Night Star trails, two versions

Davidw0815 · 03-31-2012, 02:01 AM

My first atempt on shooting star trails. I took a series of 35 images [35 sec, ISO 400, f/5.6] and combined them in Photoshop. For the foreground took an image with a longer exposure [~10 min, ISO 200, f/5.6]. I made two different versions in PP. Which one do you like better?
Also, C&C welcome.

**usn ret** · 03-31-2012, 09:17 AM

I like the building on the first one. I think the building can stand on its own merit. Just my opinion... TFS Cliff

kswier · 04-01-2012, 11:27 AM

First of all, good job with the star trails. I have not had a very goo opportunity to try them (I have to get a way from city lights more). As far as critique goes, I think you need to find a way of making the building (the foreground) stand out even more (i.e. make it brighter). It may be my monitor, but the entire picture looks very dark.

bezuidar · 04-02-2012, 06:04 AM

Nice shots, ones gets a "spooky" feeling to the pic!

Northern Soul · 04-03-2012, 08:24 AM

The trails are very good - they make me want to go somewhere in the wilderness (which means Scotland for me) with a tent, a stove, a headtorch and my camera.

I agree with the poster above who says the photo looks a bit dull though - but this may have been the effect you were after.

For me though star-trails are 'unnatural' in that you cannot see them with the naked eye, so I don't mind a bit of PP to give them some more zing. I tend to adjust the white balance a bit when I do night shots; if you have enough room on the card you could shoot them all in RAW, adjust one to get the 'look' you want, and then apply the same settings to all of them (and if your computer is like mine, you might as well read, or even write, a book while you wait!)

I'd also consider lighting the building by painting it in with a torch or a few blips of flash to give it a bit of life, but that's just my taste. Yours are undoubtedly more 'true' to what you saw.

Davidw0815 · 04-03-2012, 11:36 AM

Thanks for all your input, guys. I really appreciate that.
I did shoot in RAW, so I'm going to try to apply some of your ideas. Right now I'm converting the RAW files and as my computer is probably as Northern Soul's it might take a while...
So far, I'm not very familiar with PP. If I come up with something I like, I'm going to share it with you.
Regards,
David

Northern Soul · 04-03-2012, 01:16 PM

Get a book and a glass of wine

I've never done a proper star trail as I don't have a remote release, and the one time I tried the built in timer I didn't get much joy. I do like low light stuff though. If you don't mind me putting pictures on your thread, these show the sort of changes you can get away with with processing RAW files of low light - these are both from the same RAW of the harbour at Mallaig (a great place to eat chips, if ever you are there) - the warmer one was an attempt to get it sort of real as it was, and the cooler one is from doing a manual white balance on one of the houses, which are white in daylight. I still don't know which I prefer

Davidw0815 · 04-03-2012, 03:18 PM

Great images! It's amazing how much the temperature changes the impression of an image.
My RAW files are finally processed and I played around with PS a little bit. I tried the 'unnatural' approach and this is what I came up with:

03-31-2012, 02:01 AM	#1
Davidw0815 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 437	Star trails, two versions Lens: Viv 1:3.5 17 mm Camera: K7 Photo Location: Ermatingen, Switzerland Aperture: F5.6 My first atempt on shooting star trails. I took a series of 35 images [35 sec, ISO 400, f/5.6] and combined them in Photoshop. For the foreground took an image with a longer exposure [~10 min, ISO 200, f/5.6]. I made two different versions in PP. Which one do you like better? Also, C&C welcome.

04-03-2012, 03:18 PM	#8
Davidw0815 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 437 Original Poster	Great images! It's amazing how much the temperature changes the impression of an image. My RAW files are finally processed and I played around with PS a little bit. I tried the 'unnatural' approach and this is what I came up with: Last edited by Davidw0815; 04-03-2012 at 03:31 PM.

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03-31-2012, 09:17 AM	#2
usn ret Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Ridgecrest, Calif Posts: 1,274	I like the building on the first one. I think the building can stand on its own merit. Just my opinion... TFS Cliff

04-01-2012, 11:27 AM	#3
kswier Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 426	First of all, good job with the star trails. I have not had a very goo opportunity to try them (I have to get a way from city lights more). As far as critique goes, I think you need to find a way of making the building (the foreground) stand out even more (i.e. make it brighter). It may be my monitor, but the entire picture looks very dark.

04-02-2012, 06:04 AM	#4
bezuidar Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Centurion, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 380	Nice shots, ones gets a "spooky" feeling to the pic!

04-03-2012, 08:24 AM	#5
Northern Soul Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The North of England Photos: Albums Posts: 494	The trails are very good - they make me want to go somewhere in the wilderness (which means Scotland for me) with a tent, a stove, a headtorch and my camera. I agree with the poster above who says the photo looks a bit dull though - but this may have been the effect you were after. For me though star-trails are 'unnatural' in that you cannot see them with the naked eye, so I don't mind a bit of PP to give them some more zing. I tend to adjust the white balance a bit when I do night shots; if you have enough room on the card you could shoot them all in RAW, adjust one to get the 'look' you want, and then apply the same settings to all of them (and if your computer is like mine, you might as well read, or even write, a book while you wait!) I'd also consider lighting the building by painting it in with a torch or a few blips of flash to give it a bit of life, but that's just my taste. Yours are undoubtedly more 'true' to what you saw.

04-03-2012, 11:36 AM	#6
Davidw0815 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 437 Original Poster	Thanks for all your input, guys. I really appreciate that. I did shoot in RAW, so I'm going to try to apply some of your ideas. Right now I'm converting the RAW files and as my computer is probably as Northern Soul's it might take a while... So far, I'm not very familiar with PP. If I come up with something I like, I'm going to share it with you. Regards, David

04-03-2012, 01:16 PM	#7
Northern Soul Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The North of England Photos: Albums Posts: 494	Get a book and a glass of wine I've never done a proper star trail as I don't have a remote release, and the one time I tried the built in timer I didn't get much joy. I do like low light stuff though. If you don't mind me putting pictures on your thread, these show the sort of changes you can get away with with processing RAW files of low light - these are both from the same RAW of the harbour at Mallaig (a great place to eat chips, if ever you are there) - the warmer one was an attempt to get it sort of real as it was, and the cooler one is from doing a manual white balance on one of the houses, which are white in daylight. I still don't know which I prefer

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