Star Trail at Algonquin
Feb, 2016Views
882
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Awards
Winner in Star Trails & Timestack Photo Challenge
Winner in Startrails Photo Challenge
Winner in Star Trails Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Star Trails Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Genius
Virtuoso
All Star
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CPonsell
November 18, 2016
Thanks for entering my challenge. Congrats on the win! I love your photo and the composition with the canoes, Auroras and reflections!
chrispegman
December 08, 2016
thanks for entering this vibrant startrails image into my Human + Cosmos challenge.
daniel_amorim
October 15, 2018
Thanks for entering my Star Trails contest! Cool capture. I've been to Algonquin once before but never did any star trails photography. Should visit again!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Took this one on the Pog Lake Campground beach in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada.Time
Making this image was a wonderful and, at times, challenging experience. This was taken past midnight. The moon wasn't up yet and there was no wind either. Just setup the shot and went canoeing with a friend in the still lake, with the aurora dancing in one corner of the sky and an owl hooting from somewhere in the trees.Lighting
The lighting on the scene is thanks to the moon during the later part of the night and an early aurora display. I briefly lit the headlights of my car to light the low mist on the lake to render a more dynamic scene.Equipment
I shot this with the Canon 6D, Rokinon 14mm 2.8 and a camera remote. The whole setup was on my Benro A2691TB1 tripod.Inspiration
I had always wanted to take a star trail image with reflection on water. So when the perfect conditions presented themselves on a weekend camping trip, it was impossible to pass up. There was no wind, no clouds, no moon in the sky yet, a low mist over the lake plus a bonus of the aurora playing in the background. I just had to find something as foreground on the flat beach, setup the shots and just sit back and soak in the magical night.Editing
This one required a bit of post processing. I had setup the camera to take shots of 3 minutes duration so there were quite a lot of files to stack to get the star trail. The stacking was done using the excellent StarStax in Gap filling mode. Since I had to take so much of the sky and was quite close to the canoes, the land had to be shot separately and merged as a panorama. The whole image was then finished off in Photoshop.In my camera bag
I usually carry my trusty Canon 6D - this was my first FF camera and I LOVE it :). Lenses I pretty much always carry are the Canon 24-105L and 16-35 F4L, along with the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 used for this shot and the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. Other usual stuff are spare batteries, SD cards, remote triggers and hand warmers (these are very helpful in star trail shots)Feedback
Nights outdoors, especially in dark sky locations, can get colder than you expect or realise. So remember to dress warm. It is difficult to think clearly and concentrate on framing and making the technical decisions needed for making the shot when you are cold and miserable. There is also no need to stay awake through the night once the shot is setup so find a comfortable place to lie down and go to sleep so you can tackle the sunrise with renewed energy. If the temperature drops below dew point in the night, your lens may fog up. Tie a couple of chemical hand warmers to your lens, as close to the front element as possible, and be careful not to mess up the focus.
