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)

2)

3)

4)

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?

#4 all the way.

Originally Posted by LeinadC 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.

Originally Posted by kdog #4 all the way.

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.

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.

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.

Originally Posted by ian408 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.

Originally Posted by schmoo 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.

Originally Posted by kolibri 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? LOL. 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.

Originally Posted by kolibri Thanks schmoo- I've decided that 30 seconds ...

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

Originally Posted by ian408 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.

Originally Posted by kolibri I shouldn't call you Ian?

I was joking about your BF's remark

Originally Posted by kolibri 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