Startrails, maybe my first in my 52

  • Thread starter Deleted member 49549
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 49549

Guest
Hi all, had another go at startrails this evening. Condensation formed on the lens hence the short trails.

Thought i may make it my first entry in the 52 under the theme direction.

stacked%20image-Editscreen%20sharpened-2.jpg
 
Maybe by accident, but the short trails work well - they really give a sense of movement.
 
4737carlin said:
Ace, Condensation is a nightmare. how did you light the sign? also interested to know what setting you had for this shot, a high ISO ?
Click to expand...

Hi Carlin,

the star trails were 30 odd exposures stacked in starstax. the exposure for each was 30s, f2.8, iso 1600, 17mm.

The sign was a single shot, 5s, iso 200, f8, again at 17mm but focus point on the sign rather than infinity. I lit the sign with a torch set on a wide beam and moved around to try and limit the shadows. Changing the focus from infinity to approx 1m also appeared to change the focal length, which meant the sign was a different size and was a bit of a nightmare to mask properly..

Also managed to find north this time...
 
looks a fantastic shot to me right down to the blueness of the sky but if only the star trails wer longer...
 
I like this but I think the framing on the left is too tight and the lines on the bottom right interferes a little.
Overall nice photo though
 
Shutter said:
I like this but I think the framing on the left is too tight and the lines on the bottom right interferes a little.
Overall nice photo though
Click to expand...

Hi Chris, i have to agree with your comment on the framing. A little annoyed i cropped the sign...

And i hadn't noticed the cable and pole in the bottom right, i'll try a clone to remove those. If the skies are clear tonight i may try a reshoot, going to have to investigate how to avoid condensation on the lens.

Cheers
 
I like and am meaning to have a go at one of these myself. Just one point, is there a reason for such a wide aperture and high iso on a shot like this. Not too sure of the mechanics of this type of shot.

Steve
 
Lovely colours and trail. Agreed it's a shame you cut off the tip of the post.
 
steve_v said:
I like and am meaning to have a go at one of these myself. Just one point, is there a reason for such a wide aperture and high iso on a shot like this. Not too sure of the mechanics of this type of shot.

Steve
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

I stacked multiple images for this shot, and i found previously that with quite dark skies, f2.8 30s iso 1600 gave a decent exposure. Here's a single shot:-

D300s-_DSC9763resize%201200.jpg
 
Rapscallion said:
Hi Steve,

I stacked multiple images for this shot, and i found previously that with quite dark skies, f2.8 30s iso 1600 gave a decent exposure. Here's a single shot:-
Click to expand...

Cheers (y)
 
I think the reason the sign was clipped in the final image is the lens zoomed slightly when focussing on the sign. In the single images the sign is just in the frame. Something else for me to be aware of ..
 
Can I ask you about how you got the signpost in such sharp focus in the stacked image, when in the single frame the stars are in focus but the post not?
 
Rapscallion said:
If the skies are clear tonight i may try a reshoot, going to have to investigate how to avoid condensation on the lens.

Cheers
Click to expand...

To avoid dew on the lens the best thing is some sort of heater . You can get specialist dew heaters for telescopes for about £25. I use one and they are pretty good - have a look on ebay for DEW-NOT dew band . You can also make one quite easily - see link below.
http://www.dewbuster.com/heaters/heaters.html

Or you can try wrapping those little hand warmers round your lens inside a sock - I've heard of people doing that with good results.
 
Hi Jon,

I shot 30 or so for the startrails and stacked those in starstax.

I then focussed on the sign and lit with a torch, and merged the sign and startrails in photoshop. I wouldn't have been able to focus on the sign and stars unless i used f16 or so, so had to use 2 separate shots.

The 2 shots were then merged in photoshop, and used a layer mask where necessary.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I read a thread somewhere about dew on lenses, and some guys used the reusable hand warmers elastic banded to his lens just to take the edge off. I picked up a pack of two for about a quid from Aldi.
But to slag off your image, I mean critique, ;-) what WB did you use, it looks a little blue to me. Other than that its a fantastic shot, the sign post really makes the image.
 
Hi Danny - thanks for the critique :LOL:

The wb for the individual images was auto from the camera, at 3400k. I used the following settings in loghtroom before doing the layer mask in photoshop.

Lightroom.jpg


As you can see below, the original putput from stacking was a little 'flat'.

Lightroom-1.jpg


(y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top