Star Trails

Quick Lessons Learned from my first Star Trail type shoot:

1.) Use a larger aperture to make the stars more apparent. They give off so little light in the first place such that a larger aperture will help bring the stars out from the dark sky. Using the largest aperture on your lens may introduce unwanted vignetting or other artifacts, however.

2.) If you use a wide angle lens, expect to sit out there longer. The stars will take longer to move across the sky. If you use a nice zoom lens, the opposite occurs.

3.) Point towards the east or west for the most star movement. Stars closer to the north/south poles move much less.

4.) Have some patience and bring a friend to chat with. Bringing some beers will also help pass the time.

5.) If you have something in the foreground, you'll have to separate your shots into segments instead of one continuous exposure.

28 Minute Exposure cut into 30 second frames (56 frames total), f/4.0, ISO 100