Starry Sky Experiment 2

This is a terrible image, I know, but the blip is in the message below:

I am experimenting with night/star photography so that when the aurora is out, I'll be ready. Also I want to take an image of the stars as spinning or star trails. So, I am trying to get a feel for how this is done and what time and camera settings to use.

Here's what you need:

1. Sturdy tripod.

2. Camera:
Bulb setting for long exposures.
manual aperture setting
external electronic shutter release.
external power supply (batteries go dead).
manual focus.
wide angle lens.

3. Pocket flash light (so you can see your camera settings)

4. Stars

5. Patience

6. Post-processing software.


Here's what you do:

Set up your tripod with your camera pointed in the desired direction. Set the aperture to f/5.6 or lower for short exposures. Adjust ISO to 200 - 400 or until you can't tolerate any more noise. Set the shutter speed to bulb. Set the focus to infinity unless you are including some closer object. Depress the electronic shutter release and hold or lock to the desired time. With a 200-400 ISO you can get a star shot in 20-30 secs with no significant star movement.


Tonight's experiment was pretty much of a failure. I had a meeting until 9PM. When I got set up it was 10PM. The clouds were coming in and covered most the the stars by 10:15. I only got off 3 shots: 57 secs, 77 secs, and 510 secs.

It is interesting that at only 60 secs the stars are starting to streak. The earth is really spinning faster than we think!

You will probably get a lot of noise and some strange colors. My original images were red, purple, then yellow. White balance means very little, thus, post-processing.

So, I have a lot of experimenting and work to do to improve the image. I would like to run the exposure times out to 30, 60, and 120 minutes or even longer for really long low horizon star trails. I will have to experiment with the aperture so the sky doesn't get too light. I will need a completely clear sky, doesn't happen often. That's where the patience comes in.

I wanted you to see this experiment so that you would more appreciate the good image when it comes along. Or, I should say, if it comes along. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Oh, here's Starry Sky Experiment 1. All I wanted to do here was capture an image of the stars without motion.