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I decided to head to the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico for an overnight backpacking trip to execute my longest star trail to date. This photograph represents fiv...
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I decided to head to the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico for an overnight backpacking trip to execute my longest star trail to date. This photograph represents five hours and eighteen minutes of star movement across the heavens. Approximately 600 images.
Tech-Nerdy stuff:
Camera: Sony A7R2
Lens: Nikon 14-24
Aperture: f-2.8
Shutter Speed: 30 seconds (times 600 images)
ISO: 3200
Hand-blended in Photoshop (hours and hours of work).
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Awards

Contest Finalist in Lapse Of Time Photo Contest
People's Choice in Expectacular Star Trails Photo Challenge
Peer Award
franklinabbott afsanamimi markmahler LeeVarland giusepperussofoto alexey_gorshenin nashoba +20
Top Choice
bpwhite charliewilson Ratcha007 DeadEye mustang87 Alexander_Yanchenko Chris_Roberts_Photography +1
Absolute Masterpiece
HEdHead juandavidprezh Etienne_Fourie nat_artlie FergalBrady gregkoltz
Outstanding Creativity
ChrisHPhotos timmcelroy tg2125 Steve--photography-- RinsWouda
Magnificent Capture
Manni EsmaralduS Alfredo_Jose
Superb Composition
SettingSky Chiffon scottsinclair
Superior Skill
gregedwards CarlaK
All Star
estercastillo08
Virtuoso
JohnHoke

Emotions

Impressed
aimoliuska markmahler

Top Ranks

Lapse Of Time Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Lapse Of Time Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Shades Of Purple ProjectTop 20 rank
Shades Of Purple ProjectTop 20 rank week 1
Experimental Photography ProjectTop 20 rank week 1
The Stars Photo ContestTop 30 rank
The Stars Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Looks Mysterious Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Looks Mysterious Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Creative Reality Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Creative Reality Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Composing With Circles Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Composing With Circles Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Long Exposure Experiments Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Long Exposure Experiments Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 37 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 27Top 20 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 27Top 20 rank week 2
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 27Top 20 rank week 1

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this sequence of photos (its a star trail after-all) in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico. I found these two hoodoos and positioned my camera so that the North Star (Polaris) was in between them.

Time

This photo represents about 5 hours of star movement (or Earth movement, really) at night.

Lighting

This is all natural lighting from the stars - no artificial light was present.

Equipment

Tripod, Sony A7R2, Nikon 14-24 lens, and an external battery pack to power the camera.

Inspiration

I wanted to create a story with this night star trail image. I envisioned E.T. or some other being gazing into the stars longing to go back home.

Editing

Yes - quite a lot of post-processing is involved with a multi-image star trail photograph. This is like 600 photos combined into one.

In my camera bag

A variety of lenses, a lens cloth, an external battery, and an intervalometer.

Feedback

Vision for night photography can be a challenge. I recommend downloading the app PhotoPills to help with planning. It has an augmented reality function that is very helpful.

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