Under the spinning Stars

Bad...ass. Wicked work

Not as quickly as an 'alien guitar abduction". Great work Yiming! Lets all of us keep Stan's head spinning shall we.

Stan...now just hold on to something solid as you look at this. We don't want you getting to dizzy and falling out of your chair.


Yiming, its actually one of the cleaner star trails images I have seen. Good technique.

Arghhhh!
Seriously, it's pretty cool--i'd just personally call this good photo art but not good (ie, successful to me) nature photography, because I can't relate to it as nature in any shape or form. But I'm not blasting creativity, I applaud that aspect of it, I just making a point about what nature photography means to me--relating to nature. I just get a little puzzled why one would go through the trouble of using a Speedlite very meticulously when you could have saved yourself a lot of time and potential pitfalls by simply combining two separate shots in Photoshop (a la "Photo Art")--because the result would look exactly the same to me. It's really about the result and not the method. I think often times we get too caught up in the methodology because that's all the behind-the- scenes stuff that makes it so fun, not necessarily seeing some jpeg in an internet gallery. I'm guilty of doing that for sure. But really for all the talk about being 'true to your artistic vision' and such is all meaningless if you aren't making a statement that other people can appreciate. You're obviously a talented and experienced photographer--so im pretty sure you understand what i'm getting at, regardless of whether you agree with me or not. I bet even Joe would probably agree with some of what im saying here (in private, after a few shots, but probably not publicly ) Ok, now my head is spinning...

Yup, star trails DO have their place and this IS one of them. Nice shot.

Come on Stan, you know I love you man! Just having a little fun my friend. Look, we all have our likes and dislikes, right? If we were all the same and thought exactly the same thoughts wouldn't this world be a really boring place to exist. If we truly exist at all that is. Look, I love my Grey Alien conspiracy as much as the next paranormal protagonist. Plus, I like an image that transcends what we "see". Star trails may be overdone, but this one gets my mind rolling. I love it!!!

Thanks everyone.

Stan: points taken. Yeah star trails are not something can be observed directly by human eyes, but neither are long-exposure-silky-waterfalls (oops) or frozen actions or macros or black-and-white photos .


The reason a speedlite was used is for better image quality, not for playing with methodology --- I am the kind of guy who would rather just open the shutter and go back my tent to sleep and let the camera to do the rest of the work

With a speedlite, the exposure was finished in a minute or so. Because of the short exposure time, the resulting foreground image was very clean, free of any visible noise. Moreover, the foreground part is done now.

I could have used a small camp light (or waited for the moon coming out), and got the shot (foreground + star trails) in a single long exposure --- I've done that before. The problem is that with an exposure time of 1-2 hours or more, the image will be too noise for my taste, even with the long-exposure-noise-reduction feature turned on.

What about using double exposure? I have to leave the camera there, wait until the next morning and do the second exposure. Too much work...

So, it's still about the result.

The speedlite was an excellent idea Yiming. Can't say I agree with Stan at all as this works wonderfully and it was a great idea. Photo art? I think not. But then I've seen him praise stuff that is more photo art than nature photography. You're not turning into a grumpy old man are you, Stan? ;]

From personal experience, blending two exposures for night photographs is a huge pain in the ass, and the results are rarely as nice as this. Your point on the noise issue is spot on.

Very very nice work. You've created something unique and it's a beautiful and creative nature photograph.

I understand we all have opinions...but man...sometimes we need to just enjoy ALL types of nature photography for what it is...the personal interpretation and sharing of a human's view of the natural world around them...an opinion of course. ;]

Hey Nic--When i was a boy, we used to take these shots with a 40 lb shoebox that we carried on our backs through 3 feet of snow--and we liked it!

Yiming, thanks for the response, I appreciate what you are saying. I'm just posing the question: why go outside at all? The version I 'created' in less than 20 seconds in Photoshop for the silly NPN article wasn't real at all--I dare say if i spent maybe 2 minutes instead of 20 seconds on it, I probably could have convinced most people that they were real star trails. That's an interesting thing to consider, if you ask me.

Nic: thanks. You are exactly right. Blending two exposures can be a pain-in-the neck. Have to deal with selections and marks and have to be very careful with these edges.

Stan: 20 seconds? Man you are good in Photoshop

To answer your question, we may also ask ourselves: why do we have to spend weeks in deserts to chase some killer clouds? You could easily merge two photos in your library together. Why do new photographers risks their lives in the line of fire? A staged photo costs you much less and the result might be more eye-catching?

In the end, we choose to become nature photographers instead of painters or fake-photo-manipulators because we love nature and we want to be true to the artistic version in our heart.

Lovely image and well executed technique to pull it off so well! I enjoy attempting these shots because it deepens my outdoor experience. It's also more fun than lying in the back of my 4runner and counting the desert insects attracted by my reading light. Although that's pretty fun as well! Great conversation here, guys....Beautiful photo, Yiming!

this is really nice imagination

i like it

Interesting image. I read the whole tread created by you image and I have to say that I do agree with Stan to a point. The final result here has and other worldly effect and I tend to be a realest. Having said that, I do really appreciate the artistic eye to see the image and the photographic skill to pull it off. Nice work.

Very striking..I'm staying out of the debate. I like it!

Bravo! This one keeps the imagination flying (or spinning).

Here comes a million year old question that has not answer: is photography art or record? If it is a record, this one does not fit the bill. If it is art, then your imagination is your only limit. I am not avocating changing what exists in the nature, such as moving some clouds over the hill. But we all make long exposure to make water look silky, right? That kind of water is not the same as our eyes can see, but it fits our artistic intention.

love the shot, the circles are composed perfectly!!

love the debate too. nice to see differing perspectives.

Expertly done Yiming, looks fantastic. It gives me tunnel vision when I stare at the center of the stars.

Gary.