A Desert's Sky

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 17, 2012667 views29 comments

a startrail image taken in Namibia's Sossusvlei. this is my first take on startrails (actually my second, but the first one i'm willing to share ).

late in the afternoon a sandstorm rolled in from the west. i couldn't go as deep into the valley as i had planned and was afraid that my shot would be ruined (or worse - that my camera would fail). i still decided to give it a try, wrapped my camera in a plastic bag and left it for the night.
luckily the sandstorm neither did harm my camera nor did it ruin the exposure - it even added this nice warm glow in the direction of the setting sun. i still had a hard time in pp to fight the crazy amount of noise the heated sensor had caused (using live view to compose wasn't the best idea..).

a big thank you goes to floris van breugel for his excellent article about startrails and twilight images here on npn!!

since i have received lots of technical questions regarding the image i wrote an article about it on my blog.

Sossusvlei, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Canon 5DMKII, EF 17-40 @ 17mm
ISO 200, f/5.6, 300seconds
46 stacked exposures processed in LR and PS

best,
joerg

Comments

29 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gosewisch on June 17, 2012 at 11:38 AM

Joerg,
Stunning image. Excellent capture. The glow with the silhouette tree makes this image even more captivating. I hope my "second attempt " comes out as good.

Registered on June 3, 2012, 17 Posts, 59 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on June 17, 2012 at 11:40 AM

The composition is perect and the capture beautiful and thought provoking. Good story makes this a Bravo

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Shantikara Valuska on June 17, 2012 at 11:50 AM

That's a keeper! I love your composition with the tree, the dunes and the star trails. The sandstorm and the sunset really helps the image. (Small nitpicking: I might crop a little from the very bottom - not much, maybe just a bit over your logo - I feel that this grassy foreground does not add up to the fineness of the image. Maybe just me, it looks a bit distracting)

Registered on July 25, 2011, 38 Posts, 451 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on June 17, 2012 at 1:06 PM

That's a great starwheel Joerg like this one.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on June 17, 2012 at 1:24 PM

Nice work.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Cliff Dodge on June 17, 2012 at 1:34 PM

Love it!

Registered on March 25, 2006, 125 Posts, 507 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Anderson on June 17, 2012 at 2:06 PM

Joerg,

This is really well done and beautifully composed and exposed. I love the different light temperatures of the individual star trails.

Registered on January 31, 2006, 228 Posts, 3072 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on June 17, 2012 at 4:24 PM

Great work. i like the composition and beautiful colors

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on June 17, 2012 at 4:25 PM

Striking image. The composition is just right and the color is sweet. Very good.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Yiming Hu on June 17, 2012 at 4:35 PM

Great work. Like the clean composition.

Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Baker on June 17, 2012 at 5:19 PM

Beautiful job! I like the balance between heaven and earth.

Registered on May 3, 2012, 23 Posts, 64 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on June 17, 2012 at 5:24 PM

Saw this come through on ES and congrats. Unreal image. And really really appreciate the writeup. Way to figure out the noise issue. That's gonna save me huge when I start trying these shots. Kudos...huge huge kudos

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on June 17, 2012 at 9:34 PM

This is an awesome image

Well done, and thanks for the writeup. I have done this in very cool temperates and was able to capture the star trails in one 4 hour exposure, but in warm conditions, that is not possible. You method is very useful

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on June 17, 2012 at 9:44 PM

I've always enjoyed 'starscapes' where there is some fading sunset/sunrise color on the horizon.
That and the elegant foreground make this one of the best I've seen in some time.
Thank you for the tutorial on your methods. I'm sure that has helped a lot of folks and it's much appreciated!

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by John Fan on June 17, 2012 at 10:46 PM

Nice clean star trail. Composition is right on.

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on June 17, 2012 at 10:48 PM

Saw this on EarthShots. Very impressive! I really like how the warm colors, layers, and textures aren't lost to the night.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Alister Benn on June 17, 2012 at 11:35 PM

I commented on this one elsewhere, and delighted to see it here.

The warm afterglow light makes this image, adding a sense of the incongruous and tonal depth. A superb image in every way.

Registered on June 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 258 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on June 18, 2012 at 12:28 AM

Beautiful composition and light.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 18, 2012 at 3:50 AM

Joerg,

this is excellent! Even though it's a stacked, digital image, this really takes me back to the star trails of the film days. Putting the camera on bulb, going back to sleep and then waking up a few hours later..... ahhh, the gold old days. This is just executed beautifully! The composition with the beautifully shaped tree just makes this one all the more special. Great work! No nits.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on June 18, 2012 at 5:16 AM

Star trails look great here Joerg. The color variation adds lots of interest, and the warmth of the afterglow light is fabulous. Nice comp too!

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 18, 2012 at 7:48 AM

A really beautiful star trail image. The colours in the sky put it over the top. Great to see a night image where the attention to composition makes it an all round great shot.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Calow on June 18, 2012 at 8:20 AM

Gorgeous image Joerg, really well balanced with the star trails.

Registered on November 8, 2007, 39 Posts, 363 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on June 18, 2012 at 10:47 AM

Some of the very best lighting I've ever seen for such a subject. Amazing!

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on June 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM

Just perfect in my opinion!

Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on June 18, 2012 at 2:34 PM

I'm not usually a fan of star trail images, ...but I sure do like this one!

The light and colors are beautiful and the comp you used really make this one stand out. Excellent work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on June 19, 2012 at 10:59 AM

Beautiful star trail image! Love the colors and the comp w/ the tree silhouette. Very nice work!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on June 19, 2012 at 3:59 PM

Amazing! This is very well done!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on June 19, 2012 at 6:40 PM

Flippin wow, and then some...this is beautiful! Perfectly framed and realized. Imaginative work Joerg.

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Grant Collier on June 22, 2012 at 12:02 PM

This is one of the best star trail shots I've seen, especially impressive for a 2nd attempt.

Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments