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Star Trails

Nov, 2014

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+23

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Behind The Lens

Location

I had always loved astrophotography, so one year for my birthday, I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Saguaro National Park just outside of Tucson, Arizona for my first attempt at capturing star trails.

Time

Who knew waiting for the sun to go down could be so difficult? I got to the park in the early evening so that I could get some photos of the sunset and landscape at dusk. Even after the sun went down, I had to wait a few hours for the almost full moon to set as well. I finally was able to start shooting this around midnight, spending about an hour and a half capturing the star movement.

Lighting

After the moon went down, the desert was a beautifully dark place, except for the occasional car passing by. In order to get the Saguaro to show clearly, I used a head lamp that I would shine for a few seconds during the exposures so it would be bright enough to see. If I had the light on for longer than a few seconds, the light would drown out most of the stars.

Equipment

I made this photo using a Canon 70D mounted on a 72 inch tripod. I used my Rokinon Ultra Wide 14mm f/2.8 lens, a head lamp to light the foreground, and finally, an intervalometer so I could time my photos appropriately.

Inspiration

The night sky has always been a love of mine. It's something I have immersed myself in since a very young age. When I first started learning about photography, I knew that capturing the movement of the stars over a set period of time was something I really wanted to do. We have no way to view the motion in real time, because our eyes don't allow us the ability. This made me crave the chance to learn how to do it and see it for myself. Nature is an incredible thing. The universe seems to beg to be photographed because of the beauty I see in it, and I want to share it with others.

Editing

Because this photo is actually a composition of around 200 photos, it took a lot of post processing and editing to create. When shooting this image, I was taking 20 second exposures continuously over the course of an hour and a half. I use a program called StarStax to stack all of the photos into one. After that was completed, I could then move the single image to PhotoShop to get rid of any extra noise or airplane trails that were captured. Since I shoot in RAW, I made slight adjustments to restore the color I saw while taking the photos. Depending on how long you choose you let your camera take pictures, this can sometimes be a lengthy process, but the finale is worth it.

In my camera bag

First and foremost, I will never leave my house without at least two camera batteries. I dread having a moment when I see something beautiful, but my battery has died from all of the other beautiful things I've seen. After I make sure to have the batteries, I have to have back up memory cards. I guess I'm a "just in case" type of person. My lenses consist of a Canon 18-135mm, Sigma 70-300mm, Rokinon Ultra Wide 14mm f/2.8, Opteka 6.5mm Fish Eye, and a Bower 650-1300mm. Finally, add some filters, the intervalometer, a few laser pointers, a mini tripod and a flashlight and I'm ready to go!

Feedback

Capturing the night sky is something that takes patience. Lots and lots of it! Many things can get in the way when you're trying to capture the universe. Whether it be clouds, wind, light pollution, rain or just plain time, things can go wrong. But that's okay because sometimes you get even better shots that way. If you're having a hard time though, stick with it. The more you work with your settings and your locations, the better you will become. I have the best luck using an ISO of 3200-6400 with a low f-stop. I have also found that 20 second exposures seem to work the best. Beauty is everywhere. If you can't see it, try a different angle.

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Star Trails

Behind The Lens

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