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4.5 hour exposure of area near south celestial pole, using one of my beloved old Canon EF bodies and 50/1.4 at f2.8. Kodak BWC 400 CN.
Modest post-processing, to remove it slightly from a straight rendition of the night sky.
For the curious, the Southern Cross & Pointers and the Milky way in Carina, Crux & Centaurus are responsible for the bright band across the upper part of this image.
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Image Copyright Duncan Waldron © 2008
This image may not be reproduced without permission
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Comments
This is beautiful Duncan – really works a treat with the way you’ve processed it.
Thanks Geoff – wasn’t sure if you’d prefer the original!
– Duncan Waldron
Great capture
A great startrail in great clarity. :)
That’s a fabulous star trail image – I love it!!
Thanks Sue; some day I’ll do an all-nighter and get really long trails.
– Duncan Waldron
:) I’m hoping the weather will be kind to me and that I’ll get to do that in the next week or so (I’ll be out in the country). My longest exposure is about 55 minutes – I’ve been wanting one of at least a few hours!!
Hello there! Good luck with that; if there is any hint of dew, don’t bother – you’ll just get a foggy image and a wet camera. Also (in case you’re not aware), digital isn’t good for long exposures – you end up with a lot of noise; this is one area when film is much simpler. Finally, close the aperture down about 2 stops from maximum – you don’t need the full light-gathering power, and you’ll get sharper star trails.
Thanks! I have a gorgeous, completely manual (no battery at all!) yashicamat tlr camera that I use. Here’s my most recent effort
I just have to hope for clear skies while I’m out away from the city!!
Lovely – that was my first decent camera, after the Box Brownie. It’s such a great way of taking pictures… makes you take your time. Just back from flickr… that’s a nice pic, with a decent dark sky. I can see I don’t need to give you too much advice!
The southern hemisphere isn’t over-blessed with meteor showers, but the eta Aquarids are coming up soon (best during the first week of May, but the moon is full on the 9th, so not ideal), so you might be lucky to get one or two in the frame, if you’re up after midnight.
– Duncan Waldron
Amazing image
Thanks Helene
– Duncan Waldron
EXCELLENT!!
Thanks RS
– Duncan Waldron
Amazing shot!