Posted by Marc Langille on October 30, 2009 at 4:41 AM
This was taken on the last night I was there in September. I didn't have a lot of time to run the exposure - just shy of 15 minutes for this one. The air clarity is phenomenal in this region - Capitol Reef NP.
Regards,
Marc
Posted by Tom Kennon on October 30, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Marc, great star trails, my appreciation for Utah has really increased since my trip a few weeks ago. There are so many opportunites out there. We visited Natural Bridges National Monument that claims to be the darkest place in the U.S. Unforturnatley,we were there during the day. Did you make there by chance? It would be an excellent place for star trails.
Posted by Bill Dark on October 30, 2009 at 7:06 PM
You've shown some beautiful color in this, Marc. I think it really conveys the wide open spaciousness of this unique terrain, as well as the squeaky clean air.
It's amazing what sensors/firmware can do with noise these days.
Posted by Isaac Szabo on October 31, 2009 at 2:10 AM
Nice star trails. That is a lot of light on the landscape for a star trail shot (it almost looks like daylight), and it appears to be too directional to be from the stars. Was this shot at twilight?
Posted by Rob Graham on October 31, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Nice job on the star trails. My first impression was the same as Isaac, but to me it looks like you had a lot of moonlight lighting the rocks.
Posted by Marc Langille on October 31, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Thanks everyone for the comments!
I've discovered that the AWB on a timed exposure can change the color cast a bit so I corrected that part.
Isaac: in this case Rob was on target: it was incredibly bright, even with just a half moon in the sky. The previous weekend had no moon in the sky and all you got for your troubles was a silhouette of the uplifts.
Regarding brightness: you could easily (but carefully) walk around with any additional lights in that moonlight on the flat areas. I certainly wouldn't into nearby areas where some spots you'd be walking near the edge of a bluff or canyons - especially further up! One spot was decent sized canyon overlook of at least several hundred of "straight down".
The night skies overhead were phenomenal though! The clarity of the air and the utter lack of light pollution meant the astronomy buffs were out in force that first weekend. One guy seemed very knowledgeable, using a rather powerful laser pointer to identify and discuss various constellations in the sky with people and visitors. There were a LOT of 8" to 12" telescopes out there - probably 10-15 of them.
Regards,
Marc
Posted by Angela Classen on October 31, 2009 at 12:42 PM
This is a lot brighter than a lot of star trail photos I've seen, but the presence of the moon explains that. Great job on the star trails. I've always wanted to go out to Canyonlands after dark and check out the stars.
Posted by John Moore on October 31, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Nice composition Marc. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Aaron Szabo on October 31, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Having the moon out was a blessing for this shot. I've never seen anything like this from you before, but I like it! There are a ton a faint trails in this shot that I wish were a touch brighter. If there is a noise reduction being used you may check to see if it's reducing those trails a bit too much. Very nice though Marc!
I'd love to plan a trip out west just for the stars!
Discussion
8 repliesRegards,
Marc
It's amazing what sensors/firmware can do with noise these days.
I've discovered that the AWB on a timed exposure can change the color cast a bit so I corrected that part.
Isaac: in this case Rob was on target: it was incredibly bright, even with just a half moon in the sky. The previous weekend had no moon in the sky and all you got for your troubles was a silhouette of the uplifts.
Regarding brightness: you could easily (but carefully) walk around with any additional lights in that moonlight on the flat areas. I certainly wouldn't into nearby areas where some spots you'd be walking near the edge of a bluff or canyons - especially further up! One spot was decent sized canyon overlook of at least several hundred of "straight down".
The night skies overhead were phenomenal though! The clarity of the air and the utter lack of light pollution meant the astronomy buffs were out in force that first weekend. One guy seemed very knowledgeable, using a rather powerful laser pointer to identify and discuss various constellations in the sky with people and visitors. There were a LOT of 8" to 12" telescopes out there - probably 10-15 of them.
Regards,
Marc
I'd love to plan a trip out west just for the stars!