Star trail; Grand Pre, Nova Scotia

[kevin99989]

Pink glow is from distant city lights.

24mm; ISO250; 900sec; f3.8.; raw

Post:
Exposure +1.0EV
Vib +60% (too much saturation??)

[thoughton]

It does seem a bit too colourful so yes I think a little heavy on the saturation. It also seems very bright for a star trail shot, I think it would look better if it looked like night time. Finally the purple sky is a nice albeit improbable colour, and also rather noisy on the left side where the darker purples are.

Having said all that it's a good effort. I've tried these shots and all that stumbling around in the dark is a right PITA, and my results were awful

I believe that many of the great star trail shots you see are stacked from many exposures, rather than one huge (900 second!) exposure. That probably helps keep things sharper, and stops the foreground getting too bright.

[kevin99989]

Thanks for the input! I've got Photoshop Elements 8, and attempted to do some image stacking (for star trails), but it didn't turn out very good. Do you know of a good way to do this (or do I need to buy Photoshop CS*)??

[Mad Aussie]

Cool play ... I think you need a place with far less ambient light around though.

[kevin99989]

thanks! the location was in rural Nova Scotia. Nearest major city was 90km away, and nearest small town was 5 km away. Weather was partly cloudy, so that may have amplified some residual light from the setting sun, as well as from distant street lamps from the small town. It's getting harder and harder to get away from light pollution, but I've got all summer to try again

[thoughton]

Thanks for the input! I've got Photoshop Elements 8, and attempted to do some image stacking (for star trails), but it didn't turn out very good. Do you know of a good way to do this (or do I need to buy Photoshop CS*)??

If you use Windows Registax is free, and I've seen some great results from it. I'm a Mac person myself so never tried it.

[kevin99989]

Thanks for the suggestions - Just downloaded Starstax :
StarStaX - www.starstax.net
This is my first time using stacking software

This seems like a very good program, however I will find a better location (with no boats buzzing by) next time, fresh batter, and will aim the camera at the north star.

I'll be back!


(tech: f3.8; 22mm; 30sec; 28 exposures only (before my camera battery quit))

[Iguanasan]

Cool. You are encouraging me to get out some evening and give this a try! You may find this site useful: Clear Sky Charts in Nova Scotia (Map)