First attempt at Star Trails.

[DaveC Oz]

After weeks of either cloudy sky, or other time commitments preventing any chance to get star photo's, I finally got the opportunity last night. It was my first chance to give star trails a try, and overall I'm fairly pleased with the results. The image is 126 15 second exposures blended into one. Next time I will sequence the shots closer together.
The hut in the foreground is the Clear Hills Hut, also known as "Craigs Hut". It was originally built as a set for the movie, "The Man From Snowy River". This is now number three. The first was dismantled after the movie finished filming, then rebuilt due to popular demand. Bushfires destroyed that hut, and the present one is it's replacement.

The two non-trail images are the first and last of the sequence.

• Samyang AF 24mm F1.8
• 24.0 mm
• ƒ/1.7999999523163
• 15 sec
• ISO 800

• Samyang AF 24mm F1.8
• 24.0 mm
• ƒ/1.7999999523163
• 15 sec
• ISO 800

 

[Unframed Dave]

Not something I've ever tried, so I'm completely ignorant.

First off, I like the overall image.

When I zoom though, and I'm not talking about pixel peep level, its clear that the trails are sequential dots and not trails. They're also quite "fuzzy" compared to other trails I've seen. Could you not achieve similar simply using a long exposure?

 

[DaveC Oz]

Not something I've ever tried, so I'm completely ignorant.

First off, I like the overall image.

When I zoom though, and I'm not talking about pixel peep level, its clear that the trails are sequential dots and not trails. They're also quite "fuzzy" compared to other trails I've seen. Could you not achieve similar simply using a long exposure?

The main issue with long exposures that I've heard about from others is that if something like a bright meteor or other light source enters the frame then you lose the whole shot. I've also seen comments regarding possible sensor heat problems. For context, the 126 shots used were from 150, with 24 culled, due mainly to people wandering into frame with torches, and mobile phones. My biggest error was in my understanding of the settings on the A7CR's intervalometer, resulting in a 15sec gap between shots. I also forgot to pack the battery for my lens heater, I think that the dew on the lens is the fuzziness source.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Nice job. This was ironically much easier in film days, as there was little chance of sensor damage from leaving the shutter open. There's a lot more to it now, as you have highlighted above.
I've always been fascinated that we can capture the earths rotation.

 

[evacguy]

After weeks of either cloudy sky, or other time commitments preventing any chance to get star photo's, I finally got the opportunity last night. It was my first chance to give star trails a try, and overall I'm fairly pleased with the results. The image is 126 15 second exposures blended into one. Next time I will sequence the shots closer together.
The hut in the foreground is the Clear Hills Hut, also known as "Craigs Hut". It was originally built as a set for the movie, "The Man From Snowy River". This is now number three. The first was dismantled after the movie finished filming, then rebuilt due to popular demand. Bushfires destroyed that hut, and the present one is it's replacement.

The two non-trail images are the first and last of the sequence.
View attachment 53685View attachment 53687View attachment 53688

HI Dave, really like your images. The first one of Orion, is great, it's good to see it right side up - I was an amature astronomer in my youth in Australia and Orion was one of my favourite constilations. Still is, but here in the UK we see it the other way around which I always find disturbing! As you say, the fuzziness is possibly due to dew. How did you set focus? Did you set it just to infinity, that doesn't always work well. Often need to manually set focus on a bright star. I like your star trails, they are unusual, I think every star trail photograph I've seen has been continuous streaks from a single exposure or multiple long exposures. I like the short gap between exposures, brings home that they are really individual stars and we are on a rotating planet. I'm not sure why your EXIF info is not appearing in your single frame shots.

 

[Brownie]

Good early attempts, I'm sure you'll sort out the peculiarities as you progress. You've definitely put in the effort!

 

[Astacus]

After weeks of either cloudy sky, or other time commitments preventing any chance to get star photo's, I finally got the opportunity last night. It was my first chance to give star trails a try, and overall I'm fairly pleased with the results. The image is 126 15 second exposures blended into one. Next time I will sequence the shots closer together.
The hut in the foreground is the Clear Hills Hut, also known as "Craigs Hut". It was originally built as a set for the movie, "The Man From Snowy River". This is now number three. The first was dismantled after the movie finished filming, then rebuilt due to popular demand. Bushfires destroyed that hut, and the present one is it's replacement.

The two non-trail images are the first and last of the sequence.
View attachment 53685View attachment 53687View attachment 53688

Very nice - I envy you clear and dark skies. I did some experimenting in Namibia (now, that is a DARK sky - the stars were breathtaking). I tried trails, but also, created a short video of the moving stars (using each still as a frame in a video), which is another nice way to visualise them. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x38ZNqbysoI - bonus points for recognising the music! I also did some star trails in Zambia and was astounded by the colour variation. Of course, I knew all about stars' 'hotness', but when you look up, you just don't get that sense of colour variance.

 

[DaveC Oz]

Thankyou to all for your comments and tips. I am pleased with what I got, and there are still a few shots from this trip that I'm working on. It is a learning process that is also rewarding, firstly for the chance to spend so much time enjoying the scenery, and secondly for the way it is forcing me to develop my skills, and processing techniques.