Startrails variations

JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
edited April 17, 2012 in Landscapes
Finally got a chance to process some startrails I shot last December (I've been a little behind).
4 iterations, with varying amounts of light painting and dawn light. In-person, i get a lot of complaints that my foreground screened in looks fake, which ones do you prefer? Any other C&C appreciated.
1)i-jNHJkC8-L.jpg

2)i-4dCNjds-L.jpg

3)i-vbV8CbX-L.jpg

4)i-LPsf3GR-L.jpg
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Comments

  • LeinadCLeinadC Registered Users Posts: 14 Big grins
    edited April 16, 2012
    Wow! I like the foreground (rocks, cabin) in #4, but the star trails better in #3. Did you stack multiple images to get the star trails, or is it all 1 very long exposure?
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,680 moderator
    edited April 16, 2012
    #4 all the way. nod.gif
  • JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
    edited April 16, 2012
    LeinadC wrote: »
    Wow! I like the foreground (rocks, cabin) in #4, but the star trails better in #3. Did you stack multiple images to get the star trails, or is it all 1 very long exposure?

    Thanks! I guess I forgot to add that it is a stack of ~700 30second images, with a small break after the 399th while I reset my intervalometer. The foreground is a screen layered image of either a single shot at night with the building painted by flashlight (and the lights on inside), or a screened combination of the night painted shot and dawn illumination.
    kdog wrote: »
    #4 all the way. nod.gif
    Thanks- This place is absolutely pitch black at night without the moon, the only light comes from windows if there is a light on, I was trying to capture that with number 1, but it might not make the best image overall.
    Yeah, if you recognize the avatar, new user name.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited April 16, 2012
    I was going to suggest taking the four images here and merging them to HDR just to see how that would come out.

    Otherwise, I like each of them.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited April 16, 2012
    Wow! I love #3 (and #4) because it's just the right amount of surreal. Thanks for posting the info: 700 shots looks well worth it and shooting the house separately looks well worth the effort.
  • JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
    edited April 17, 2012
    ian408 wrote: »
    I was going to suggest taking the four images here and merging them to HDR just to see how that would come out.

    Otherwise, I like each of them.

    Thanks Ian- I don't think HDR would be necessary, I could easily mask the sky or the foreground to combine the shots, if, for example, I wanted the darker sky (no dawn light in the sky) but the dawn-illuminated foreground, or the reverse. My boyfriend thinks they all look fake :( Oh well, I don't shoot them for him.
    schmoo wrote: »
    Wow! I love #3 (and #4) because it's just the right amount of surreal. Thanks for posting the info: 700 shots looks well worth it and shooting the house separately looks well worth the effort.

    Thanks schmoo- I've decided that 30 seconds is the longest I can go on clear nights anywhere in Southern California, or anywhere on the west coast where I;ve shot these, actually. On windy nights when there is a lot of dust in the air I need to go down to 15 seconds if I am shooting towards any of the urban areas. I thought that I was getting chromatic aberration on the short trails with some of my lenses, but I've decided that on the fainter trails I can definitely see a regular pattern of red that I think is a sensor limitation- I don't think I've optimized the ISO for these yet. (now I'm dreaming about trying these with a 5D mark III, but that is not in my hobbyist budget). Maybe I'll rent one sometime.
    Yeah, if you recognize the avatar, new user name.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited April 17, 2012
    kolibri wrote: »
    Thanks Ian- I don't think HDR would be necessary, I could easily mask the sky or the foreground to combine the shots, if, for example, I wanted the darker sky (no dawn light in the sky) but the dawn-illuminated foreground, or the reverse. My boyfriend thinks they all look fake :( Oh well, I don't shoot them for him.
    Who? Laughing.gif. I only suggested it because I thought the result might be interesting.

    I'm not sure I agree with him that they look fake. Maybe he's concerned about the color?

    I do like the location of the house. That's very nice.
    kolibri wrote: »

    Thanks schmoo- I've decided that 30 seconds ...

    Do you mean minutes? In 30s, the stars only begin to blur.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
    edited April 17, 2012
    ian408 wrote: »
    Who?


    Do you mean minutes? In 30s, the stars only begin to blur.

    I shouldn't call you Ian?

    Yeah seconds. Any longer and I integrate urban sky glow with the stars. I had Vegas to the NE and LA to the SW.
    Yeah, if you recognize the avatar, new user name.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited April 17, 2012
    kolibri wrote: »
    I shouldn't call you Ian?
    I was joking about your BF's remark mwink.gif
    kolibri wrote: »
    Yeah seconds. Any longer and I integrate urban sky glow with the stars. I had Vegas to the NE and LA to the SW.

    Doh! I missed the post that said 700 shots...makes a huge difference lol3.gif
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
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