# Stars above.



## Mr Bean (Jun 12, 2013)

Mid winter, southern hemisphere night sky.
5D3 with Zeiss 15mm
30 seconds @ f2.8 ISO 1600


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## Click (Jun 12, 2013)

Great shot. Nicely done.


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## wopbv4 (Jun 12, 2013)

Beautiful shot.

I tried something similar with 8-15 mm fisheye, but I had too much light pollution from Margaret River (WA) Town nearby.

Keep up the good work

Ben


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## Mr Bean (Jun 12, 2013)

Click said:


> Great shot. Nicely done.


Thanks Click.



wopbv4 said:


> Beautiful shot.
> 
> I tried something similar with 8-15 mm fisheye, but I had too much light pollution from Margaret River (WA) Town nearby.


Thanks wopbv4. I'm about an hours drive nth of Melbourne and faced a similar issue (light pollution). I did one shot at ISO 3200 but that just brought out the light pollution, rather than more stars (plus sensor noise). In LR I did increase the contrast and added a touch of NR.

In a month or so, I'll head down to Wilsons Prom Nat Park, which is a beaut location for a south facing sky. Then I'll try again


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## SwissBear (Jun 19, 2013)

Last summer, there was no sleeping space left in our cabin in the mountains, so i took my sleeping bag outside...
The Zwischbergental is a remote valley in the southern part of switzerland, the mountainline is more or less the border to italy. the yellowish light pollution on the left side is Domodossola, Italy.
From 22:30PM till 2AM (where i woke up again and saw that clouds came in) my 600D, fitted with a borrowed Tokina 11-16, took some 30s exposures. I finally had time to do the movie. Enjoy!

Version A: everyting together:



Sternenhimmel über dem Zwüschbi by SwissBear85, on Flickr

Version B: One frame after another (12 FPS for more drama, upscaled to 24FPS):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swissbear85/9075423809/#secret6f29399cb0


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## Click (Jun 19, 2013)

SwissBear said:


> Last summer, there was no sleeping space left in our cabin in the mountains, so i took my sleeping bag outside...
> The Zwischbergental is a remote valley in the southern part of switzerland, the mountainline is more or less the border to italy. the yellowish light pollution on the left side is Domodossola, Italy.
> From 22:30PM till 2AM (where i woke up again and saw that clouds came in) my 600D, fitted with a borrowed Tokina 11-16, took some 30s exposures. I finally had time to do the movie. Enjoy!



Very nice shot. I love your video too. Nicely done.


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## Mr Bean (Jun 19, 2013)

Wow, nice stuff SwissBear. Love the video and the clouds coming in at the end (with a moon rise I suspect). Very well done


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## Menace (Jun 19, 2013)

Well done - love the video too


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## emag (Jun 19, 2013)

wopbv4 said:


> ....... I had too much light pollution from Margaret River (WA) Town nearby.



That's a very manageable level of light pollution and easily processed out, based on the amount of detail visible in the Milky Way. I visited Perth/Fremantle >30 years ago, I'll never forget the night skies. 

A couple of quick processing tutorials I put together for my astronomy club friends, specifically for dealing with moderate amounts of light pollution. First one is for Photoshop, second for GIMP.

pbase(dot)com(slash)emagowan(slash)processing
pbase(dot)com(slash)emagowan(slash)processing_with_gimp


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## tron (Jun 19, 2013)

emag said:


> wopbv4 said:
> 
> 
> > ....... I had too much light pollution from Margaret River (WA) Town nearby.
> ...


Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.


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## Mr Bean (Jun 21, 2013)

emag said:


> wopbv4 said:
> 
> 
> > ....... I had too much light pollution from Margaret River (WA) Town nearby.
> ...


Thanks emag. I just tried the Photoshop example and the results are stunning. Thanks for the info


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## SwnSng (Jul 12, 2013)

July 4th 2013 - Pier 39 by Boys and Bees, on Flickr


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## dbuono1865 (Jul 13, 2013)

Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah

You can see more pics from my road trip at http://www.buonophotography.com/p739655009


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## Click (Jul 13, 2013)

dbuono1865 said:


> Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah



Awesome. Great shot!


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## MrFotoFool (Jul 14, 2013)

I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.

(Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).


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## jdramirez (Jul 14, 2013)

dbuono1865 said:


> Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah
> 
> You can see more pics from my road trip at http://www.buonophotography.com/p739655009



I can probably download it and see if it is in the meta data, but I'm lazy. What shutter speed, aperture, focal length, if you don't mind. 

If I were to guess I'd say, 24mm, 1/30th shutterspeed (before star trails kick in), side flash lighting of the arch, and an iso of 3200... with grain clean up in post.


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## jdramirez (Jul 14, 2013)

MrFotoFool said:


> I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.
> 
> (Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).



Too many of us live in cities or near cities where light pollution is rampant. I think you see star like this when you are out in the ocean (not a cruise because they light the walkways) or out in a national park where it a city is over 50+ miles away. 

I think it does look like this to the naked eye, but you have to wait a while for your "night vision" to kick in. There are a very specialized set of rods in your eye that are specifically designed to see in near pitch black and that takes a while to work.


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## dbuono1865 (Jul 14, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> dbuono1865 said:
> 
> 
> > Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah
> ...




Shot settings -- ISO 6400, 17mm, f4 (wide open), 20 seconds. Would have shot at 3200 if I had f2.8 lens. Also, grain cleaned up in post, some clarity to bring out the Milky Way and turned down greens in horizon line (all in Lightroom). As for star trails, there is a formula to avoid -- rule is divide 500 by 35mm (equivalent) of focal length. So with my full frame sensor shot -- shutter length cannot exceed 500/17 or 29 seconds.


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## dbuono1865 (Jul 14, 2013)

MrFotoFool said:


> I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.
> 
> (Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).



The Milky Way really looks like that in person (just need very dark, out in nowhere area, to avoid city lights). Look at post above to see settings for taking pic and avoiding star trails.


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## jdramirez (Jul 14, 2013)

dbuono1865 said:


> jdramirez said:
> 
> 
> > dbuono1865 said:
> ...



I'm not even drunk. I'm meant 30 seconds... not sure why I put 1/30.


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## Mr Bean (Jul 14, 2013)

dbuono1865 said:


> Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah
> 
> You can see more pics from my road trip at http://www.buonophotography.com/p739655009


Nice pic. Love the arch 



MrFotoFool said:


> I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.
> 
> (Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).


To a point, you can see the milkyway. But the eye is less sensitive to colour (in faint light). In a dark environment, like this location in the pic, you can see the structure of the milkyway, but the detail and colour will come up better in a photograph.


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## RGF (Jul 14, 2013)

Very nice


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## scotty512 (Aug 1, 2013)

a few of mine from a recent trip to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand

didnt have a tripod so used a beanbag from the B&B owners garden


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## jdramirez (Aug 1, 2013)

I want to visit some place pretty. But the family prefers cities with things to do.


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## Mr Bean (Aug 2, 2013)

scotty512 said:


> a few of mine from a recent trip to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand
> 
> didnt have a tripod so used a beanbag from the B&B owners garden


Nice. Like the clouds on the horizon of the first pic. What lens did you use?


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## kkelis (Aug 2, 2013)

More Milky Way

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157633344063805/


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## cbecklund (Aug 11, 2013)

Here are a couple from a trip to glacier national park last month.




Stars by cbecklund, on Flickr




Milky Way by cbecklund, on Flickr


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

I know this isn't my best... but for all the pollution in the air (light and air), I'm kinda pleased with myself.


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## drob (Aug 11, 2013)

To me, the milky way is a high, faint, linear - looking cloud. Just visible enough to know where to compose. There are some good iphone/ipad apps that wil help point it out and describe what you're seeing.


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

I want to do some star trails, but I don't trust my wired shutter release... so I'm putting that on the back burner. I wish I could just look up and see the north star... but they all look like as far as I'm concerned.


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## scottkinfw (Aug 11, 2013)

can you get a new family?



jdramirez said:


> I want to visit some place pretty. But the family prefers cities with things to do.


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## scottkinfw (Aug 11, 2013)

Awesome.

I tried to get some meteors tonight and really just practiced. I tried a number of settings and didn't even come close. Great job.

sek



kkelis said:


> More Milky Way
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157633344063805/


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## scottkinfw (Aug 11, 2013)

Very nice.

I assume off camera flash for the arch?

Excellent use of foreground.



dbuono1865 said:


> Milky Way over the Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - Moab, Utah
> 
> You can see more pics from my road trip at http://www.buonophotography.com/p739655009


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## scottkinfw (Aug 11, 2013)

I have actually seen it that way with the naked eye- I was in Tanzania, Ngorongoro crater. It was stunning. And no, I didn't take any pics- big mistake. Went back second time and almost no stars-clouds and rain. Big mistake.

sek 



MrFotoFool said:


> I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.
> 
> (Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).


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## scottkinfw (Aug 11, 2013)

True.

Cones sense color
Rods sense light

quote author=jdramirez link=topic=15342.msg290893#msg290893 date=1373760293]


MrFotoFool said:


> I love those shots with the Milky Way. I have seen some stunning photos like that, but I have never seen the Milky Way like that myself. Does it look that way to the naked eye, or is it only in the photos that it comes out.
> 
> (Sorry to post such a naive question, but I really want to learn how to do this).



Too many of us live in cities or near cities where light pollution is rampant. I think you see star like this when you are out in the ocean (not a cruise because they light the walkways) or out in a national park where it a city is over 50+ miles away. 

I think it does look like this to the naked eye, but you have to wait a while for your "night vision" to kick in. There are a very specialized set of rods in your eye that are specifically designed to see in near pitch black and that takes a while to work.
[/quote]


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## tron (Aug 11, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> I want to do some star trails, but I don't trust my wired shutter release... so I'm putting that on the back burner. I wish I could just look up and see the north star... but they all look like as far as I'm concerned.


All you have to do is follow the instructions


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

scottkinfw said:


> can you get a new family?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can, but I have already invested a good deal of time in this one.


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## Jules (Aug 11, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> I want to do some star trails, but I don't trust my wired shutter release... so I'm putting that on the back burner. I wish I could just look up and see the north star... but they all look like as far as I'm concerned.



You can get Google Sky Map for Android phones for example ... helps when you are not used to it and when it is not really dark (other light noise around)


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

Jules said:


> jdramirez said:
> 
> 
> > I want to do some star trails, but I don't trust my wired shutter release... so I'm putting that on the back burner. I wish I could just look up and see the north star... but they all look like as far as I'm concerned.
> ...



I have two of the programs for my phone... A while back, it didn't recognize the name, Polaris. So that didn't help. Maybe it has since been updated, but I don't think I use that one anymore. 

The other program recognized polaris, but it wouldn't direct me to it. I'll keep playing with it.


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## pedro (Aug 11, 2013)

Here's a Milky Way photograph, three RAWs stitched together (angle: lower part 45°, middle 90°, upper ca. 150°, milky way from southwest-northeast. ISO 5000 sec. Lots of light pollution. 



MILKYWAY03082013KleinMASTER_DEF by Peter Hauri, on Flickr


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## Chuck Alaimo (Aug 11, 2013)

Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution. I've checked the light pollution maps and yup, pretty much the whole north east is a big blob of light except for a few areas along lake Ontario, lake erie, and the upstate region between albany and plattburg. That said, I've had some luck both inside the city and south and north.


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

Chuck Alaimo said:


> Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution. I've checked the light pollution maps and yup, pretty much the whole north east is a big blob of light except for a few areas along lake Ontario, lake erie, and the upstate region between albany and plattburg. That said, I've had some luck both inside the city and south and north. mg



light pollution maps.... I'm going to do a Google search, but do you have one site you prefer?


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## Chuck Alaimo (Aug 11, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> Chuck Alaimo said:
> 
> 
> > Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution. I've checked the light pollution maps and yup, pretty much the whole north east is a big blob of light except for a few areas along lake Ontario, lake erie, and the upstate region between albany and plattburg. That said, I've had some luck both inside the city and south and north. mg
> ...



that's all i did, google search...not sure what the best one is though...all the ones i saw though showed a ton of light action in the whole northeast...with little pockets here and there. tough thing too is with the best spots being so far away, you kind of have to make it a full day adventure - the few times i have just gone out at night fell into the trap of...great...it's dark, i don't know where I'm going....lol


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## jdramirez (Aug 11, 2013)

Chuck Alaimo said:


> jdramirez said:
> 
> 
> > Chuck Alaimo said:
> ...



I did some night shooting last night. I knew I wanted to do some shots in a corn fields and I came away with some solid shots. I was thinking that I might just drive twenty miles north and see what happens... but I was either sleepy or lazy and just went home.


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## Mr Bean (Aug 12, 2013)

Just passing through....

5D3 with Zeiss 15mm f2.8
ISO 1600, 30sec @ f4
Fill flash for the road sign


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## jdramirez (Aug 12, 2013)

Mr Bean said:


> Just passing through....
> 
> 5D3 with Zeiss 15mm f2.8
> ISO 1600, 30sec @ f4
> Fill flash for the road sign



I'm looking at it on my phone, but the road sign looks fake, like it was copy and pasted. I know it wasn't, but it does.


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## serendipidy (Aug 12, 2013)

tron said:


> jdramirez said:
> 
> 
> > I want to do some star trails, but I don't trust my wired shutter release... so I'm putting that on the back burner. I wish I could just look up and see the north star... but they all look like as far as I'm concerned.
> ...



Or... face true north (use a compass and factor in your magnetic declination for that area) and then look your latitude in degrees above the horizon. Polaris is not very impressive.


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## Frost (Aug 13, 2013)

Weatherman said we were supposed to get a thunderstorm with a whole bunch of clouds so I decided NOT to take the 3 hour drive to dark sky territory I had planned.

Then just before midnight...the clouds VANISHED.

So I jumped in the car and booked it as far north as I could in an hour.

Not ideal, but fairly dark skies.

Played around for a few hours.

Below is a composite. About 18 or so meteors & the Milky Way.

6D, Tokina 11-16mm at 16mm, 2.8, 6400, 25 seconds.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikegardnerphotography/9495275095/#


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## Mr Bean (Aug 13, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> Mr Bean said:
> 
> 
> > Just passing through....
> ...


Its real. I took 3 pics in total. The first to calibrate the exposure for the stars. The second, is this one. The third, I moved the tripod closer to the sign. But the sign overwhelmed the image, plus, the flash lit up some of the trees in the background.

I probably spent more time getting there and setting up the camera, rather than actually taking the pic


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## EdB (Aug 13, 2013)

Chuck Alaimo said:


> Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution.



This is one of the best places on the east coast, probably not too far of a drive for you. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/cherrysprings/ Haven't been there myself but I do plan to go someday. Five hour drive for me and planning around the weather can be tough.


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## LOALTD (Aug 13, 2013)

Milky way over Stonehenge WWII memorial in South-Central Washington:


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## jdramirez (Aug 13, 2013)

EdB said:


> Chuck Alaimo said:
> 
> 
> > Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution.
> ...



3.3 hours for me... I hate driving... Maybe if it was within an hour... Maybe I can get the local camera club to carpool.


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## dswtan (Aug 13, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> light pollution maps....


Just FYI, the definitive popular one is: http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/


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## Mr Bean (Aug 13, 2013)

LOALTD said:


> Milky way over Stonehenge WWII memorial in South-Central Washington:


Nice. What was the source of illumination on the memorial?

Beaut pics on your link


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## jdramirez (Aug 13, 2013)

Mr Bean said:


> LOALTD said:
> 
> 
> > Milky way over Stonehenge WWII memorial in South-Central Washington:
> ...



based on the color and the religious considerations, I'm going to guess it was the devil.


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## Mr Bean (Aug 13, 2013)

jdramirez said:


> Mr Bean said:
> 
> 
> > LOALTD said:
> ...


LOL, that was my next guess


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## tomscott (Aug 13, 2013)

Penrith Beacon, Star gazing, 16,000ISO! by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr


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## LOALTD (Aug 13, 2013)

Mr Bean said:


> LOALTD said:
> 
> 
> > Milky way over Stonehenge WWII memorial in South-Central Washington:
> ...



It was actually car brake lights!

Thanks, glad you like them!


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## Mr Bean (Nov 5, 2013)

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania at night. The Southern Cross and Pointers are just above the mountains, center / bottom of pic.
5D3 with 15mm Zeiss @ f2.8 30 seconds ISO 3,200


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## Chuck Alaimo (Nov 5, 2013)

EdB said:


> Chuck Alaimo said:
> 
> 
> > Living in western new york it is not easy to find places free of light pollution.
> ...



3 hours....not too far....TY


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## tomscott (Nov 7, 2013)

Hallin Fell, Ullswater Cumbria, starscape by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr


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## Sporgon (Nov 13, 2013)

Practising for a moonlight landscape that I have in mind.

85/1.8 @2.8 1 sec 320 ISO 5DII


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## Sporgon (Nov 19, 2013)

Moonrise this evening


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## yorgasor (Jan 6, 2014)

I had all but given up on trying to get a good star trails photo. The 1/2 hr exposures I tried produced star trails, but only for the brightest stars in the sky. The rest were absorbed in the light pollution. So, I decided to try and make time lapse videos of the stars. In the winter, that usually means sitting out in a field for a couple hours freezing your butt off, and learning your lens will frost up after about an hour.

But yesterday I came across some free software called Star Trails that creates a composite of a set of photos. This software salvaged the two hours I spent freezing in a field, using just the photos before my lens frosted over. It's about 150 photos, taken with a Rokinon 14mm @ f/2.8, ISO 1250 & 13s exposures.




Star Trails by yorgasor, on Flickr


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## Click (Jan 6, 2014)

Great job on this one yorgasor. Well done.


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## yorgasor (Jan 8, 2014)

Here's one I did last night. I loved the reflections of the stars in the still pond.




Stars and mirrors by yorgasor, on Flickr


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## Click (Jan 8, 2014)

Awesome. Great job. 8)


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## yorgasor (Jan 8, 2014)

I've discovered that astrophotography does horrible things to your sleep cycle. You start looking at the weather forecast and thinking, "Oh, clear skies tonight. I guess I can stay up until 4am." On a side note, there was a recent solar flare that should produce low latitude northern lights. They should arrive around 3am eastern time: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Auroras-in-Our-Future-239252891.html I guess it'll be another late night for me.


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## extremeinstability (Jan 8, 2014)

fwiw the other model has it arriving at 6pm central time. This model first had it at noon today but the update pushed it back to 6pm. http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=2038-01-23+00%3A44%3A00&window=-1&cygnetId=261

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1074665_765473593482676_121729842_o.jpg


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## Mr Bean (Jan 11, 2014)

yorgasor said:


> Here's one I did last night. I loved the reflections of the stars in the still pond.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, fantastic pic. Love it


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## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

These shots are not really worthy of posting but they represent my first ever, using the iOptron tracker. I haven't even done any serious shots period other than the moon before deciding to buy this unit (it is well made). I'm looking for feedback on how to locate Polaris, which in this case I did by holding up a paper print of the big dipper and eyeballing where it was on the circle. The app I downloaded to my computer did not agree at all. I'm assuming for 30 sec. exposures I must have been pretty close. I don't yet have a ball head so all I could do was mount my camera at 90 degrees to Polaris, facing south.

I'd like to become more involved in the type of landscape shots such as in this thread so any helpful advice would be very welcome. One shot was the 24-70 F4 at 24, the other two were the 70 - 200 at 70 and 200.

Jack


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## niteclicks (Jan 31, 2014)

Looks like you got pretty close, although 30sec @ 24mm is on the edge of a single frame from a tripod. The 6D should give real nice results at iso 800, the first photo exposure is right at minimum ( assuming no post), the banding and color noise in the other two are from under exposure get your sky up off the bottom of the histogram without blowing out the brightest stars , shoot raw, and stack. You will be amazed at how full the sky actually is of interesting things.


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## Mr_Canuck (Jan 31, 2014)

Nicely shot. I like the framing of the trees you chose.


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## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

niteclicks, thanks for the feedback. I've never stacked in my life but I imagine it's just sequential shots without tampering, assuming the tracker is doing its job and then I think DPP can do the job??

I think I may have dropped the brightness of the 24 mm a bit thinking it was overexposed.

I assume B is used for the longer exposures and I need a remote release although I've started using the 6D WiFi and that might be a solution (it is to the cold).

Can you suggest the manual settings that you might use and the time for a couple different scenarios? 

What do I look for in terms of judging the quality of results, say between my lenses and focal lengths? 

Can you suggest any threads or links that would be aimed at my situation as a beginner with stars?

I'm an handyman machinist and welder and am planning to modify the final attachment point of the tracker so that my mount location is up and level rather than angled at Polaris. Do you foresee any problem with placing my gimble (quite light Jobu) on that as I would place it on a tripod? I prefer gimbal to ball head (which I don't have at the moment).

Asking a lot with all these questions! :-[

Jack


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## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

Sporgon said:


> Moonrise this evening



As a beginner (me), would you mind sharing the details of how you get this kind of shot? 

Jack


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## niteclicks (Jan 31, 2014)

Its hard to give general settings because the sky varies from literally mile to mile . Here is a single frame of M8 and the final from some years ago when I started. The single frame is at iso 800 (max the 40D could really do cleanly) 60 sec with a 200mm f4 scope. The stack is 30 frames processed with Images Plus. I haven't done much since I moved but hope to get my mount setup permanently this year and get started again. If I could manage this from a noisy 40D I can't wait to see what the 5DIII can do, and I've learned since then too.

http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e39116171

http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e12589ca0


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## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks niteclicks, keep me in mind if other thoughts pop into your head. Since I got my first DSLR a couple years ago, and now being retired, I'm like a kid at Christmas with his first camera. Moving up to the 6D was a great boost too.

Jack


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## niteclicks (Jan 31, 2014)

I would think you should have some really nice skies up there. Nice way to retire shoot all night, process all day, who needs sleep. 8)


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## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

niteclicks, right on, but I have a wife. Of course that has its benefits too! Night sky here is often very clear.

Jack


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## dcm (Jan 31, 2014)

Stellarium Mobile on a smart phone can help you get oriented to the stars outdoors. I use Stellarium on my desktop/laptop to scout things before hand. There are a few methods that can help you find Polaris using other constellations at reference points.

http://survivaltopics.com/how-to-find-the-north-star/ (simple version)
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/finddip.html (shows seasonal orientation change)
http://davidburchnavigation.blogspot.com/2013/03/finding-north-star.html (other constellations)

Practice helps. Go out at night, even when you don't shoot and pick out the stars. I can consistently pick out the dippers, North Star and several constellations without any help.


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## Sporgon (Jan 31, 2014)

85/1.8 @2.8

Can't believe how fast the stars move. Made me feel quite dizzy when I saw the frames.


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## joshmurrah (Jan 31, 2014)

emag said:


> pbase(dot)com(slash)emagowan(slash)processing



I'm soooo gonna try that, cool tips/ideas!


----------



## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

(Dumb) Question anyone. How does the movement of the stars and planets and moon relate wrt. photography? 

Is there any way of combining the landscape stationary with tracked stars?

Jack


----------



## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

dcm, thanks for that.

Jack


----------



## Jack Douglas (Jan 31, 2014)

dcm, those were great links for finding Polaris but I'm still a little uncertain about locating it on my circle in the alignment telescope of the iOptron tracker. I'm also wondering just how critical it is to place, like how long would exposures be where the lack of perfect alignment would show?

Jack


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## niteclicks (Jan 31, 2014)

Jack Douglas said:


> dcm, those were great links for finding Polaris but I'm still a little uncertain about locating it on my circle in the alignment telescope of the iOptron tracker. I'm also wondering just how critical it is to place, like how long would exposures be where the lack of perfect alignment would show?
> 
> Jack



Jack if you got the polar scope with the ioptron you can use stellarium and turn on "show equatorial grid" then zoom in on Polaris this will show you where on the circle Polaris should be, but you need to check your polar scope frist to see if the image is mirrored and or flipped ( do this in daylight) that way you will know if you need to set Polaris mirrored and or flipped . confused Yet ? You said you are handy, making a mount for the ioptrom (worm and gears ) that will let you make small adjustments to the horizon and latitude will greatly simplify setting up. The better the alignment the longer the exposure and the deeper you can go. The nice thing about the 6D (from what I've heard) iso 3200 should be usable, at least to start, take a few long exposures say 1,2,3 min ea look at your trailing. say you were at iso 400 and trailing was starting to show at 2 min , bump up to 800 and shoot 1 min. get something to play with and work on getting a better alignment next time. For the most part (other than comets , etc.) These things will be there forever but you wont and once you are hooked you will find good skies less common than you think, I know on average its cloudy the same amount but it seems to be more now that I pay closer attention to it.


----------



## dcm (Jan 31, 2014)

Jack Douglas said:


> dcm, those were great links for finding Polaris but I'm still a little uncertain about locating it on my circle in the alignment telescope of the iOptron tracker. I'm also wondering just how critical it is to place, like how long would exposures be where the lack of perfect alignment would show?
> 
> Jack



The Vixen Polarie has similar aiming mechanisms. A small sight hole or a optional scope you can insert for more precise alignment. The site hole method wasn't very accurate in my experience so I prefer to use the scope for final alignment. I start with the two eye method using the site hole to get me in the ball park, with one eye looking through the site hole and the other eye unobstructed. Searching for Polaris through the scope doesn't work very well. It takes a little practice but I can usually get Polaris in the site hole without too much trouble. Then I use the scope to fine tune my aim. The Vixen scope is a bit different, with dials to set date/time/meridian on the scope - no app needed. The iOptron scope and phone app use a different approach - you adjust have to figure out where to place Polaris in the view on the scope based on angle and radius. Page 9 of the manual had a pretty good description - I think I could work with it. Is there something else I'm missing.


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 1, 2014)

Thanks dcm, Although I'm not a dummy in general (don't ask my wife though), I'm coming to this topic with total ignoarance so even the terminology is confusing, but I think I've just about got it. I've just reread page 9 and where I got off track is that the app I downloaded to my computer was displaying the location of Polaris on the circle quite in contradiction to the printed page that showed the big dipper and suggested holding the page to match the sky and then placing Polaris on the center of the three circles, accordingly.

The shots I took apparently had Polaris fairly close based on the printed page big dipper. The app would have had me placing Polaris far from that but again my question is, as long as you've got Polaris into the region of the inner three circles is it that critical?? Would I see significant trails in 30 seconds?

Unfortunately it's too cold to just stand out there and fool around! 

Jack


----------



## dcm (Feb 1, 2014)

The location of the green dot/plus changes. The position (10h24.1m, r=40.8min) illustrated in the manual is for the lat/lon/time given - NW of Boston. Yours will likely be different. 

Getting Polaris to the right h/m/r will give you more accurate tracking and allow longer exposures. Just getting it on the screen is a pretty good start and probably about as well as people that buy the low end version without the scope are able to achieve or building a barn door tracker. I'd expect slight elongation/oval if you don't get the tracking axis aligned properly.

The Vixen Polarie seems to use the same type mechanism. The manual is a bit better and provides maximum shutter speed for different focal lengths and drive speeds on page 19 and 20. You might use this as a guideline.
http://www.vixenoptics.com/PDF/POLARIE%20Manual.pdf

If you have a north facing window with a clear view of Polaris, you can test this out indoors without freezing to death. Aim your tracking unit at Polaris and then setup the camera aimed at Polaris as well. if everything is working you shouldn't see the normal circular star trails and the stars should stay pinpoints. Try decreasing the shutter speed until it does. You'll probably need a remote like the TC-80N3 to do this. I may have to try this myself.


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 1, 2014)

Thanks dcm, at least I'm off and running and I'll learn all the tricks in due course.

Jack


----------



## dcm (Feb 1, 2014)

Have fun. I got mine in the summer so the weather was a bit nicer to practice. But I did have to stay up later to get dark skies -_-


----------



## charlesbanke (Feb 5, 2014)




----------



## Click (Feb 5, 2014)

Great shot charlesbanke. Nicely done.


----------



## wearle (Feb 9, 2014)

To all,

Here's my first and second attempt at star trails. In my first attempt, I made the mistake of too short of an exposure. It would generally be somewhat light polluted near Battle Mountain, but fog and low cloud had enveloped the lower terrain blocking out all the light pollution coming from the Columbia Basin. My exposures should have been two minutes, but they were only 20 seconds.  On my second attempt, I raised my exposure to one minute since it was the longest I could go without blowing out the illuminated fog below over Pendleton, Oregon. I believe it's a better attempt than the first, but still room for improvement. A couple of vehicles went by and down Emigrant Hill during a couple of the exposures. I'm not quite sure if the illuminated foreground hurts or helps the image. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for looking,

Wade


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 9, 2014)

Well Wade, I like them, but I'm new to this too. Just keep on experimenting! I think car trails are cool too.

Jack


----------



## emag (Feb 9, 2014)

6D on a 2000mm f/10 telescope with 2xTC. Seas of Tranquility and Serenity, crater Plato and the nearby Alpine Valley, craters Archimedes and Eratosthenes, crater Copernicus at sunrise. ISO320, 1/25. 

Larger view - macro extenders (total 65mm) added between 2xTC and camera body to increase the effective focal length. ISO640, 1/80.

Taken evening of 8 February, first decent night in two weeks.


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 10, 2014)

I know I am an anomaly in the world of photographers but I can't help getting into construction projects. Having purchased the iOptron Skytracker and not having a ball head I got to wondering how a gimbal could work, so I have made this mod. I can now use it, provided it's not too cold like the present -20 C and I'll report on how it works out. I'm also hoping that with a simple tapered block I could do horizon shots without ball head or gimbal with perhaps more rigidity and increased payload. 

It's a fixed angle for my location so that's a potential problem for future consideration. I'm pretty sure working off the now level platform will be an advantage. We shall see.

Jack


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 16, 2014)

A small addition to the last post. It became apparent that the iOptron had a serious problem with the rotaional mount at the very bottom - a single small thumb screw that would prevent rotation but still allowed significant wobble. 

The modification added here along with a thin shim washer in the latitude joint have really made a difference (it tensions up easier and with less rotation of the handle). The base rotation is now prevented by 3 external contact set screws and is solid like a rock. The mod consists of a sleave pressed over the original base and for security I used 3 setscrews along with the friction press fit over the base.

There is slight interference potential so I used bent screws, since they hang down when free and only require 1/4 turn to lock the base.

And, I am crazy enough to now try the 300 X2 with great care, but still no clear night and warm temp for that.

Jack


----------



## pedro (Feb 16, 2014)

Z96A9748b1Master Kopie by Peter Hauri, on Flickr


----------



## Alexiumz (Feb 16, 2014)

An eight hour exposure at Ingleborough, Yorkshire, UK.


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## yorgasor (Feb 16, 2014)

I finally got to find some real dark skies down in Moab, UT. It's almost frightening how dark it is when the moon goes down (especially when you're foolishly hiking without a flashlight):

This is the kind of light you get at moonset, my new favorite time!:



Water, Snow and Stars by yorgasor, on Flickr




Stars over Moab by yorgasor, on Flickr




Arches Entrance by yorgasor, on Flickr

The last of the moonlight, shining up in the clouds as it goes down:



Stars at Moonset by yorgasor, on Flickr

The moon fully down, waaaay dark. Fortunately I was close to my car at this point.



Delicate Arch Viewpoint by yorgasor, on Flickr


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## Jack Douglas (Feb 16, 2014)

Oh, I love the last posts, guys. Any advice you're willing to give to someone who's yet to do anything like this. I'll be out any day now but just in my yard where it's not particularly scenic, but it's not city. What lenses and times, exposure etc., is always helpful.

I presume the Sky Tracker is not at all useful in doing the shots with landscape due to motion blur?

Jack


----------



## tron (Feb 16, 2014)

Jack Douglas said:


> I presume the Sky Tracker is not at all useful in doing the shots with landscape due to motion blur?
> Jack


Exactly! But your 6D is capable of crazy ISO


----------



## Alexiumz (Feb 19, 2014)

Jack Douglas said:


> Oh, I love the last posts, guys. Any advice you're willing to give to someone who's yet to do anything like this. I'll be out any day now but just in my yard where it's not particularly scenic, but it's not city. What lenses and times, exposure etc., is always helpful.
> 
> I presume the Sky Tracker is not at all useful in doing the shots with landscape due to motion blur?
> 
> Jack



My go-to exposure for dark skies is f/2.8, 30" and 1600 ISO. Start with that and see how it looks; you may need to lower the ISO with the given light pollution or lower the shutter speed if you start to see stars trailing (if that's not the intended effect!)

You won't need/can't really use a sky tracker when shooting a landscape (it's more for deep space photography) unless you superimpose the foreground/landscape from a separate exposure.


----------



## Jack Douglas (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks Alexiumz!

Jack


----------



## Jack Douglas (Mar 11, 2014)

Well it took a while but finally a reasonably clear sky. I set up the iOptron sky tracker as best I could and took some shots with 300 X1.4. ISO 640 F9 30 sec. Being totally new to this I don't have a clue from any perspective. I don't know my stars or anything! 

Is there anything to be gleaned from this sample shot. I have a timer/remote release on order so I'm guessing that pressing the shutter has affected the shot?? Any suggestions anyone? 

I know this little unit is not made for the 300 II but with a smooth gimble and care things were pretty stable. A little tricky to get Polaris right but I'm guessing I did based on minimal trails, or is 30 sec too low to show that??

Jack


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## wildlifeandmore (Mar 24, 2014)

My first attempt at photographing the milky way. Taken last June along Antelope Flats in GTNP. Afraid I do not have a fast enough wide angle lens to really get some detail in the sky. I do have the nifty fifty and might give it a try this summer. Just have to walk backwards a bit. Need more practice at this!
Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 17-40mm L
17mm
f/4
24 seconds
6400 iso
580ex flash dialed way down (can not remember) during exposure.


----------



## Jack Douglas (Mar 24, 2014)

wildlifeandmore, that ranks up there with what I'd love to try. Very appealing!

If I could just figure out how to move the mountains 300 miles closer.

Jack


----------



## Sanaraken (Mar 25, 2014)

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## PTT (Mar 25, 2014)

Zion National Park. The Watchman stands near the entrance to the park above the town of Springdale which lends its lights the the mountain. 4:30am, 6D. 30 sec, f4.5, ISO400, 28mm (24-105)


----------



## wildlifeandmore (Mar 26, 2014)

Jack Douglas said:


> wildlifeandmore, that ranks up there with what I'd love to try. Very appealing!
> 
> If I could just figure out how to move the mountains 300 miles closer.
> 
> Jack


Thanks Jack. Wish I could help with moving them for you. Might be worth a drive someday?
Wondering if you of anyone else knows of a good lighting source for night photos to light up a relatively close foreground subject? Flash seems too hot and gives an odd hue. Need something to give an even spread of light for the frame.


----------



## jdramirez (Mar 26, 2014)

wildlifeandmore said:


> Jack Douglas said:
> 
> 
> > wildlifeandmore, that ranks up there with what I'd love to try. Very appealing!
> ...



I've used my phone for close up foreground objects. My one flashlight has a function where I can choose the lcd as a flash light and I can make the color red, green, blue, etc. The lcd light doesn't reflect harshly and it adds a little subtle color/light to the foreground...

Flashlight by smalltech.


----------



## Click (Mar 26, 2014)

wildlifeandmore said:


> My first attempt at photographing the milky way. Taken last June along Antelope Flats in GTNP. Afraid I do not have a fast enough wide angle lens to really get some detail in the sky. I do have the nifty fifty and might give it a try this summer. Just have to walk backwards a bit. Need more practice at this!
> Canon 1D Mark IV
> Canon 17-40mm L
> 17mm
> ...




Lovely shot. 8) Well done.


----------



## Sporgon (Mar 26, 2014)

PTT said:


> Zion National Park. The Watchman stands near the entrance to the park above the town of Springdale which lends its lights the the mountain. 4:30am, 6D. 30 sec, f4.5, ISO400, 28mm (24-105)



Beautiful shot.


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## Click (Mar 26, 2014)

PTT said:


> Zion National Park. The Watchman stands near the entrance to the park above the town of Springdale which lends its lights the the mountain. 4:30am, 6D. 30 sec, f4.5, ISO400, 28mm (24-105)



Great light. It's beautiful.


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## Mr Bean (Mar 26, 2014)

PTT said:


> Zion National Park. The Watchman stands near the entrance to the park above the town of Springdale which lends its lights the the mountain. 4:30am, 6D. 30 sec, f4.5, ISO400, 28mm (24-105)


Wow, stunning pic.


----------



## GaabNZ (Mar 26, 2014)

Ohakune, New Zealand from September 5th 2013.


----------



## Sanaraken (Mar 27, 2014)

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Click (Mar 27, 2014)

GaabNZ said:


> Ohakune, New Zealand from September 5th 2013.




Nicely done.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 27, 2014)

All shots are very nice - thanks. 

I've wondered about using my LED macro ring light for forground. It has variable output. Still to cold to be doing much outside!!

Jack


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## ichetov (Mar 27, 2014)

I should have corrected all that 14mm CA...


----------



## bereninga (Mar 27, 2014)

PTT said:


> Zion National Park. The Watchman stands near the entrance to the park above the town of Springdale which lends its lights the the mountain. 4:30am, 6D. 30 sec, f4.5, ISO400, 28mm (24-105)



Whoa, this one is really amazing!


----------



## Varg (Mar 31, 2014)

This one was taken on a full moon night with a 6D and a 24-105 at 24mm F4 30sec.







Stars over Frey by Ezequiel Bengochea on 500px


----------



## traingineer (Mar 31, 2014)

Some quick images I took in my garden ° ͜ °


----------



## TheJock (Mar 31, 2014)

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this idea, I would like to try this and capture some of the Dubai cityscape in the foreground, but I obviously don’t want to blow the image out, so would an upside down ND grad be enough to kill some of the foreground light and help with capturing the sky and stars, I am aware that there will be light pollution but I’m liking this idea…………unless someone on here can elaborate as to why this won’t work!!


----------



## jdramirez (Mar 31, 2014)

TheJock said:


> I’d love to hear your thoughts about this idea, I would like to try this and capture some of the Dubai cityscape in the foreground, but I obviously don’t want to blow the image out, so would an upside down ND grad be enough to kill some of the foreground light and help with capturing the sky and stars, I am aware that there will be light pollution but I’m liking this idea…………unless someone on here can elaborate as to why this won’t work!!



If that's the case... I'd consider multiple exposures and layers... but good luck.


----------



## traingineer (Mar 31, 2014)

There's quite a lot of light pollution in Dubai, so if you're thinking of taking some pictures of the sky, it's better to go outside the city, which only takes around an hour or more. 



TheJock said:


> I’d love to hear your thoughts about this idea, I would like to try this and capture some of the Dubai cityscape in the foreground, but I obviously don’t want to blow the image out, so would an upside down ND grad be enough to kill some of the foreground light and help with capturing the sky and stars, I am aware that there will be light pollution but I’m liking this idea…………unless someone on here can elaborate as to why this won’t work!!


----------



## shutterskys (Apr 24, 2014)

Few starscapes from around the place in NZ, hope ya all enjoy


----------



## Menace (Apr 24, 2014)

shutterskys said:


> Few starscapes from around the place in NZ, hope ya all enjoy



Nice! Where abouts in NZ were these shot?


----------



## shutterskys (Apr 24, 2014)

Menace said:


> shutterskys said:
> 
> 
> > Few starscapes from around the place in NZ, hope ya all enjoy
> ...



Thanks very much!
1: Whitby, Wellington
2,3: Horokiwi, Wellington
4: Albany, Auckland


----------



## Menace (Apr 25, 2014)

shutterskys said:


> Menace said:
> 
> 
> > shutterskys said:
> ...



Thanks


----------



## CarlTN (Apr 25, 2014)

wearle said:


> To all,
> 
> Here's my first and second attempt at star trails. In my first attempt, I made the mistake of too short of an exposure. It would generally be somewhat light polluted near Battle Mountain, but fog and low cloud had enveloped the lower terrain blocking out all the light pollution coming from the Columbia Basin. My exposures should have been two minutes, but they were only 20 seconds.  On my second attempt, I raised my exposure to one minute since it was the longest I could go without blowing out the illuminated fog below over Pendleton, Oregon. I believe it's a better attempt than the first, but still room for improvement. A couple of vehicles went by and down Emigrant Hill during a couple of the exposures. I'm not quite sure if the illuminated foreground hurts or helps the image. What are your thoughts?
> 
> ...



These are very nice, especially the one with the cars. Which lens?


----------



## CarlTN (Apr 25, 2014)

emag said:


> 6D on a 2000mm f/10 telescope with 2xTC. Seas of Tranquility and Serenity, crater Plato and the nearby Alpine Valley, craters Archimedes and Eratosthenes, crater Copernicus at sunrise. ISO320, 1/25.
> 
> Larger view - macro extenders (total 65mm) added between 2xTC and camera body to increase the effective focal length. ISO640, 1/80.
> 
> Taken evening of 8 February, first decent night in two weeks.



Great job!


----------



## traingineer (Apr 25, 2014)

The brightest object in the image is Jupiter.


----------



## Chuck Alaimo (Apr 29, 2014)

taken pretty close to buffalo ny, so there's a lot of light pollution. surprised though that I got as many as I did!


----------



## traingineer (May 5, 2014)

First try at using Deep Sky Stacker.
(9 2sec/ISO 800/F2.8 Light frames)
(9 dark and 9 bias frames)


----------



## Mr Bean (Jul 25, 2014)

From my backyard the other night. While I'm only an hour or so from Melbourne, the skies are generally fairly clear. I did tweak this in Photoshop by creating a subtraction mask, to reduce the orange glow from the City lights.


----------



## Click (Jul 25, 2014)

Beautiful. Well done Mr Bean


----------



## KeithBreazeal (Jul 25, 2014)

Milky Way at Shot Rock 21 June 2014 © Keith Breazeal by Keith Breazeal Photography, on Flickr


----------



## Lloyd (Jul 25, 2014)

Here is one I took a while back with a 60D in the middle of night at Old Faithful. It is likely a repost, but it brings back great memories of being all alone while Old Faithful went off.


----------



## Mr Bean (Jul 25, 2014)

Click said:


> Beautiful. Well done Mr Bean


Thanks Click. I must admit, trying to remove light pollution from an image is a tricky thing. Working out what is "normal" colour takes a good eye and the ability to stand back and say "...nope, that's not right....do it again..."


----------



## Mr Bean (Jul 25, 2014)

Nice pic's KeithBreazeal and Lloyd. Certainly a different view of Old Faithful


----------



## LOALTD (Aug 8, 2014)

From our camp on Mt Baker a couple months ago, I'm not that happy with the composition but it was very early in the morning and we wanted to start climbing so I didn't have much time!

Taken with the excellent Samyang 14mm f/2.8, best star lens for Canon cameras IMHO. (haven't tried the 16-35 f/4.0 IS for stars yet, still too bright up here in Alaska!)


----------



## Click (Aug 8, 2014)

LOALTD said:


> From our camp on Mt Baker a couple months ago, I'm not that happy with the composition but it was very early in the morning and we wanted to start climbing so I didn't have much time!
> 
> Taken with the excellent Samyang 14mm f/2.8, best star lens for Canon cameras IMHO. (haven't tried the 16-35 f/4.0 IS for stars yet, still too bright up here in Alaska!)



Beautiful shot. 8) Nicely done.


----------



## climber (Aug 30, 2014)

Milky Way


----------



## Click (Aug 30, 2014)

climber said:


> Milky Way



I really like your shot climber. Well done.


----------



## Mort (Aug 30, 2014)

Shot this one on my 6D and Rokinon 14mm. Single shot with a flash (and yellow gel).


----------



## Click (Aug 30, 2014)

Great shot Mort. Nicely done.


----------



## PicaPica (Aug 30, 2014)

exif data please.

i am starting with this star photography stuff and i would like to see the settings you guys use.
unfortunately many images come without the exif infos.


----------



## spandau (Aug 30, 2014)

Took this photo out of my bedroom window from a townhouse located in the middle of town illuminated by nearby streetlights. 

Canon 70D, Canon 35MM f1.4L, 21 seconds at 1600 ISO.


----------



## Click (Aug 30, 2014)

Nice shot spandau.


----------



## climber (Aug 30, 2014)

Click said:


> climber said:
> 
> 
> > Milky Way
> ...



Thanks.

Here is another one from the same spot.


----------



## Don Haines (Aug 30, 2014)

climber said:


> Click said:
> 
> 
> > climber said:
> ...


Beautiful!


----------



## LOALTD (Sep 22, 2014)

Northern Lights from Hope, AK last night!


----------



## applecider (Sep 22, 2014)

Milky way view looking south over Nantucket Sound sept 17th isn.

Needless to say the skies were not truly dark. Shot with an sl1 and canon 35mm f2.0 IS shot at f2 and 6 seconds.

I wanted the look of dark sky with sharp pointy stars that others in this thread have achieved, so suggestions welcomed. Shown pp'ed two different ways. There was a bit of water effect fog over the ocean, making the terminator a little dark.


----------



## charlesbanke (Sep 22, 2014)

Milkyway just outside Bryce Canyon





Canon 6D, Rokinon 14mm @2.8 ISO12,800 30sec


----------



## Pakneh (Oct 11, 2014)

Sagamok, Ontario 
During a solar flare in September. Unawares at the time I thought the Aurora was light pollution from the nearby town of Massey. Composed from 86 photos over the span of 40 minutes, assembled in Lightroom and Photoshop.


----------



## Click (Oct 11, 2014)

LOALTD said:


> Northern Lights from Hope, AK last night!



Great shot. I really like this one.


----------



## Mr Bean (Oct 11, 2014)

climber said:


> Click said:
> 
> 
> > climber said:
> ...


Wow, very nice climber. What gear/settings did you use?


----------



## Mr Bean (Oct 11, 2014)

LOALTD said:


> Northern Lights from Hope, AK last night!


Very nice LOALTD.


----------



## climber (Oct 12, 2014)

Mr Bean said:


> climber said:
> 
> 
> > Click said:
> ...



Thanks.

It is panorama stitched out of 6-7 vertical shots (don't remember). 

Gear and settings: 5D Mk3, 24-70 at 24 mm each shot, f/2.8, 25s, ISO 8000


----------



## DKN (Oct 13, 2014)

A shot of the milky way in greece. I decided to shoot it vertically in order to preserve the beautiful milky way and all the surrounding stars all along it. Moreover the dimly lit road in the bottom part frames the stars.

Minimal processing in photoshop, just a bit of sharpness and WB. You can see it also here (https://500px.com/photo/86269779).


----------



## 87vr6 (Oct 14, 2014)

5D3_6006 by volksron, on Flickr



5D3_6016 (2) by volksron, on Flickr


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## DKN (Oct 14, 2014)

Another shot of a milky way in Greece. In this one I used two people in order to convey the perspective and give the observer a human sized reference. Right at the bottom of the image, far away it's possible to see the island of Paxos.
EXIF and more here: https://500px.com/photo/86381229


----------



## lvanzijl (Nov 13, 2014)

Samyang 14mm f/2.8 @ 20s/2.8/iso800

First attempt of shooting stars, had no clue what I shot until I came home 2 weeks later.
Hate that I can't blow it up and print because of the stars that seem to be out of focus . 

Any tips for a next time?


----------



## niteclicks (Nov 13, 2014)

First, nice shot. I think what you have is camera shake. extra weight on the tripod and/or using the 10 sec timer and mirror lockup will help. You can test your tripod with a telephoto on the moon or bright star live view @ 10x a light tap and see how long it takes to settle , I find 2 sec not quite enough, but I have a med weight tripod.


----------



## lvanzijl (Nov 13, 2014)

niteclicks said:


> First, nice shot. I think what you have is camera shake. extra weight on the tripod and/or using the 10 sec timer and mirror lockup will help. You can test your tripod with a telephoto on the moon or bright star live view @ 10x a light tap and see how long it takes to settle , I find 2 sec not quite enough, but I have a med weight tripod.



Hmm sounds possible, I was using 2s timer, no lockup. Thanks for the tips!


----------



## spandau (Nov 13, 2014)

Taken out of my bedroom window in town. Tree is lit by sodium vapor streetlights.


----------



## FEBS (Nov 13, 2014)

yorgasor said:


> Here's one I did last night. I loved the reflections of the stars in the still pond.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



woow,
very nice picture Yorgasor


----------



## FEBS (Nov 13, 2014)

pedro said:


> Z96A9748b1Master Kopie by Peter Hauri, on Flickr



Pedro,

Stunning picture man!!!


----------



## Pakneh (Dec 28, 2014)

I am hoping for some CC regarding this image, specifics wise, I shot it with a 6d, Sigma 35MM art, 1000 iso at 10sec, composition of about 60 photos. Used Lightroom, just determining if I went overboard or any advice in how to compose images where star trails and auroras mingle. When I was shooting these photos, the Aurora was not visible at all and only appeared in the camera after.


----------



## Click (Dec 28, 2014)

Great shot Pakneh. Well done.


----------



## climber (Mar 8, 2015)

Same stars, but different location.


----------



## Click (Mar 8, 2015)

climber said:


> Same stars, but different location.



I really like this shot climber. Nicely done.


----------



## climber (Mar 8, 2015)

Click said:


> climber said:
> 
> 
> > Same stars, but different location.
> ...



Thanks, Click.


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## Sunnystate (Mar 8, 2015)

Some of those shots are so beautiful and clever, it is just wonderful that more and more people appreciate the beauty of dark skies! Soon Milky Way will become common natural back ground for night photography. 
We all should do our part in making this possible from every back yard! 

http://www.darksky.org/

Thank you


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## 20Dave (Mar 8, 2015)

Here was one of my early attempts after getting a tracking mount. There are hundreds if not thousands of better images online, but I'm just showing what a beginner can do with the right equipment. It is the "North American Nebula" (you can see the outline of what looks like the Gulf of Mexico in the middle). It is a stack of about a dozen 5-minute exposures using a 20D and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens at ~200mm. It was taken in a moderate-to-heavy light pollution area in central Massachusetts.


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## Sunnystate (Mar 9, 2015)

Great shot, it may need a bit of color adjustments. I am also experimenting on very humble scale with astrophotography. Do you mind to tell what kind of tracking mount do you use, 5min it is considered pretty long exposure at 200mm, and all seems to be pinpoint sharp, also looks like you have used pretty small aperture considering the star shapes what ISO if you don't mind to share?
Thanks, 
Z. 



20Dave said:


> Here was one of my early attempts after getting a tracking mount. There are hundreds if not thousands of better images online, but I'm just showing what a beginner can do with the right equipment. It is the "North American Nebula" (you can see the outline of what looks like the Gulf of Mexico in the middle). It is a stack of about a dozen 5-minute exposures using a 20D and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens at ~200mm. It was taken in a moderate-to-heavy light pollution area in central Massachusetts.


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## 20Dave (Mar 9, 2015)

Sunnystate said:


> Great shot, it may need a bit of color adjustments. I am also experimenting on very humble scale with astrophotography. Do you mind to tell what kind of tracking mount do you use, 5min it is considered pretty long exposure at 200mm, and all seems to be pinpoint sharp, also looks like you have used pretty small aperture considering the star shapes what ISO if you don't mind to share?
> Thanks,
> Z.



Thanks for the feedback on the photo - I agree that the color is too red, I just never got around to fixing it .It's not a great photo, I was just excited at the time to be able to make out some structure 

So, the mount that I used is a case of extreme overkill for 200mm. The mount is an MI-250 from a company that no longer exists. It was the entry level of the high end mounts, if that makes any sense. I bought the mount to be able to image at around 2000mm (which requires a high end mount), so I splurged on the mount but started on my learning curve with a manageable focal length.

You could get similar performance at 200mm from a mount which costs probably about 1/10 of what my mount cost. This photo was autoguided. Basically, I had a small refractor as a guidescope with a cheap CCD camera (I have a used Meade DSI-2), and I piggybacked the 20D on top of that. I only did a very simple polar alignment of the setup (literally, I eyeballed it, no polar scope or drift aligning). At 200mm with autoguiding, it wasn't critical for me to spend the time to do a very accurate polar alignment.

As for the ISO, I'll have to check when I get back to the PC where the original data is stored. Given that it was a 20D, my guess was 800-1600 ISO, but that's just a guess. 

Dave


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## Sunnystate (Mar 10, 2015)

Thank you for the info, I was kind of hopping that you have tackled the art of taking 5min exposures @200mm without spending serious $$$ for tracking mounts and autoguides  The photo maybe is not attractive in usual standards because you did not processed enough, but than again if you look at many of the astro photographs usually they are seriously overcooked to get the "stunning" look, which I love myself. When it comes to sharpness and seems like complete lack of trailing in your picture there is nothing to complain about.



20Dave said:


> Sunnystate said:
> 
> 
> > Great shot, it may need a bit of color adjustments. I am also experimenting on very humble scale with astrophotography. Do you mind to tell what kind of tracking mount do you use, 5min it is considered pretty long exposure at 200mm, and all seems to be pinpoint sharp, also looks like you have used pretty small aperture considering the star shapes what ISO if you don't mind to share?
> ...


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## Schmave (Mar 13, 2015)

Here are some star trails I got from a timelapse I shot in the Anza Borrego Desert recently:




Anza Borrego Startrails 2 by Justin Kane, on Flickr


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## Click (Mar 13, 2015)

Schmave said:


> Here are some star trails I got from a timelapse I shot in the Anza Borrego Desert recently:




Cool shot. Nicely done Schmave.


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## KeithBreazeal (Mar 14, 2015)

California Sierra Nevada Mountains
5D III 14mm Rokinon



Milky Way at Shot Rock 21 June 2014 © Keith Breazeal by Keith Breazeal Photography, on Flickr


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## Click (Mar 14, 2015)

KeithBreazeal said:


> California Sierra Nevada Mountains
> 5D III 14mm Rokinon




Beautiful.


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## LOALTD (Mar 17, 2015)

climber said:


> Same stars, but different location.




Love it! Where is this?


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## LOALTD (Mar 17, 2015)

Self-portrait under the Northern Lights Saturday night from Talkeetna, Alaska.


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## Click (Mar 17, 2015)

LOALTD said:


> Self-portrait under the Northern Lights Saturday night from Talkeetna, Alaska.





Very nice shot. Well done.


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## RGF (Mar 21, 2015)

Great shot Our local sky has a strong reddish glow from the city lights


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## Jeevz (Mar 25, 2015)

RGF said:


> Great shot Our local sky has a strong reddish glow from the city lights



Not my local sky, but the strong glow from the nearby (small city) worked well here I think! 



Countryside... City Glow by Sanjeev Deo, on Flickr


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## Click (Mar 25, 2015)

Awesome. Well done Jeevz.


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## Jeevz (Mar 26, 2015)

Thanks Click!

Here is another from that morning:



City vs Sky by Sanjeev Deo, on Flickr


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## Click (Mar 27, 2015)

Beautiful. Lovely light. Nicely done Jeevz.


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## rpt (Mar 27, 2015)

Click said:


> Beautiful. Lovely light. Nicely done Jeevz.


+1

Really nice! Where did you shoot these?


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## Jeevz (Mar 27, 2015)

Thanks!
Was from Lac de la Dathee, in Lower Normandy, France.

I got so many varied shots on this morning; after the clouds obscured the MW there were the other lake reflections. Then the mist started rising off the lake... then the sun started shining through the mist... 

It's a beautiful place.


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## rpt (Mar 27, 2015)

Jeevz said:


> Thanks!
> Was from Lac de la Dathee, in Lower Normandy, France.
> 
> I got so many varied shots on this morning; after the clouds obscured the MW there were the other lake reflections. Then the mist started rising off the lake... then the sun started shining through the mist...
> ...


Yes, it does seem like a lovely place.


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