Photographing the Night Sky…
I’m working on a few ideas for star photos and thought I’d republish this post! This was photographed in my neighborhood on a cool clear night. With my camera, a Nikon D3s, consecutive exposures can be made by using the interval timer shooting option under the shooting menu options. An intervalometer can also be used for other cameras. Rather than make one long exposure, about seventy 30 second exposures were made, and stacked in Photoshop Extended using Image Statistics. There’s also an action for stacking stars using the Lighten Blend Mode. There are quite a few options stacking for star trails, and a single long exposure can be made too. I used a 14-24mm Nikon lens, f/4, 30 seconds adjusting the ISO to suit the scene. Want to try it? Bring a tripod, flashlight, and a compass to locate north if you wish to compose for circular trails. Once the camera is set up to record consecutive exposures, sit back and relax, and enjoy the night sky! Have fun shooting! ~ Deb
That’s amazing!
Thank you, Tina, it’s really fun to do! Sounds challenging, but really not too. 😀
Hi Deb, I use Russell Browns Stack-A-Matic for Star trails. I’m interested in how you stack the images in PS. I have not heard of Image Statistics? Could you tell me more?
Thanks,Don
Hi Don, it’s in Photoshop Extended. If you have Russell Browns Stack-a-Matic, then you are golden!
If you have Photoshop Extended, from the Menu choose File>Scripts>Statistics. The stack mode is Maximum. I’ll look into Russell Brown’s star trails program, thank you!
Thanks Deb, Dr. Browns works great, but there are tiny gaps between the exposures. I understand this is a function of the blending and not due to the 1 second pause between exposures. So I’m always looking for something just a little bit better. Here is the link.
http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
Thanks for the link, Dr. Brown is fantastic! Are you Nikon? In any case, I think the camera/intervalometer can be set for back to back exposures, but I understand what you are saying. Have you tried using Photoshop’s Diffuse Filter, Anisotropic? This can soften things a bit in the sky area, blending a bit better. I’ll be curious if Image Statistics works better for you, or if it’s the same. Thanks again!
Wow…that’s a beautiful shot. Such clean trails and great detail in the foreground too! I never thought of shooting back-to-back exposures instead of one long one. Nicely done!
Hi Jose, thank you so much! It’s easier for me to make shorter exposures, haven’t tried one really long exposure. I appreciate your comments!
Hello! 🙂 This is a most beautiful night sky photo that I ever seen!
Thank you very much, Roberto, I appreciate your comments!
Imagine if Van Gogh could have seen your magical photograph Deborah? This complex capture is indeed inspirational.
Carolyn Angus.
Lovely image!
Thank you so much Carolyn and Brian!!
You can also use a free program call StarStax http://www.markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html. Very easy to download and use.
Yes, thank you – there are several, try this action too from Harold Davis. Mac friendly and uses Lighten blend mode.
http://blog.starcircleacademy.com/2011/02/automated-stacking-of-star-trails-in-ps-cs5/