My First Attempt @ Star Trail Photography

[wunaladreamin]

Hey all, this is my first real go at star trail photography. Shot from the back yard of our vacation house in Ocean City, NJ and comprised of about 220 exposures set to 30 seconds at f4, and stacked using a dedicated star trail stacking program.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7673807666_489ec11b4c_c.jpg

And here's the fiery sunset that preceeded this image
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7710873178_195892a9de_c.jpg

Any c&c is welcome as this was a very fun image to put together and I'm already planning more locations to more shoot star trails from!

[Fighting_falcon_51]

Great job Kenny!

This is something I have wanted to try for awhile. I tried it once just taking one long exposure but it came out like crap. The next time I get around to doing it I'll have my laptop handy and use the stacking program.

[lijk604]

220 photos stacked, Jee-zus, how long did that take to process?

Nice work Kenny, it's on my list of things to try, just haven't gotten there yet.

[moose135]

Very cool, Kenny! I've wanted to try that, maybe if I'm in a darker area in the future...

[gonzalu]

Kenny, great shot. I have a few that I need to process. So, I am certain you know these tips but, maybe others can benefit

--Shoot towards the North Star (Polaris) in order to get a perfect a circle as you want. The further away, the flatter the circle...
--Take a separate regularly exposed frame for the foreground and sandwich with star trail result in post :tongue: otherwise, the stacking needs to be done with something like Registax or a different layer blending mode in Photoshop.
--Bring a small TV and cooler with lots of beer!

[wunaladreamin]

Thanks guys! John, I used this program I downloaded from startrails.de and it handled it all rather quickly. A quick run through PS and all the editing was done, stacking and all, in around 10 minutes. Manny, I would have loved to have been able to aim for Polaris. Problem was light pollution coming from Atlantic City. Kenny, when you make the attempt, remember to shoot with the aperture wide open at 30 second exposures and keep your in camera noise reduction off. Using one super long exposure is only going to generate thermal banding.

[Zee71]

Kenny.........well done for the first time.

[wunaladreamin]

Thanks Mark!

[Just_Lucas]

Nice photos mate :)