Snake Valley trails

[niko]

This was taken on the Friday night of the recent camp - a veritable hive of activity beneath a glorious sky.

Not quite sure why the focus near the SCP appears so ordinary but reasonably happy with the result.

thanks for looking

niko

[Rob_K]

How could you possibly observe anything? Lit up like Bourke St!

Sounds like you all had a great time - missed again but hoping to get to the next one!

Cheers -

[Akwestland (Andrew and Kim)]

Niko,

Great shot. would like one day to try some stuff like this, I have been reading up on how to do it and will start at it soon. Would you like to share the specs on the image & equipment? It may help understanding the settings used.

One day I will get to do something like this and hang it on a wall maybe.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[niko]

Andrew,

only too happy to share

Canon 1100D and a Tonkina 11-16mm lens (set at 16mm) I think.

Exposures were f2.8 iso 1600 and 30 secs each. Final image is the result of stacking about 300 images in Startrails.de (freeware)

Camera is just sitting on an ordinary tripod. I tens to set the focus during the day and tape the lens at that focus point (mainly because my eyesight at night is shocking).

You should give it a go - very easy really and produces such a great result. It's also quite good fun watching the trails appear as the software does its thing

niko

[Akwestland (Andrew and Kim)]

niko,

Thanks for sharing that info. I have recently bought a new DSLR and am starting to learn to use it. I will certainly have a go at this, I am just looking at plenty of pix to get an idea of exposure details (and admiring the shots).

I know what you mean by diminishing eyesight, and once it starts then you take up astronomy...hmmmmmmm.

With the focus on this are you focusing at infinity, just short of there or at the foreground? Setting it up in daylight and taping certainly makes things easier.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by niko

Not quite sure why the focus near the SCP appears so ordinary but reasonably happy with the result.

thanks for looking

niko

Hi Niko,

Nice shot.
The reason focus wasn't perfect on the SCP was because it was at the top right hand corner of the lens, where it suffers field curvature, so it won't be as sharp in the corners as it is in the centre.

See link:
https://photographylife.com/what-is-field-curvature

RB

[mill (Martin)]

Looking good Niko
But who is shot into the sky at the left hand side bottom corner?

[Cloudyagain (Neale)]

Nice.

[niko]

Andrew - you'll also need an intervalometer (or PC connection) to take multiple shots. Focus is set to infinity. Have a go, you'll be surprised at how satisfying the results are.

Mill - someone clearly went in to orbit - looks like it came from the NEVAS region - may have been port induced

[Akwestland (Andrew and Kim)]

Niko,

My camera is a Nikon D5300, it says that it has an intervalometer built in, I am still reading the book on it. Do you have any thoughts on internal vs external for this?

Regards,
Andrew & Kim.

[Gnat (Natalie)]

I find that if you shorten the exposure to 20 secs instead of 30 secs the star trails are thinner and sharper. Of course it means more photos have to be taken.