Official post your Star Trail pictures

Awesome stuff here. Love Farmspin. Here is one from Sitka, Alaska. Single exposure for 45 minutes.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.smugmug.com …SNX/0/X3/i-5mR4SNX-X3.jpg

My first time shooting trails..was kinda windy so lots of motion in the trees in the foreground...i need to do better at exposing foregrounds for this type of stuff in the future...26 2min exposures stacked.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/wizardry/865248​2771/

My first attempt..

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tmuussoni/85714​81049/

Tmuussoni wrote in post #15832986
My first attempt..

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tmuussoni/85714​81049/
Le Grande Day by Tmuussoni, on Flickr

This is really great, love those tie die colors wrapped in

chuckie365 wrote in post #15831269
My first time shooting trails..was kinda windy so lots of motion in the trees in the foreground...i need to do better at exposing foregrounds for this type of stuff in the future...26 2min exposures stacked.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/wizardry/865248​2771/
Trails in our lives by Scapeshots, on Flickr

I definitely need a cooler tent! Love the composition here!

Wow! I'm really so jealous looking at those photos. I don't know how to use a 'stacked photo'

I have a question. Some are using a single exposure, what does a 45-minute exposure mean? Does it mean the shutter is open for 45 mins? Is drained battery ever an issue if the exposure is this long? I want to try doing star trails too.

Sorry for the noob questions. Thanks.

kelikoi wrote in post #15875164
Wow! I'm really so jealous looking at those photos. I don't know how to use a 'stacked photo'

I have a question. Some are using a single exposure, what does a 45-minute exposure mean? Does it mean the shutter is open for 45 mins? Is drained battery ever an issue if the exposure is this long? I want to try doing star trails too.

Sorry for the noob questions. Thanks.

i have only ever done them with a single exposure, never learnt or tried the stacking photos thing.. seems like a lot of extra work for the same result :P

i normally leave them for about an hour, and as faaarrr away from the city as possible!! and yes, a "45 minute exposure" would mean that your shutter is open for 45 minutes, use a remote trigger, and on the bulb setting. click once to start, and then after an hour or however long you want to leave it, click it again to stop the shutter from taking the picture. and your done!

and i have never had any problem at all with draining battery life!

i have a couple of my examples on a little blog post here:

http://www.hazephotogr​aphy.com …mer-has-finally-arrived-1

its not as hard as it looks, the biggest mistake people make is they do it close to a city, and then the sky gets very bright and its hard to see any stars (that was my mistake on my first attempt!)

Aweome shots Chilly & Haze!

I alway stack them now and I get 3 things from one shoot:

A Milky Way shot:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mikeymack/83574​69698/

To wish upon a star

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mikeymack/83531​03290/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mikeymack/81340​32635/

Thanks NCCHANT! Nice work outta you too!

What can you share about shooting the milky way? What kind of settings are you using on average? I want to get it this summer when it's more visible here. Any post details you can share? Thanks.

CHillyDoggy wrote in post #15879522
Thanks NCCHANT! Nice work outta you too!

What can you share about shooting the milky way? What kind of settings are you using on average? I want to get it this summer when it's more visible here. Any post details you can share? Thanks.

Thank you here's how I do it.

Use a wide angle lens, but other prime lenses get really nice results (see below).
Focus to infinity (if you can).
Use between 1600-3200 ISO or more if your camera can handle it, my 600D is good up to 3200 where I can still manage the noise.
Use the widest aperture you can, or stop down one notch for a slightly crispier star.
20-30 second exposures (I go 20 for just Milky Way shots, 30 if I feel like pushing it with a little bit of trailing).
I use Magic Lantern firmware on my camera, makes time-lapse photography piss easy, set it and leave it.
Bring a few beers, you may be a while. I aim for 2+ hours of shooting one scene.

PP in Lightroom, I generally edit the white balance, boost clarity, vibrance, saturation, lift the highlights if there wasn't too much light pollution.
Then open the file in Photoshop, add a brightness/contrast layer and boost them up until I'm happy

Milky Way shot with a 50mm prime lens:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mikeymack/84079​11820/

Thanks NCHANT! Looking forward to getting after it this summer!

HazePhotography wrote in post #15877537
i have only ever done them with a single exposure, never learnt or tried the stacking photos thing.. seems like a lot of extra work for the same result :P

i normally leave them for about an hour, and as faaarrr away from the city as possible!! and yes, a "45 minute exposure" would mean that your shutter is open for 45 minutes, use a remote trigger, and on the bulb setting. click once to start, and then after an hour or however long you want to leave it, click it again to stop the shutter from taking the picture. and your done!

and i have never had any problem at all with draining battery life!

i have a couple of my examples on a little blog post here:

http://www.hazephotogr​aphy.com …mer-has-finally-arrived-1

its not as hard as it looks, the biggest mistake people make is they do it close to a city, and then the sky gets very bright and its hard to see any stars (that was my mistake on my first attempt!)

Thank you so much Paul. You make it sound so easy Okay, I'll remember your advices and try it.

And those photos in your blog looks awesome!

NCHANT wrote in post #15880004
Thank you here's how I do it.

Use a wide angle lens, but other prime lenses get really nice results (see below).
Focus to infinity (if you can).
Use between 1600-3200 ISO or more if your camera can handle it, my 600D is good up to 3200 where I can still manage the noise.
Use the widest aperture you can, or stop down one notch for a slightly crispier star.
20-30 second exposures (I go 20 for just Milky Way shots, 30 if I feel like pushing it with a little bit of trailing).
I use Magic Lantern firmware on my camera, makes time-lapse photography piss easy, set it and leave it.
Bring a few beers, you may be a while. I aim for 2+ hours of shooting one scene.

PP in Lightroom, I generally edit the white balance, boost clarity, vibrance, saturation, lift the highlights if there wasn't too much light pollution.
Then open the file in Photoshop, add a brightness/contrast layer and boost them up until I'm happy

Milky Way shot with a 50mm prime lens:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mikeymack/84079​11820/
Milky Way @ 50mm by Mikey Mack, on Flickr

Am I missing something here, no tracking device was used or is needed?