Star Trails along the northern coast of California
Star trails are a must do, during any astrophotography session. They are perhaps some of the easiest shots to obtain. Simply point your camera towards Polaris (the north star), set your ISO as low as you can go (usually ISO-100) and open your shutter for as long as you can – the longer the better.
I took this shot with the 5D Mark III + Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 @16mm, f/2.8, ISO-100 and a 30 minute exposure. It’s fascinating to see and experience. I topped my stargazing excursion with this shot. If you notice any off-color specs, those are hot pixels. As a result of the ultra long exposure, even at low ISO, the sensor will heat up and introduce this type of noise.
The image was not edited. Processing was done with Canon DPP and some color contrast enhancing in GIMP.
Thank you for the tips and details. This is a shot that I’ve been wanting to attempt for awhile. Astrophotography is such an intimidating thing. But, I think I could handle this, probably…
You’re welcome! I think the wide field shots are definitely more approachable and a great place to start with astrophotography. They are very forgiving and need almost no knowledge of orbital mechanics and astrophysics. They will also allow you to develop/fine-tune your post processing and editing techniques – these are absolutely indispensable in astrophotography as the light has traveled so far through so much that it must be processed and re processed to finally give you a decent representation. Take your new camera out on a clear night, use Google Sky Map mobile app to find Polaris and snap away. Try different settings. Have fun! 🙂
I have taken a few astronomy classes, and am continuing to work on my knowledge in that area. It’s the mechanics of the camera I struggle with. Lol. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I’m really excited now. 🙂