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 Star Trails Tutorial | |
So a little while back I said I\'d write up a star trails tutorial.. well, it ended up being pretty long. It turns out there\'s a lot you have to think about, and writing it all down took up lots of space. I hope you find it helpful, and I would love to get some feedback, as I think I might want to try submitting something like this to some magazines or something to see if I can get it to go anywhere (suggestions most welcome.. I\'ve never done that before!).
<b> PLEASE WAIT TO COMMENT UNTIL I\'M DONE POSTING ALL SECTIONS!</b>
Moderators: maybe we can get a sticky for this for a little while so people don\'t miss it?
<b>The Midnight Hour – How to Shoot Star Trails</b>
It’s that time in the evening, when the sun has set, the clouds have finished putting on their show, and the first stars are beginning to shimmer through the twilight blues. It’s one of the most peaceful and tranquil moments of the day, second only to predawn, but you’re probably packing your bag to make sure you get back to the car before darkness descends. Soon the stars come out in full force, lighting the sky with points of light stretching away for many light years. Take a minute and look up, it’s a wondrous sight. If you’ve never sat deep in the wilderness miles from civilization and simply watched the light retreat from east to west and the stars dance in circles around you, you’re missing out.
<i>\"Rocks Racing Stars\" ~ The Racetrack, Death Valley National Park
The Tech: Canon 20D, 10-22mm
Exposure: iso 400, f/5.6, 2.5 hours over 5x 30 minute increments (my first real attempt), started soon after twilight</i>
Enough with the poetry now, your question is of course, well, how do I actually photograph this incredible beauty? It’s likely you’ve tried, yet couldn’t quite capture the color, the delicate light dancing over the land around you, and the first twinkles of stars, and the subsequent circles traced out by the stars around Polaris. In this article I will share with you how to go about capturing that magic, from the preconception through to the finished product. Most of this article will concentrate on how to capture a stunning startrail photograph, though much of it is relevant to capturing that fleeting moment of twilight. This is a complex process involving more planning and technique than most photos, so sit tight and get ready to learn!
<i>Note: I use a mac, so all my photoshop directions are for a mac, they’re probably similar for a PC.</i>
The first step in creating a successful photograph is generally some sort of pre-visualization. The beauty of startrails and previsualization, is that they are very predictable. Eventually you will get a clear night at your desired location, and you’ll know exactly what those stars will do. Getting the right clouds, mist, or ethereal light requires more luck and patience to get exactly what you picture in your mind. And of course, once that happens, it will never happen quite that way again – it is unique. On every clear and calm night, however, startrails will look nearly identical to any other day (sure the constellations will be in different positions, but for nearly every application this won’t make a difference). As a result, a startrail photo can easily become cliché, the stars and sky will not be the unique part of your image. What will make your photo special, is where you chose to take, what the foreground is and how it relates to the circling heavens above. For me, startrails show three things: geometrical shapes, motion, and the revealing of an invisible force. As a result, I strive to find foregrounds that will resonate with those qualities, making for a final image that hopefully speaks to you on an emotional and/or intellectual level.
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