Went out to the desert last night (pics) - Page 2 - GoFuckYourself.com

The Duck · 11-23-2009, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLOG BURGLAR

you suck at photography

yuu.design · 11-23-2009, 09:19 AM

nice pics doode!

rowan · 11-23-2009, 09:30 AM

On second thoughts, maybe you don't need so long. This is an image I did a few years ago, there are a couple of technical issues with it but I guess it looks ok. The shutter was open for 41 minutes. (It SHOULD have been open about 2-3 times that...)

baddog · 11-23-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

Very nice! I don't think a standard DSLR would be able to do that unfortunately, since the shutter would need to be open for several hours. I guess it might be possible if you had a way of powering the camera externally.

From memory you get the tight/closed circle effect if you point the lens north or south.

The problem is finding a direction with minimal light pollution. At least around here. Guess I could drive to Wyoming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

On second thoughts, maybe you don't need so long. This is an image I did a few years ago, there are a couple of technical issues with it but I guess it looks ok. The shutter was open for 41 minutes. (It SHOULD have been open about 2-3 times that...)

Are you using a wide angle lens?

Reason I ask is these were my best star trails, but they seem too close.

I may have been pointing straight up for those. I guess that could be part of it, but again, I was trying to avoid light pollution.

rowan · 11-23-2009, 09:52 AM

Yep, I was using a wide angle lens @12mm which on that camera is equivalent to 19.2mm on a full frame/film camera.

I tend to do my night shots well out of the city area, as well as the light pollution issue it also means I'm less likely to freak out someone (or have them harass me) because I'm sitting on a foldout chair at 2am doing nothing...

Remember for star trails (with no foreground object) you'll want to manually set your focus to infinity.

baddog · 11-23-2009, 09:56 AM

Well, we were 100 miles out in the desert, but around here if there isn't a town within 30 miles there are going to be campers . . . which is how we got the headlights.

I am not sure I understand how to set the focus to infinity.

rowan · 11-23-2009, 10:00 AM

Is it a DSLR or P&S? If it's DSLR then you should be able to switch the lens to manual and rotate the focus ring so the focus mark aligns with the infinity mark. (The focus ring on "full lock" sometimes goes PAST infinity so you need to align them visually)

If it's P&S then it's anyone's guess... if you can't focus manually then there may be a landscape preset.

quantum-x · 11-23-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baddog

The problem is finding a direction with minimal light pollution. At least around here. Guess I could drive to Wyoming.

Are you using a wide angle lens?

Reason I ask is these were my best star trails, but they seem too close.

I may have been pointing straight up for those. I guess that could be part of it, but again, I was trying to avoid light pollution.

Here's my experience.
If you're in the northern hemisphere (which you are

) the point of star rotation is around the north star. Very easy.
If you're in the southern hemisphere, find the southern cross, and 'copy' its height 2.5x below its tail - that's the rotation point.

You'll start to see the effects of rotation become prominent after 5 minutes. A full rotation is 24 hours (kind of logical) - so you get 1 degree of turning every 4 minutes. Obviously the stars further away from the rotation point will appear to move further, but that may not be the effect you're looking for.

Best piece of advice w/ star trail photos is that you probably want a decent subject in your foreground. Use the widest lens possible to maximise the effect, find some nice foreground, shuffle around til you get the point of rotation right, and then off you go.

It's a nice effect, easy to have too much of it though.
One of my favourite shots is

The guy who takes it is a master photographer (and I don't give that term lightly) - he has a terrific page with good, to the point information:

http://www.danheller.com/star-trails.html

Serial Pervert · 11-23-2009, 11:07 AM

beautiful pics dude!

baddog · 11-23-2009, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

Is it a DSLR or P&S? If it's DSLR then you should be able to switch the lens to manual and rotate the focus ring so the focus mark aligns with the infinity mark. (The focus ring on "full lock" sometimes goes PAST infinity so you need to align them visually)

If it's P&S then it's anyone's guess... if you can't focus manually then there may be a landscape preset.

It is a DSLR, however, there are no markings on the focus ring. I have contemplated adding my own. Would make it so much easier on me.

baddog · 11-23-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quantum-x

Here's my experience.
If you're in the northern hemisphere (which you are

) the point of star rotation is around the north star. Very easy.
If you're in the southern hemisphere, find the southern cross, and 'copy' its height 2.5x below its tail - that's the rotation point.

You'll start to see the effects of rotation become prominent after 5 minutes. A full rotation is 24 hours (kind of logical) - so you get 1 degree of turning every 4 minutes. Obviously the stars further away from the rotation point will appear to move further, but that may not be the effect you're looking for.

Best piece of advice w/ star trail photos is that you probably want a decent subject in your foreground. Use the widest lens possible to maximise the effect, find some nice foreground, shuffle around til you get the point of rotation right, and then off you go.

It's a nice effect, easy to have too much of it though.
One of my favourite shots is

The guy who takes it is a master photographer (and I don't give that term lightly) - he has a terrific page with good, to the point information:

http://www.danheller.com/star-trails.html

Thank you for your input. I was directed to Heller last night. Will have to check out his site.

Deesnuts · 11-23-2009, 12:49 PM

nice shots

rowan · 11-23-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

For some contrast here's the same bridge from a distance... I tried a star trail but the moon also trails, which just looks weird.

raven1083 · 11-23-2009, 07:57 PM

thanks for sharing!!! indeed beautiful

baddog · 11-24-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

I tried a star trail but the moon also trails, which just looks weird.

We were watching the moon this evening as we had gone out to have dinner with my daughter and took one of the bikes. Later we walked the dog and were discussing how it was traveling across the sky here. The subject of moon trails came up.

Is it your experience that if we did a 20 minute exposure it would not be worth it?

Waddymelon · 11-24-2009, 12:15 AM

Try to get a pic of an iridium flare, they are pretty common and should make for an impressive photograph.

Or, the space station flying overhead would leave an impressive trail without anything else leaving one because it moves so fast.

quantum-x · 11-24-2009, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baddog

We were watching the moon this evening as we had gone out to have dinner with my daughter and took one of the bikes. Later we walked the dog and were discussing how it was traveling across the sky here. The subject of moon trails came up.

Is it your experience that if we did a 20 minute exposure it would not be worth it?

It will overexpose your photo in a snap.
Moon trails ain't so pretty :D

That's about 6m of exposure time, and you can see if it was 20, the moon would be smeared all over the place, and not look so elegant

themadwriter · 11-24-2009, 03:36 AM

fucking great pics man! keep'em coming

rowan · 11-24-2009, 05:46 AM

It's coming up to midnight again, and tonight I'm going for it. The sky is very lightly clouded so I'm banking on it clearing rather than getting heavier. Moon goes down in about 90 mins which is around the time I'll arrive at the location... a gully with a waterfall that is hopefully flowing at the moment due to heavy rains. Might even get on GFY while I'm waiting. :D

baddog · 11-24-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

It's coming up to midnight again, and tonight I'm going for it. The sky is very lightly clouded so I'm banking on it clearing rather than getting heavier. Moon goes down in about 90 mins which is around the time I'll arrive at the location... a gully with a waterfall that is hopefully flowing at the moment due to heavy rains. Might even get on GFY while I'm waiting. :D

Good luck.

rowan · 11-24-2009, 09:28 AM

I'm here now, it's 3:30am, and I'm trying out my new fangled wireless internet. It's pretty dodgy but then I'm in a rural area. Things didn't go quite the way I expected - can't get a really good angle that catches the stars, water pool and waterfall - but I've set up my timer to do a couple of 1 hour shots anyway. After that the sun's up.

I think tonight's more about getting out than getting a good shot. I'll only have two to show, and they'll be framed exactly the same...

Sid70 · 11-24-2009, 10:07 AM

the pics are ugly as fuck but i got your idea, gotta be visiting the palce to feel it.

DonX · 11-24-2009, 10:15 AM

Great pics

11-23-2009, 09:19 AM	#52
yuu.design Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Argentina Posts: 25,924	nice pics doode! __________________ Beautiful And Usable Web Design Creations For The Adult Industry Since 2003 I'm Yuu, Designer and Content Producer Paysites - Affiliate Programs - Dating & Cam Sites - Mainstream Projects - Tube Sites - Banners - Wordpress Themes - NATs integration - Landing Pages Check my Portfolio and Content Production Offers

11-23-2009, 11:07 AM	#59
Serial Pervert Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2,666	beautiful pics dude! __________________

11-23-2009, 12:49 PM	#62
Deesnuts Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,792	nice shots __________________

11-23-2009, 07:57 PM	#64
raven1083 Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 7,687	thanks for sharing!!! indeed beautiful __________________ Femdom Stories \| Bound BBW Blog and Videos \|Bondage Sex Videos and Pictures Hardcore Japanese Bondage \| BDSM Movies And Galleries Mistress Cuckold CBT

11-24-2009, 03:36 AM	#68
themadwriter Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Experienced SEO Copywriter at your service! Posts: 1,427	fucking great pics man! keep'em coming __________________ icq : 591247121 xxxcopywriters.com

11-23-2009, 09:30 AM	#53
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	On second thoughts, maybe you don't need so long. This is an image I did a few years ago, there are a couple of technical issues with it but I guess it looks ok. The shutter was open for 41 minutes. (It SHOULD have been open about 2-3 times that...)

11-23-2009, 09:52 AM	#55
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	Yep, I was using a wide angle lens @12mm which on that camera is equivalent to 19.2mm on a full frame/film camera. I tend to do my night shots well out of the city area, as well as the light pollution issue it also means I'm less likely to freak out someone (or have them harass me) because I'm sitting on a foldout chair at 2am doing nothing... Remember for star trails (with no foreground object) you'll want to manually set your focus to infinity.

11-23-2009, 09:56 AM	#56
baddog So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: the beach, SoCal Posts: 107,090	Well, we were 100 miles out in the desert, but around here if there isn't a town within 30 miles there are going to be campers . . . which is how we got the headlights. I am not sure I understand how to set the focus to infinity.

11-23-2009, 10:00 AM	#57
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	Is it a DSLR or P&S? If it's DSLR then you should be able to switch the lens to manual and rotate the focus ring so the focus mark aligns with the infinity mark. (The focus ring on "full lock" sometimes goes PAST infinity so you need to align them visually) If it's P&S then it's anyone's guess... if you can't focus manually then there may be a landscape preset.

11-24-2009, 12:15 AM	#66
Waddymelon So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: The Whitehouse Posts: 17,349	Try to get a pic of an iridium flare, they are pretty common and should make for an impressive photograph. Or, the space station flying overhead would leave an impressive trail without anything else leaving one because it moves so fast.

11-24-2009, 05:46 AM	#69
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	It's coming up to midnight again, and tonight I'm going for it. The sky is very lightly clouded so I'm banking on it clearing rather than getting heavier. Moon goes down in about 90 mins which is around the time I'll arrive at the location... a gully with a waterfall that is hopefully flowing at the moment due to heavy rains. Might even get on GFY while I'm waiting. :D

11-24-2009, 09:28 AM	#71
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	I'm here now, it's 3:30am, and I'm trying out my new fangled wireless internet. It's pretty dodgy but then I'm in a rural area. Things didn't go quite the way I expected - can't get a really good angle that catches the stars, water pool and waterfall - but I've set up my timer to do a couple of 1 hour shots anyway. After that the sun's up. I think tonight's more about getting out than getting a good shot. I'll only have two to show, and they'll be framed exactly the same...

11-24-2009, 10:07 AM	#72
Sid70 Downshifter Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Road trip Posts: 16,413	the pics are ugly as fuck but i got your idea, gotta be visiting the palce to feel it. __________________ Русня, идите нахуй!

11-24-2009, 10:15 AM	#73
DonX Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 1,917	Great pics __________________ Monkey Spanking Cash 50/50 Rev Share Program DonX: 300599159 Galleries Click Here