Hallets and Orion

I got up early this morning to shoot some moonlight scenes in RMNP. This one will never be printed large (too much noise) but I thought it might make a nice Christmas card. I'm not a big fan of star trails, so I blended in the star points from a second image for effect.
40D, 17-40, ISO 640, about a 3 minute exposure.
I'd like to hear any thoughts on this.
Thanks,
Paul

you should do more like this- i really like it!

So do I.
I even like the inclusion of the sign and the footprints in the snow, which surprises me. 'Losing' the second set of prints branching off on the right would be a great improvement, IMO.

Not sure why you used such a high ISO. I've had great luck with a distinctive lack of noise using a 40D on a cold evening with an hour long exposure at ISO 100.

"I'm not a big fan of star trails, so I blended in the star points from a second image for effect."

I'm confused....I see star trails, but no 'star points' here.

+1 on the really like it. Show us more!

I like it as well! The higher ISO is better for 3 minute exposures. You'll get less noise if you do a 1 hr exposure at ISO 100, but if you try a 3 minute exposure at ISO 100, you'll get more noise than you did here cause it'd be way too underexposed. In fact, as long as you're not overexposing, even higher ISOs will yield less noise for short night shots.

I don't really like the blended exposure. I know star trails can look unnatural, but all the little exclamation points look more unnatural to me.

Cool shot. I could see it on a card.

I like everything about it except the color of the sky appears unnaturally blue and oversaturated.

Very cool and effective shot. You have manged to take a shot of a common subject for many of us and show it in a unique way. Great job.

RichieV

I like it, Paul, though I agree that you should lose the exclamation points. But I really like it that Orion is clearly discernable in the trails. I also like the sign post and the diverging tracks. They make me start imagining narratives. I wonder what the sign says, what the alternatives are at this fork. The left path is more traveled, whereas the right looks like it was made by just one or two people. Romance on a moonlit night (brrr)? A misfit seeking solitude apart from the group? Like most of us, I usually try to avoid these kinds of elements in my shots, but here they add a human interest, maybe even a symbolic level.

Thanks for the comments everyone. John and Grant, honestly I didn't think the 40D was capable of really long exposures. I'll certainly be giving that a try.
John, I should have mentioned that I only blended in the star points in Orion. I guess those didn't go over so well.

I like the colors here.... Paul unique shot from a greatly photographed are. I love the foot prints and the sign as well. ISO 640? wow.. this is a clean shot for that high ISO range, regards, Rajeev

Reminds me of the moonlight snowshoe hikes to Dream Lake I've enjoyed, so I appreciate this. I'm not a big fan of star trail shots either, but the "exclamation points" don't do much for me either. I like the short trails, and how they don't dominate/fill the sky. Compliments the openness of the foreground nicely.

Great shot! Love the streaks in the sky.