Approve the Cookies
This website uses cookies to improve your user experience. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies and our Privacy Policy.
OK
Forums  •   • New posts  •   • RTAT  •   • 'Best of'  •   • Gallery  •   • Gear
Guest
Forums  •   • New posts  •   • RTAT  •   • 'Best of'  •   • Gallery  •   • Gear
Register to forums    Log in

 
FORUMS Photo Sharing & Discussion Astronomy & Celestial 
Thread started 02 Feb 2010 (Tuesday) 23:30
Search threadPrev/next
sponsored links (only for non-logged)

Seriously Better Second Attempt (Star Trails)

 
theague
Mr. Monkey Pants!
Avatar
10,614 posts
Gallery: 11 photos
Likes: 247
Joined Jun 2006
Location: Puyallup, WA
     
Feb 02, 2010 23:30 |  #1

So with some much clearer skies I made a second attempt at star trails. I'm MUCH happier with this version, despite the stupid street lights. This was the best position I could get in my back yard. I have lights everywhere to contend with. :(

30 second subs again. Rest of the exif is in the border of the image this time.

IMAGE NOT FOUND
HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png' | Redirected to error image by ZENFOLIO PROTECTED

- Kody

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
TheBigDog
Goldmember
2,068 posts
Gallery: 34 photos
Likes: 681
Joined Jul 2009
Location: Sicklerville, NJ, USA
     
Feb 03, 2010 08:36 |  #2

nice job Kody! I would maybe try to angle it up a bit more, you'll cut out the fence and the top of the house but you should still get a decent amount of your house and as a bonus should cut out the street light and get even more sky


Christian
http://www.cegphotogra​phy.com/ (external link)
Member, Full Disc Aviation (external link)
Flickr (external link) * Facebook (external link)
Instagram (external link)Aviation Instagram (external link)

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
FocalPrincess
Cream of the Crop
Avatar
8,223 posts
Joined Jun 2008
Location: Hibernating near Hershey
     
Feb 03, 2010 10:46 |  #3

Kody, those look great! I'm curious what differences you made in your setup this time.


Blog (external link) | Galleries (external link)http://www.dbimpressio​ns.com (external link) "The artist is nothing without the gift, but the
gift is nothing without work." ~ Emile Zola

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
Permagrin
High Priestess of all I survey
Avatar
77,915 posts
Likes: 21
Joined Aug 2006
Location: day dreamin'
     
Feb 03, 2010 12:39 as a reply to  @ FocalPrincess's post |  #4

Nice. I think you did much better on your 2nd attempt. Cool shot.


.. It's Permie's world, we just live in it! ~CDS

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
theague
THREAD ­ STARTER
Mr. Monkey Pants!
Avatar
10,614 posts
Gallery: 11 photos
Likes: 247
Joined Jun 2006
Location: Puyallup, WA
     
Feb 03, 2010 12:46 |  #5

FocalPrincess wrote in post #9532466 (external link)
Kody, those look great! I'm curious what differences you made in your setup this time.

D, the biggest difference I think is the clouds. There weren't any last night and there were a bunch during my first attempt. Second is the lens/focal length. First try I shot at 28mm and this time it was 17mm. The star trails themselves still have small gaps in them where the shutter closed then had to open for the next image but they're smaller at the wider angle. I might try even wider next time if I can get away from street lights. I think having stable elements in the image makes a difference too. I'm hoping next time I do this I can get stable elements that actually add to the image. We'll see.

Permagrin wrote in post #9533243 (external link)
Nice. I think you did much better on your 2nd attempt. Cool shot.

Thanks Lisa. I'm enjoying the testing and learning :)


- Kody

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
Anke
"that rump shot is just adorable"
UK SE Photographer of the Year 2009
Avatar
30,454 posts
Likes: 3
Joined Oct 2006
Location: Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK
     
Feb 03, 2010 12:49 |  #6

Nice shot, I like the way the roof gives the sense of looking up.


Anke
1D Mark IV | 16-35L f/2.8 II | 24-70L f/2.8 II | 70-200L f/2.8 II | 50 f/1.4 | 600EX-RT and ST-E3-RT
Join the Official POTN UK South-East Thread | Follow me on Twitter (external link) | Tunbridge Wells (external link) | Flickr (external link)

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
joayne
Cream of the Crop
Avatar
14,385 posts
Gallery: 3 photos
Likes: 3858
Joined Feb 2005
Location: Stuck @ Coachella
     
Feb 03, 2010 13:52 |  #7

These must make you much happier Kody!
It looks great, tho, sorry about the streetlamp ;)
Nice Trails!


joayne Contribute to POTN | Worldwide Photo Week

Please Quote the post to which you are responding.

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
surfnvb7
Member
34 posts
Joined Jun 2007
Location: Charlottesville, VA
     
Feb 03, 2010 16:27 |  #8

how many 30sec pics did you have to stitch together? and how long did the shot take overall?


~Al~
Canon 40D w/ grip, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC, Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon 70-200mm f/4L, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Macro, Kenko tubes, Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
theague
THREAD ­ STARTER
Mr. Monkey Pants!
Avatar
10,614 posts
Gallery: 11 photos
Likes: 247
Joined Jun 2006
Location: Puyallup, WA
     
Feb 03, 2010 17:22 |  #9

Anke wrote in post #9533309 (external link)
Nice shot, I like the way the roof gives the sense of looking up.

Thanks Anke ;)

joayne wrote in post #9533700 (external link)
These must make you much happier Kody!
It looks great, tho, sorry about the streetlamp ;)
Nice Trails!

it's all a learning process. I'm thinking about other places I can shoot so hopefully I'll get some better ones in the coming weeks as the weather allows.

surfnvb7 wrote in post #9534773 (external link)
how many 30sec pics did you have to stitch together? and how long did the shot take overall?

For this image I shot 101 frames, roughly 50 minutes. I'm thinking about getting a battery grip so I can shoot with multiple batteries for rather long periods of time ;) If I were to do a longer time period though I'd want a better field of view.


- Kody

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
Adrena1in
Goldmember
1,703 posts
Joined Aug 2007
Location: Winchester, Hampshire, UK.
     
Feb 05, 2010 05:06 |  #10

theague wrote in post #9535087 (external link)
If I were to do a longer time period though I'd want a better field of view.

Big improvement over the first attempt. The beauty about shooting star trails is you can just plonk your tripod down any-old-where and, assuming you have enough battery life, shoot for ages, without having to do any alignment or tracking or stuff like that.

I personally never go for longer than 30 or 40 minutes at 18mm or so, simply because the trails can almost look too long sometimes, and it can get unnecessary. I also like to try and get Polaris in my shot, to show how all the other stars seem to circle around it and give more of an idea of the rotational movement of the earth. However, I do like the way you've got a double-curve thing going on in your image.


Canon EOS 450D, Sigma 18-200mm, Canon 50mm f/2.5 Macro, 2x TC, Revelation 12" f/5 Dobsonian, Mintron PD2285-EX webcam.

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
theague
THREAD ­ STARTER
Mr. Monkey Pants!
Avatar
10,614 posts
Gallery: 11 photos
Likes: 247
Joined Jun 2006
Location: Puyallup, WA
     
Feb 05, 2010 14:30 |  #11

I'll have to get my dad outside with me so he can show me where Polaris is. ;) I'm no astronomer but he is. I know some constellation names but that's about it. I've seen this in a few other shots and I'm going to try it next time I get out. I've got a spot I want to go try but it looks west so I'm not sure if Polaris will be in that field of view. We'll see :)


- Kody

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
SteveInNZ
Goldmember
1,426 posts
Likes: 89
Joined Nov 2007
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
     
Feb 05, 2010 15:10 as a reply to  @ theague's post |  #12

Maybe this is your chance to impress your dad. You know roughly where north is, right ?
Put your tripod at about eye height and point the camera northwards with something you can recognize (tree, building, post) at the bottom of the frame and do a star trail.
Once you've processed it, print it out. The stars will all be rotating around the north pole.
Go and stand in the same place you had your tripod and using your landmark for reference, you'll find Polaris yourself.

Steve


"Treat every photon with respect" - David Malin.

  
  LOG IN TO REPLY
sponsored links (only for non-logged)

2,441 views & 0 likes for this thread, 9 members have posted to it.
Seriously Better Second Attempt (Star Trails)
FORUMS Photo Sharing & Discussion Astronomy & Celestial 
AAA
x 1600
y 1600

Jump to forum...   •  Rules   •  Forums   •  New posts   •  RTAT   •  'Best of'   •  Gallery   •  Gear   •  Reviews   •  Member list   •  Polls   •  Image rules   •  Search   •  Password reset   •  Home

Not a member yet?
Register to forums
Registered members may log in to forums and access all the features: full search, image upload, follow forums, own gear list and ratings, likes, more forums, private messaging, thread follow, notifications, own gallery, all settings, view hosted photos, own reviews, see more and do more... and all is free. Don't be a stranger - register now and start posting!


COOKIES DISCLAIMER: This website uses cookies to improve your user experience. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies and to our privacy policy.
Privacy policy and cookie usage info.


POWERED BY AMASS forum software 2.58forum software
version 2.58 /
code and design
by Pekka Saarinen ©
for photography-on-the.net

Latest registered member is griggt
1443 guests, 124 members online
Simultaneous users record so far is 15,144, that happened on Nov 22, 2018

Photography-on-the.net Digital Photography Forums is the website for photographers and all who love great photos, camera and post processing techniques, gear talk, discussion and sharing. Professionals, hobbyists, newbies and those who don't even own a camera -- all are welcome regardless of skill, favourite brand, gear, gender or age. Registering and usage is free.