Last week I went to Moab and spent a lot of time in photographing in Arches National Park. (Here’s a post with a cool video/timelapse I put together of the trip.) I really enjoy photographing the stars, and spent an evening doing just that … and this was the result.
I honestly got pretty lucky with the composition of this image, since you can’t really see how you are framing things, even with excellent night vision. (Which would be a really cool feature in cameras, wouldn’t it? Night vision LCD monitors? I digress…) I knew the general vicinity of the North Star, positioned my camera with a nice silhouette and let the shutter stay open for about twenty minutes.
I could really get into this kind of photography. As a kid I always dreamed of getting a motorized star-tracking mount to use for long exposures of the sky, capturing detail without any star-trails or movement. I even took a trip to a planetarium and was able to get some cool moon and planet photogs with my old Nikon F4. I’m not sure why I love the stars so much … must be the romantic in me, or maybe I just miss seeing a huge, non-light-polluted sky. Either way, stars are rad.
Last week I went to Moab and spent a lot of time in photographing in Arches National Park. (Here’s a post with a cool video/timelapse I put together of the trip.) I really enjoy photographing the stars, and spent an evening doing just that … and this was the result.
I honestly got pretty lucky with the composition of this image, since you can’t really see how you are framing things, even with excellent night vision. (Which would be a really cool feature in cameras, wouldn’t it? Night vision LCD monitors? I digress…) I knew the general vicinity of the North Star, positioned my camera with a nice silhouette and let the shutter stay open for about twenty minutes.
I could really get into this kind of photography. As a kid I always dreamed of getting a motorized star-tracking mount to use for long exposures of the sky, capturing detail without any star-trails or movement. I even took a trip to a planetarium and was able to get some cool moon and planet photogs with my old Nikon F4. I’m not sure why I love the stars so much … must be the romantic in me, or maybe I just miss seeing a huge, non-light-polluted sky. Either way, stars are rad.
Nicole is a photographer, published author, and educator specializing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and photography. She is best known for her books on food photography but is widely versed in various photographic genres, including landscape, nature, stock, travel, and experimental imagery.
I agree, the night sky & stars really are rad :) Toughest thing is getting those super long exposures set up, then getting something wrong and having to start over. You nailed it.
This came out fantastic! I hope you get to do more like it! Did you just do the one or did you try others?
This looks great Nicole, I agree that the toughest part is getting a nice foreground framed up in the dark. I like the idea of a night vision LCD mode! I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new T-ring so I can use my new DSLR on my 10″ telescope – Hello Moon and planetary shots! I’ve got a mounting bracket on the top so I can take guided long exposure shots, the tough part is getting a good alignment with the celestial north pole so you don’t get star drift, lots to try out this summer I’m very excited… Our local Astronomy club has a nice gallery here: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Mine shows a few taken a focally with my old point & shoot, here’s a local guru who uses a DSLR http://www.rankinstudio.com/astro
You can get even longer exposures without all the noise if you shoot multiple exposures one right after the other then stitch it together.
I shot this picture with 111 images each at 30 second exposures. Just put the camera on continuous mode and use the lock on the cable release. You then stitch it together in Photoshop. I used Dr. Browns stack-o-matic script from http://russellbrown.com/scripts.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lvthunder/5716143707/in/photostream
These is a lovely shot, very strong. Thanks for sharing with us!
Oooooohhh this is simply breathtaking! Included you in my Queen Bee Picks of the Week – wonderful job!
Hi there, I found your blog via a tweet from the UFMA. Lovely stuff. I just wanted to let you know I mentioned your blog in mine. I hope you don’t mind.
Thanks for the beautiful photos.
I don’t mind at all … thanks for the mention :)
WOW!!! This is an awesome shot. I am truly amazed with this phenomenal capture. It is so exciting. Would love to give it a try. My question to you is…did you hold the shutter open for the 20 minutes? I do not think my arthritic hands would let me do it. I am just so impressed with this picture. Stunning.
I used a cable release, it allows you to connect to the camera so you’re not actually pushing the button. It will lock and keep the shutter open for long exposures. It also prevents camera shake. :)
Came over from Wayne Woodruff. This is a shot to dream about!