I've only done it in Av before?

The dial on the back - You've probably figured that out by now.

How did you go?

Hi guys. Not very well again! Here are some examples... it appears that there was some cloud present and I still struggle with the focusing.

I'm no expert, but you can trying upping your ISO as it appears that you are only using ISO 400. Try 800, 1200,etc... and stop down to 1.8 or however wide open your lens will go. At 50mm, you should start to see trailing if you are not tracking, if so, lower your exposure to 15 - 20 seconds. Since you are using digital, and no expense other than your time is involved, just keep experimenting with different settings. Try taking multiple shots using every setting under the sun, when you see an image that you are happy with, stick with it. You may spend a few hours trying on your first night out, however, you will have an idea of what works for you at your location, the next night you can concentrate on subject matter. Most images with amazing clarity posted on this site and others are taken using tracking devices and guiding, you can achieve similar results by taking multiple shorter exposure shots and stacking them. Don't concern yourself too much with that right now as you first need to experiment with your settings. Good luck.

Hi, a few things--

First off, those pics aren't bad for a start. Obviously you want to get some more stars in, but you're definitely on your way.

I had a look at one, it looks like you shot it at 18mm, f5.8, ISO1600? If so, bear in mind you want to open up the aperture as much as possible if you're trying to capture as many stars as you can, as quickly as you can, without trailing. If your 18mm goes to f3.5 (I assume?), shoot at that aperture. Even f3.5, though, isn't all that fast of a lens--you'd have to do longer exposures.

You might want to try using your 50mm f1.8. That speed will at least gives you a fighting chance at getting lots of stars on the sensor quickly. Obviously you won't have as wide a field, but it'll give you a chance to do some comparisons with your 18mm lens.

Second, shoot photos in RAW rather than jpg if you aren't already. RAW will allow for more post-processing.

Third, you'll certainly need a clear sky (no clouds/haze), otherwise even the best photographers will be out of luck trying to shoot star pictures

But really, there's no huge trick to it--set your ISO as high as you can without lots of noise (start at 1600), open your lens aperture as much as you can (use Manual mode or Aperture Priority to do this), put your camera on a tripod, and shoot for as long an exposure as you can (how long? Answer: try bunches of different ones and find out!) Then, use some post-processing as needed.

Good luck.

Try this: 18mm, f3.5, ISO 1600, 30s.

And 9:30 really isn't late enough I don't think!

Also, for future reference, Galloway forest park is great for star photos:
10mm, 30s, ISO 1600, f3.5

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Grab your 50, set it to 1.8, make your shutter speed 30 seconds, up ISO to around 3200/6400. Take a shot. Oh and set focus to infinity.