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CAPTURING THE UNIVERSE
text and photography by tony PueRzeR
staR-tRail astRoPhotogRaPhy
with the help of the earth’s rotation, you can create dramatic night-sky shots
I
n PReVioUs colUMns, i’ve described how you can take a
pinpoint star image by using a tracking mount or by simply
shooting a short exposure with a wide-angle lens. But there’s
another style of night-sky photography that uses the opposite
approach. instead of trying to compensate for our planet’s rotation,
you harness it to produce stunning star-trail photos. all you need
to do is place your camera on a tripod, aim it skyward, press the
shutter and let the earth’s motion do the rest.
there are two ways to create a photo like the ones shown in this
article. You can either open the shutter for an extended period or
record a series of shorter exposures and digitally assemble them
into a single image later. Both options have their advantages and
disadvantages, but no matter which you choose, some preparation
is necessary.
PReliMinaRies
star-trail photos look best when you shoot them under dark,
moonless conditions. this ensures that the sky background
doesn’t appear washed out, which looks un attractive and obscures
faint stars. You’ll also need to mount your camera on a
sturdy tripod so that it remains perfectly stationary for the
duration of your exposures, which could total several hours. as
for camera settings, you’ll be working in Manual (M) mode, but
make sure you turn off the long-exposure, noise-reduction and
image-stabilization features. set your lens to manual focus and
check that the camera battery is fully charged.
You can save yourself a lot of frus tration by making these adjustments
before going outside—it’s no fun fumbling around with
your camera’s dials and tiny buttons in the dark. You can even
pre-focus the lens during daylight by aiming at a distant object,
then manually tweaking the focus later using “live view” (if your
camera has that feature) or with a series of short test images.
long exposures invite another problem: dew. since your camera
will be pointing skyward for extended periods, there’s a very real
chance that moisture will condense on the lens and spoil your images.
to prevent this, use a lens hood, and if conditions are particularly
moist, use a rubber band to attach one of those little chemical
pocket hand warmers to the underside of the lens. that will keep
the glass warm enough to prevent dew from forming.
keePing it siMPle
the most straightforward approach to star-trail photography is
the “one and done” method. set your camera to Bulb (B) mode,
then take an exposure lasting several minutes to a few hours. to
do this, you will need a remote shutter-release cable or an intervalometer
with a locking shutter button.
try putting your camera’s iso at its lowest setting (usually iso
32 sKynews • MARCH/APRIL 2017
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