Star Trails at Balanced Rock

[Roman Kurywczak]

I'm posting this to show what happens if you try to squeeze in a star trail shot. Taken with the EOS3 and the 17-40mm lens.......setting unrecorded...but probably f4.5 for 45 minutes on E100VS film. This shot is approximately 1 hr after sunset.........hence the blue in the sky.......and ended early as the moon was rising and starting to add light to the scene. Will Post a digital version from this year at another time.
Comments welcomed and appreciated,
Roman

Small Group Photo Tours
www.roaminwithroman.com (http://www.roaminwithroman.com)

[Robert Amoruso]

I like the brighter sky from the moonrise. Also like just having the rock coming out of one corner. I did a tighter crop to strengthen the idea of the rock's position.

[Rich Ikerd]

Another beauty Roman. I am definitely inspired by your star trail images and will be trying my hand at it on trip out to Moab this fall. I think the moon may be nearing full about the time we will be there, so its nice to see that even with that, good images are possible. Thanks for continuing to share these wonders and the techs that go along with them.

[Bill Bryant]

Roman:

Love all of your your star trail images. Thanks for the tutorial you recently posted. Can you elaborate on techniques for "painting" in the FG? I understand the concept, but can you elaborate on how much time you spend shining the flashlight on the FG? I'm sure there is much trial and error involved, but a general idea would be helpful.

It just occurred to me that trial and error for the foreground painting may not require 45 minutes per shot at all... Can you just open the shutter, experiment with painting times/angles (2-3 minutes?), then check the exposure? At that point, the star trails will not have had time to develop, but you will at least have a baseline to work with during the longer exposure.

Thanks,

Bill

[Roman Kurywczak]

Roman:

Love all of your your star trail images. Thanks for the tutorial you recently posted. Can you elaborate on techniques for "painting" in the FG? I understand the concept, but can you elaborate on how much time you spend shining the flashlight on the FG? I'm sure there is much trial and error involved, but a general idea would be helpful.

It just occurred to me that trial and error for the foreground painting may not require 45 minutes per shot at all... Can you just open the shutter, experiment with painting times/angles (2-3 minutes?), then check the exposure? At that point, the star trails will not have had time to develop, but you will at least have a baseline to work with during the longer exposure.

Thanks,

Bill

Hey Bill,
You are correct that experimenting should be done with short exposures and higher ISO's. Lets say you want to do star trails at ISO 100 (best). Set the camera at ISO 800 and lock it open for 30 seconds. Image your flashlight as a spray paint can. The power of your flashlight will definitely impact the time spent painting. Check your exposure/histogram............like it.....do math...ISO 400, 1 minute painting........ISO 200, 2 min. painting, .....ISO 100, 4min.........or....double up light sources and cut time in half.
Now you know how long to paint in a relatively short time. Now just open the shutter and paint.........and go nap...or have a beer.
Hope this helps,
Roman

[Bill Bryant]

What kind of beer?

Thanks... can't wait to try it.