A fresh take on Star Trails

AndWhyNot

AndWhyNot

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Andrew
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I still remember the first time I captured a star trail in one of my night photos. I couldn't believe the earth rotated so fast for the effects to be captured in just a few minutes. Even today, it still amazes me that it's so accessible to record the very act of the world in motion. Camera, tripod, long exposure, star trails (well, nearly).

One thing that I heard over and over again when I started out was how it was impossible to shoot near ambient light and you needed to get far out of town. Living in a city it started to bug me, the journeying I was having to do to get a decent shot.

(Don't worry, the images are coming soon)

So, I did what any obsessive with a dislike of sleep would do and spent hours in the (metaphorical) field, practicing with all sorts of ideas, equipment and settings to get around the problem of light pollution. I even got S44d the first time I went out but didn't let that deter me.

The result? Urban star trails. From homes and flats to office blocks and floodlight landmarks, it's possible. Personally, I love how the images are devoid of any human element and instead all the motion is in the sky. What about you - I'd really like to get some honest opinions on both the images and the concept.

It'd also be great to see what other people can come up with so I've added a few pointers for urban star trails on my blog.

Anyhow, enough of an introduction- this is a photo sharing thread so here goes. They all click through to flickr with some additional info but if you think of any Qs I'll try and answer them here:

This was the one I was shooting when I got S44d- since received an official apology


Disused office block in Portsmouth City Centre


In the relief between mine and my neighbour's house


Sheltered accommodation overlooking Gunwharf Quays


Floodlight at Fratton Park


Hotel near Southsea Seafront
 
Spinnaker Tower was pretty tough given the lighting on and within


And just to prove it's not just that I struck lucky with a power cut in Portsmouth one night, here's a couple from London, shot on an all nighter with Dean aka //deanphoto.

Firstly the Gherkin...


...then NatWest Tower (security called this in but the police turned up and very rightly let us carry on)


If you've enjoyed this (lengthy) post keep an eye on my startrails set on flickr for some fresh images now the nights have started drawing in again. There's also a load of non-urban star trails in the set.
 
These type of shots always amaze me, its something I have tried and tried but never managed to pull a good one off !!
 
While the whole set is excellent, No 2 did it for me the most, in how the curvature of the star trails almost matches that of the building's. Great work!
 
Great work and a fascinating take on shooting in the urban environment :clap::clap:
 
Thanks for looking and the positive feedback. No haters?

Jayst84 said:
I'm sure I've commented on some of these on here before...
Click to expand...

That got me thinking...

I posted #7 before in its own thread and it bombed; was interested to see if the context of other similar shots here made a difference.

Had forgotten at time of writing this thread I also posted the glass building image before - just looked and that's the one you've commented on. In that earlier thread you mentioned about trying to extract more star trails from the building's reflections which I duly did. Interesting effect although I much prefer the original composition.

 
Absolute GENIUS!

Never thought it would be so possible to get trails in an urban setting. Really, I've tried in our back garden and everything ended up as an orange mess. Got some nice ones up in Lomond where it was absolutely pitch black but If I can crack urban trails then you've just given me HUGE inspiration to get back out at night.

What kind of exposure lengths were you taking for each image?

I've bookmarked your blog.
Cheers :)
 
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IanClark said:
What kind of exposure lengths were you taking for each image?
Click to expand...

I go for the longest I can manage which is usually 30 sec at ISO200 f/2.8, occasionally I can get an extra stop of light through aperture (Fratton Park floodlight = f/2) or ISO (between the houses = ISO400).

Sometimes there's nothing else for it but to knock the shutter speed by a stop or so though. Reason I try to avoid this is the tell-tale gaps between each frame can be sharpened out for screen viewing but look pretty bad in print. Plus, I'm already sticking up to a couple of hundred frames per stack on my shutter count- no point bringing my D300's death forward unnecessarily :)
 
how dose number 3 go round and round, where as most others go in an arc, and others go nearly straight ?

amazing shots btw, im in awe.
 
Great set.

Really liked the Gherkin image (y) Spot on the money in my opinion :)
 
Thanks for the recent comments :)

saxk said:
how dose number 3 go round and round, where as most others go in an arc, and others go nearly straight ?

amazing shots btw, im in awe.
Click to expand...

The circular stars are pretty much centred on Polaris, the North Star. The reason it's used for maritime navigation is because its position relative to the earth never changes. It marks the axis point if you like.

Meanwhile what causes the effect of the star trails is the earth's rotation on that axis. The further away from Polaris you're looking, the straighter your star trails will appear and the further they'll seem to travel for a given period of time.

I usually try and shoot between southeast and southwest to make best use of my time but sometimes the composition dictates otherwise, either for aesthetic or practical reasons.

Here's a 100% crop from the focal point of my most recent urban star trail post on flickr. It's well worth clicking through to see the whole image but I love this crop for just how crisp the details are, even after stacking.

 
AndWhyNot said:
Thanks for the recent comments :)



The circular stars are pretty much centred on Polaris, the North Star. The reason it's used for maritime navigation is because its position relative to the earth never changes. It marks the axis point if you like.

Meanwhile what causes the effect of the star trails is the earth's rotation on that axis. The further away from Polaris you're looking, the straighter your star trails will appear and the further they'll seem to travel for a given period of time.

I usually try and shoot between southeast and southwest to make best use of my time but sometimes the composition dictates otherwise, either for aesthetic or practical reasons.

Here's a 100% crop from the focal point of my most recent urban star trail post on flickr. It's well worth clicking through to see the whole image but I love this crop for just how crisp the details are, even after stacking.
Click to expand...


Ah i see, so the closer you get to the horizon the straighter the lines. Now i think about it, makes perfect sense.

I live in Greece at the moment, on kefalonia. 40D and all my kit is inbound and i just ordered a timer remote. I've been scouting some place to do star trails and have found some interesting foregrounds. Can't wait to try it out.

Thanks for the inspiration and info

Brad
 
Amazing pictures!! Thanks so much for this info. As I'm still a beginner I was just wondering, looking through the tips on your blog, you mentioned using a 50mm prime and a 2.8 f-stop, does that mean I could put my nifty to good use with any attempts at a star trail?

Pete
 
saxk said:
Ah i see, so the closer you get to the horizon the straighter the lines.
Click to expand...

Not quite. It's more about direction and hemisphere/ distance from equator than height/ how level you're shooting. Here's a non-urban example to illustrate the point visually- note the straightest trails are near the top of the frame whilst lower down there's a visible arc as the rotation around the southern pole star starts to become apparent.




PeteSnapz said:
Amazing pictures!! Thanks so much for this info. As I'm still a beginner I was just wondering, looking through the tips on your blog, you mentioned using a 50mm prime and a 2.8 f-stop, does that mean I could put my nifty to good use with any attempts at a star trail?

Pete
Click to expand...

I use my 50mm a lot, anywhere from f/1.4 when I'm in the back of beyond to f/2.8 in town. Needs careful composition to get the most from it though.
 
Great work as always Andrew, I always enjoy looking through your work, its great as it always inspires me from one night owl to another :D I combined a little bit of strobist work and star trails last night, I was quite pleased with the results though it has given me some real ideas for development..

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Great work and so rare to read a two page TP thread without a single negative comment in :). You must be doing something right :D.
 
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