night shots

sabenemmons

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I really need some advice on doing long exposer night shots (star trials - lightning and the like) I have no idea how and was really just looking for some guidence.
saben
 
For star trails you need a wide angle lens. Set it to its smallest aperture (eg f/22). You will need a locking shutter release also, and make sure your camera has B(bulb) as an option for shutter speed.

Mount the camera on a tripod, compose your shot, focus and make sure your aperture is at its smallest and the shutter is set to bulb. Press and lock the shutter release. The time of your exposure depends on how long you want the trails. A 15 minute exposure will give short trails. You can go for like 4 hours or more to get trails that completely cross the frame.

For lightning, you can use a similar technque but hold cardboard in front of the lens until a strike starts. Or you can set the shutter to 15-30 seconds and hope you get a strike in the frame. Shooting lightning generally will take at least a roll or two to make sure you get some good ones. Lightning shots especially take a lot of practice and patience.
 
300mm at 4 min of shutter time.

juan058-R2-061-29.jpg


Wide angle lens means you get less light concentration, means you need a lot longer shutter exposure. Furthermore, the trails will be less distinct.

So it's up to you on what kind of composition you are looking for.
 
on a related note, how far from Ufban lights do you have to be in order to get star trails??? does it really matter?
 
Cuervo79 said:
on a related note, how far from Ufban lights do you have to be in order to get star trails??? does it really matter?
If you can see the stars, you'll get star trails. If you can see the city glow off in the horizon, you'll see that on film too, even if it's not in the frame. There are exceptions to everything though but in general, get as far away from town as you can get for exposures that are going to be an hour or more for star trails.
 

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