Canon 40D @10mm, f5.6, ISO800, 45 minutes of 30sec exposures stacked with StarStax

I have taken about 4 other star trails but still hadn’t been happy with the finished images. Heading out I knew I wanted to make sure I pumped my ISO up to at least 800 and that I wanted a fairly clear landscape. Ballow view offered the best bet with some amazing trees that had been ring-barked over 50 years ago.

This week I want to share with you some quick tips on shooting star trails but I will be concentrating on how I process my star trails with photoshop and a great new free program I use called StarStax. I will have a video post latter this year on the technical side of star trails from the field.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I couldn’t be much happier with the way the image turned out. My gamble on the rotation of the stars was spot on and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for the next star trail adventure. Here are a few more shots taken the following day just down from my location the previous night.

Canon 40D @85mm, f5.6, ISO800, 180sec

Canon 40D @17mm, f4, ISO800, 250sec

]]> http://www.thephotojourney.com/2011/06/24/star-trails-ballow-view/feed/ 2 http://www.thephotojourney.com/2011/02/10/make-the-most-of-the-conditions/ http://www.thephotojourney.com/2011/02/10/make-the-most-of-the-conditions/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:01:30 +0000 Scott http://www.thephotojourney.com/?p=1630 All week I was searching for a great sunset but mother nature just didn’t do her part. So after another flat colourless sunset on Saturday afternoon I was running short on time for getting the weeks image when I realised the lack of clouds during the sunset presented me with the chance to shoot an image I had pictured in my minds eye for a the past year. So this weeks lesson is that you should shot for the conditions you have and make the most of them.

Since a I was 12 I have been spellbind by star trail images and its a technique I have been working on over the past 2 years but I still have plenty to learn. Anyhow the skys were clear and after dinner I headed out to the Coffs Harbour Jetty to setup for a 2 hour star trail session. The technique I use is to take continues 30sec exposures then using a program called Startrails V1.1 that merges all of the images together. After that I mask in with photoshop the best foreground image from the set or I use another photo that I had changed specifically taken to make the best exposure.

Here are a few of my first ever star trail images and I think I have slowly been improving over the 2 years. Plenty more to come this year.

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Mark is a freelance sports photographer based in Phoenix, AZ. I’ve been following his blog since the 2008 Olympic games in which Mark captured some amazing Olympic moments and showed us just how diverse his sports photography skills are. His work can be seen on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and loads of other sites.

He is one of very few sports photographers that shares how he sets up remotes and he doesn’t mind showing you his not so great shots, like when some stupid redneck fan gets in his way of a play.

© Mark J Rebilas

Trey Ratcliff – Stuck in Customs – http://www.stuckincustoms.com

Trey is the king of HDR Images. His blog is updated with a new striking image everyday or there about. He has traveled all over the world putting his HDR spin on some amazing world icons and even a few spins on different cultures.

He has written one of the most in depth tutorials on the technique of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography available on the internet. He teaches you how to use HDR in such suttle ways to enhance the image but not destroy it with halo effects and unreal colours.

© Trey Ratcliff

Dan Newton – Liquid in Plastic – http://www.liquidinplastic.com

Dan is one of the best star trail photographers I have come across on the internet. Like Dan I too became a fan of star trail photography when I got my first science text book in year 7. It happened to have a star trail over an astronomers observatory on the front cover.  Like Trey has his tutorial, Dan has an equally great tutorial on star trail photography.

Not only does Dan share his tips on star trails but he also gives great setup shots and details on his other still life shoots.

© Dan Newton

David Hobby – Strobist – http://www.strobist.blogspot.com

Strobsit is one of the most famous photography blogs in the world. David has shown the world the power of small off camera lighting. His Lighting 101 posts developed amateur on camera flash photographers into off camera pro’s and he followed this up with Boot Camp and Lighting 102. He steps you through how to get that flash off camera and even better how to do it on the cheap side by using old soup containers as diffusers and so forth.

© H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Zack Arias – http://www.zarias.com

Want the honest truth about photography? Well Zack will tell you, and who knows his wife meg may well help along the way.

Zack is  a full time editorial photographer and he will tell it to you as it is. He recently release his DVD titled OneLight Workshop and it looks to be a very well put together production.

One feature of Zack’s blog that i really did is his critiques. Basically a bundle of wannabe paid photographers send in there site to get critiqued. Zack and his wife Meg sit up to all hours discussing the selected sites giving tips and cracking some great jokes. If you want to know how or how not to layout your online portfolio well this is the place to find out. Oh what ever you do don’t use selective colouring and expect them to love it.

© Zack Arias

Udi Tirosh – DIY – http://www.diyphotography.net

Udi has built one hell of a diverse selection of DIY photography hacks and tips. Wanna know how to make gels for your strobes for cheap? Maybe you wanna build a light box or sound trigger. This place has it covered.

I have built a fair few things from the site and made a few modifications along the road. For us non-professionals there are some great hacks.

© Udi Tirosh