I've been thinking I should try some night-time & star shots, but need some advice and tips.
I have a Canon Rebel xti, tripod, and cable release. Do I need anything else?
What is a suggested ISO, F-stop and shutter speed? Is it true that anything more than 20-25 seconds or so and the stars begin to streak?
Since I live only 20 min. from the Colo. National Monument, I've been considering trying this there. However, due to its close proximity to the city (and therefore light pollution), would any images of this type even be possible here?
On the other hand, some cool man & nature images of the city at night from the Monument might be cool too. Any suggestions there, as to exposure for city lights?
Any suggestions and tips are appreciated! I'm continually amazed by the amount of knowledge on this forum.
I wish I had John and Floris' guide in my noggin before I went on my Milky Way trip last fall, both are excellent (John, your URL has "NPN" attached onto the end, may want to fix that). I now see mistakes I made when shooting, and with these astro shots you have limited range for in-camera exposure mistakes. That Roamin PDF looks to be quite good also, but I admit I'm conditioned... so many PDF eBooks on Photography are available for under $15, that tends to be my cutoff point. Probably shooting myself in the foot there, lol.
ANYWAY Angela, in a pinch, 25-30 seconds at f2.8 and ISO 1600 or 3200 will get you something to work with. You need the widest lens possible because you won't get star-trails at 30 seconds when shooting ultra wide. The shot I posted was 30 seconds, 21mm on a full frame, ISO 3200, f2.8, and I used Live View to zoom in 10x to focus. You can see the evergreens because a couple cars passed by and illumnated them (I was on I-17 southbound side, 7 miles south of Flagstaff). Post production takes a bit of work to remove noise. But these are just my settings, PLEASE read what Floris and John posted... I'm just giving you some of the basics that I've discovered.
Last thought: when going for the Milky Way initially I was wondering how I would know where to point the camera. I had it in my head I wouldn't see it that brighly. Ha. Once out in the Arizona desert the MW was this unbelievable bright band in the sky that stopped me in my tracks. So the importantant take-away is, if you can't see it you can't shoot it. Light pollution is the number one enemy of astro photography. I got home near midnight in Phoenix that night, looked up, and saw the usual stars that are visible near a city. I couldn't believe it was the same sky.
Posted by Miles Morgan on June 29, 2011 at 9:50 PM
+1 for Floris's tutorial. Absolutely the best I've found
Posted by Daniel Ewert on June 30, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Great idea about Floris' tutorial. It's great.
If you do need some extra help feel free to email me.
I do a lot of nightscapes as I love them and I'll be happy to help.
Discussion
8 repliesI have a Canon Rebel xti, tripod, and cable release. Do I need anything else?
What is a suggested ISO, F-stop and shutter speed? Is it true that anything more than 20-25 seconds or so and the stars begin to streak?
Since I live only 20 min. from the Colo. National Monument, I've been considering trying this there. However, due to its close proximity to the city (and therefore light pollution), would any images of this type even be possible here?
On the other hand, some cool man & nature images of the city at night from the Monument might be cool too. Any suggestions there, as to exposure for city lights?
Any suggestions and tips are appreciated! I'm continually amazed by the amount of knowledge on this forum.
Star Trail (and static star) Photography
http://www.roaminwithroman.com/ebook.html
Mike Lotito
Also, check out this free 32 page PDF eBook titled 'Static Wide-Angle Landscape & Astrophotography'.
ANYWAY Angela, in a pinch, 25-30 seconds at f2.8 and ISO 1600 or 3200 will get you something to work with. You need the widest lens possible because you won't get star-trails at 30 seconds when shooting ultra wide. The shot I posted was 30 seconds, 21mm on a full frame, ISO 3200, f2.8, and I used Live View to zoom in 10x to focus. You can see the evergreens because a couple cars passed by and illumnated them (I was on I-17 southbound side, 7 miles south of Flagstaff). Post production takes a bit of work to remove noise. But these are just my settings, PLEASE read what Floris and John posted... I'm just giving you some of the basics that I've discovered.
Last thought: when going for the Milky Way initially I was wondering how I would know where to point the camera. I had it in my head I wouldn't see it that brighly. Ha. Once out in the Arizona desert the MW was this unbelievable bright band in the sky that stopped me in my tracks. So the importantant take-away is, if you can't see it you can't shoot it. Light pollution is the number one enemy of astro photography. I got home near midnight in Phoenix that night, looked up, and saw the usual stars that are visible near a city. I couldn't believe it was the same sky.
If you do need some extra help feel free to email me.
I do a lot of nightscapes as I love them and I'll be happy to help.