mattpayne
FollowI 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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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).
Read less
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692
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Lapse Of Time Photo Contest
People's Choice in Expectacular Star Trails Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
All Star
Virtuoso
Top Ranks
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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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.