Star Trails at Double Arch

[susanschermer]

This was my first attempt at star trails. Instead of a one-hour exposure (noise?) I set the SS to 30secs, the mode to continuous, and locked the cable release and let it keep making 30 second exposures for one hour. The arch was painted with a flashlight for 30 seconds. f/4 ISO 400. I post-processed with software (Startrails stacking program). So, Roman, how did I do?

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Very cool Susan, really nice. I think you did really well:) Nice comp and the star trails are beautiful.

[Robert Amoruso]

I like how this turned out Susan and I particularly like the location of the star arcs in relation to the arch.

[Dennis "Curly" Buchner]

Good job Susan, glad your weather improved after I left, and with some snow to boot to add to the mix.

[Roger Clark]

Susan,
Excellent. Very well done especially for a first try. You didn't say what camera you used, but most modern DSLRs can go 5 or 10 minutes or longer at such a dark location. That way you have fewer images to process and will have less noise in the combined image.

Roger

[Dave Mills]

Hi Susan, I think you did great. Your comp is good with just enough lighting on the rocks without overdoing it.
The trails have formed a nice pattern and created a most interesting image. Nicely handled!

[Betsie Storm]

Beautiful image, Susan. In film days I made a few not-too-successful attempts at star trails, this one has inspired me to try it again with digital. I like your painting of the arch and the complimentary curves of the trails & arch.

[susanschermer]

Thanks to all. I hope Roman takes a look, because i asked his advice before i left for the SW. My Canon 5D only would do 30 seconds at the most.

I admit i had some help from John Fuller. I have to give credit where it is due, but he wasn't around when I made this image. During the workshop there was heavy cloud cover, and I practiced, but with poor results.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Susan,
Greetings from Bosque! I'm here with my tour....hence the delayed response.
I wish my first attempt was this good! This is a huge arch so painting it evenly is very difficult.....as mentioned above you placed the trails very well in the arch and the PP'ing is very good also. I have to look into the 5D and see if it has a bulb setting.....you can then lock the cable release for 1 hour as digital trials have come a long way with the newer generation bodies.....so check it out and you can then also try Roger's technique as a comparison!
All in all you handled this very well and did a super job composing and then compiling the stacked images! Congrats on this and welcome to the night club!!!

[Ed Vatza]

Hi Susan,

The LR corner is a bit dark for my taste but that does detract from what is a stunning image. Looks like you've been doing these your whole life. Excellent work!

[Greg Basco]

Susan, cool shot, and great job working on a new technique.

By the way, the Canon 5D definitely has bulb mode so you might consider longer exposures too on future experiments. From what I've researched, it's kind of an open question still as to whether either method (one long exposure or a number of shorter exposures stacked) really produces noticeably better results than the other. Of course, I would love to hear others' opinions.

Cheers,
Greg