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Archive 2013 · Silent Stargazers

Steve Perry
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Silent Stargazers

Here's pretty much my first attempt at stars - without the trails. It was a little rough hanging out for an hour at 20 below zero, (between 30 and 40 below with the wind), but it was a great test for my new winter gear!

The stars were exposed for 4 minutes at ISO 1600 using a tracking device (easy to setup at home, kind of tough in the cold with a metal flashlight in my mouth). This seems to let me capture more stars than a quick 30 second exposure, and there's zero trails going on. The canyon was exposed with a combination of twilight and moonlight.

What do you think?

Feb 05, 2013 at 09:16 PM

stanparker
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Silent Stargazers

I'd call it a pretty spectacular image, especially in those conditions. I never realized Ohio has such a scenic place.

Feb 05, 2013 at 09:35 PM

JimFox
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Silent Stargazers

Hey Steve,

Now that is super cool! And I am betting in that super cold it was a pain in the butt... But you did really well here, I like it a lot. Now you tracked the stars, so did you do a single shot for the ground to blend in? It looks seamless, so good work. Which tracking device do you have? I guess for all the stars I shoot, I ought to look into something like that.

Jim

Feb 05, 2013 at 09:43 PM

roman.johnston
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Silent Stargazers

Very cool....I too am interested in your tracking device...

Roman

Feb 05, 2013 at 10:21 PM

ckcarr
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Silent Stargazers

Terrific!
I'm also curious as to the ground versus stars when tracking...

Feb 05, 2013 at 10:32 PM

Steve Perry
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Silent Stargazers

Thanks guys

I use a device called "Astro Trac". I have the AstroTrac TT320X AG Tracking Mount.

It's not cheap, but it's pretty easy to setup once you've done it a time or two. If you get one make sure it comes with the scope and battery pack. The company I purchased it from sold them separately and I kind of get the feeling it's all supposed to come together.

As for the landscape part of the shot, yes, it's blended. It helps to have a relatively bright horizon, made it easier. Did it once on another shot with a black horizon and man, had a tough go making it look right.

Feb 05, 2013 at 10:36 PM

killersnowman
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Silent Stargazers

great shot! this has a great harmony and balance between the sky and foreground

Feb 05, 2013 at 11:26 PM

Chetan Kulkarn
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Silent Stargazers

This is a beautiful shot. I especially liked the way the foreground leads you to the spectacular sky.

Feb 06, 2013 at 03:53 AM

dgdg
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Silent Stargazers

Very impressive.
astrodave does some cool shots like this too. I have a vixen polarie which works well. Its portability is offset by weight limitation but I can hang my 70-200 f4 or samyang 14mm on it just fine.
You may want to shoot a couple sky photos, then some darks and combine them in deep sky stacker. this can help with noise, but you might loose a toe! Toe warmers are nice for your toes, but also to put in a sock and wrap around your lens. My first session in the Shenandoahs was cut short by dew.

Feb 06, 2013 at 08:41 AM

fendleroc
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Silent Stargazers

Very beautiful shot, what a great effect!

Feb 06, 2013 at 08:43 AM

dgdg
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Silent Stargazers

Steve Perry wrote:
Thanks guys

As for the landscape part of the shot, yes, it's blended. It helps to have a relatively bright horizon, made it easier. Did it once on another shot with a black horizon and man, had a tough go making it look right.

astrodave gave me some tips on luminance masking for this kind of thing. I sent you a pm on it but looks like his screen shot did not copy over. If you want the screen shot, pm your email to me.

Edited on Feb 06, 2013 at 08:48 AM · View previous versions

Feb 06, 2013 at 08:44 AM

Aaron Macomber
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Silent Stargazers

Gorgeous!

Feb 06, 2013 at 08:48 AM

thejakestir
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Silent Stargazers

Stunning shot!

Feb 06, 2013 at 08:48 AM

vibhav
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Silent Stargazers

This is just awesome... super, great technique... Thanks for sharing!

Feb 06, 2013 at 10:57 AM

nburwell
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Silent Stargazers

I absolutely love this! Great work Steve!

-Nick

Feb 06, 2013 at 11:06 AM

Justin Grimm
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Silent Stargazers

Amazing shot. Just on the brink of to many stars which is a crazy thing to say.

I just had a question about your settings though. My understanding is that for most "non-tracked" star shots an iso setting of 3200 is used with an exposure of sub 30 seconds. Now, by using a tracked exposure of 4 minutes why didnt you reduce your iso further then 1600, to perhaps 800 or even 400? Is your camera extremely clean at this high iso or did you want to capture the maximum amount of stars by keeping the sensitivity high?

Feb 06, 2013 at 11:10 AM

Mitchell Derr
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Silent Stargazers

Nice work. Keep in up!

Feb 06, 2013 at 11:35 AM

boingyman
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Silent Stargazers

That's a lot of stars!

Feb 06, 2013 at 12:03 PM

astro-ep
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Silent Stargazers

Very Cool (no pun intended

). You can even see a bit of M42 in there.

Eric

Feb 06, 2013 at 01:22 PM

Panther
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Silent Stargazers

Howdy Steve,

WOWSER _ That is truly Stunning.

I sure hope you have a nice big wall of Honor to have
that printed big and hung on.

Kindest Regards,

CK

Feb 06, 2013 at 03:53 PM

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