The night sky over Derbyshire

[DJMorgan]

I was driving back from Chesterfield passing through Derbyshire. I took this image below, detail isnt the best due to not having a tripod with me. I used my phone to literally prop the camera up towards the sky.

The Night Sky by DanielMorganPhotography, on Flickr

 

[DJMorgan]

for future terms then, can anyone suggest what I could do to improve night time photograph, especially with the sky?

 

[JennyGW]

http://www.davemorrowphotography.com/p/tutorial-shooting-night-sky.html

http://digital-photography-school.com/beginners-tips-for-night-sky-and-star-photography/

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-the-stars/

http://improvephotography.com/5955/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way/

 

[Phil-D]

Its a little dark (I suffered similar taking the shots of Ladybower) If your not wanting star trails you need to divide 500 by the focal length, in your case here, 500 divided by 18 = 27, so I'd go with a 25 second exposure.

Then, for every stop you up the ISO it will double the amount of light ie:- a 25 second exposure @ 100 ISO = 25, @ 200 ISO is equivalent to 50 seconds, 400 ISO is equivalent to 100 seconds, ect, ect,

Obviously by opening up the aperture to the max f3.5 would gain you a stop and a third, so 1.3x more light at 25 seconds

Hope that helps, I'd find it a lot easier to show you than I ever could writing it down

Edit

Here's a link explaining how to avoid star trails

I've just realised the 25 seconds @ 18mm is for full frame, you need to divide focal length by 350 on a D7000, scroll down and there's a chart for Nikon 1.5 crop bodies, but the same principle still applies

 

[Muzzieman]

Right a few pointers
1. Don't even attempt night photography without a tripod.
2. Exposure time no where near enough ideally 15-25 secs depending on aperture/ISO
3. White Balance, night shots look better cooler
4. Shoot in RAW to give you better editing options
5. Get out and shoot, experiment, practice makes perfect
6. Watch out for werewolves

 

[DJMorgan]

Right a few pointers
1. Don't even attempt night photography without a tripod.
2. Exposure time no where near enough ideally 15-25 secs depending on aperture/ISO
3. White Balance, night shots look better cooler
4. Shoot in RAW to give you better editing options
5. Get out and shoot, experiment, practice makes perfect
6. Watch out for werewolves

Its a little dark (I suffered similar taking the shots of Ladybower) If your not wanting star trails you need to divide 500 by the focal length, in your case here, 500 divided by 18 = 27, so I'd go with a 25 second exposure.

Then, for every stop you up the ISO it will double the amount of light ie:- a 25 second exposure @ 100 ISO = 25, @ 200 ISO is equivalent to 50 seconds, 400 ISO is equivalent to 100 seconds, ect, ect,

Obviously by opening up the aperture to the max f3.5 would gain you a stop and a third, so 1.3x more light at 25 seconds

Hope that helps, I'd find it a lot easier to show you than I ever could writing it down

Edit

Here's a link explaining how to avoid star trails

I've just realised the 25 seconds @ 18mm is for full frame, you need to divide focal length by 350 on a D7000, scroll down and there's a chart for Nikon 1.5 crop bodies, but the same principle still applies

Thank you for the link, I live In Manchester so forever surrounded by constant light, and light pollution, I`m going to be going away this march so I`m going to research this more, So I thank you for your suggestions and help.