Bodiam Castle Star Trails
Sep, 2016Views
157
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Awards
People's Choice in Milky Way, Star Trails, & Stars Photo Challenge
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
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Top 20 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
The shot was taken at Bodium Castle in East Sussex EnglandTime
The shots for this image were taken after 21:30hrs after the moon had set.Lighting
I was going to light paint the castle with my headlamp but security turned up and turned on the lights which gave me the opportunity of capturing the castle with a low iso.Equipment
Nikon D750 Samyang 24mm F1.4, Manfrotto Tripod and gel heatpacks to fight the dew.Inspiration
I had shot this scene a few weeks beforehand but had problems with dew building up on the lens so returned to re-shoot the scene.Editing
Planes, Planes, Planes - there were a lot of plane trails through the sky as this is a busy sky being in the south east and not far from Gatwick. Stacked the star trails in starstax and merged with the light frame of the castle in photoshop.In my camera bag
For night shoots Nikon D750, Rokinon 14mm F2.8 & Samyang 24mm F1.4, Intervalometer, spare batteries & SD Cards , lens cloths, and now the addition of a dew buster and 12v lithium battery for stopping dew buildup on my lenses. Manfrotto sturdy tripod.Feedback
This type of shot can be time consuming and cold will make you want to pack up early so wrap up warm and take plenty of hot drinks. I also took another camera with me to shoot a time lapse of the stars which helped keep me occupied during the long wait for the star trails as it was 80 x 2 mins exposures. A dewbuster to fight the dew buildup really is a must if shooting in cold damp England. Phil Hart blog is the setup I went with - http://philhart.com/content/dew-heaters-night-sky-photography
