We had featured some great Top star trail photography in our earlier post. If you are inspired by those photos and want to try something on your own. Then read on. We have some exclusive photography tips here in this article from Better Photography. These tips are simple enough that even a armature photographer can experiment with.
Image source: http://www.3dvisualcreations.com
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Take the Pole Star as a central point to shoot star trails.
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Make sure you are in a pollution free environment from both light and air. Avoid shooting when the moon is very bright. In other words, shoot on new moon night or very close to it.
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Choose wide angle lens. If you have a basic camera, a 18-55 mm lens will be good
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Use some interesting fore ground such as a tree or a house as aesthetic element.
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The Camera must have a shutter release cable or a electronic shutter release feature. A tripod is a must
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Set the camera in a bulb mode. Trigger with a cable release or lock it for the duration you are going to expose the frame.
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Use the eyepiece cover to avoid any light getting in from the view finder.
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Look out for interesting movements in the sky like a satellite moving in the sky or a bright meteor streaking across
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Aperture you set is critical. Its a good idea to keep open apertures one stop below the maximum
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Last, but most important. Make sure your camera battery is fully charged and you have spares.
Some planning needed before you start the shoot. Choose warm clothing as you are planning to spend the night shooting. Carry enough food and water supply as you cannot leave the camera and equipment unattended. If you are using torches, the light should always be pointed away from the images. Most of professional Astro photographers carry red LED torch or a normal torch with red gelatin covering the light. Red wavelength does not affect your dark adaptation. You an use the red LED light to read and do stuff with your equipment. If you use a normal torch, your eye pupil will take much longer time to get back to the dark adaptation.
Remember to carry a lock with you so you know how much time you are exposing the image.
Hope you like our tips and capture interesting star trails! Good luck!
