Simple technique, spectacular results

[MichaelChang]

<p>A short time-lapse video - 1262 exposures, Canon 20D, 30S, ISO-800.</p>

<p>Nothing special, right?</p>

<p>Take a look at the composite image at the very end.<br>

1:24 run time - [<a href="

[gulfbeach47]

<p>WOW! That was beautiful.<br /> PS..I would love to see a sample of this done at somewhere in the desert like Arches in Moab.<br>

Edit: I have never even heard of this technique. I went back and clicked on another one. More of the same...

[MichaelChang]

<p>That's for sure, John, but did you notice that the first 1/2 of the video shows an apparent moonset? I imagine there'd be quite a bit of light pollution reflecting off the snow yet he's still able to bring out the stars. </p>

<p>Maybe that's the trick with star trails - you really don't need to capture faint objects. There are enough bright stars to make a jam-packed trail on a clear night just about anywhere, even under light polluted skies. </p>

[dan_south]

<p>These are always cool, but I find that the music accentuates the viewing experience a LOT. Turn off the music and see if the visual still moves you. That's the ultimate test of a great time lapse video.</p>

[gulfbeach47]

<p>Michael, yes I see the moon lighting things up. I just checked some pix of a pier I did with a full moon halfway up in the sky (to the side) and the stars were showing, plus the sky was blue but it was also partly cloudy. Mine averaged around 1 minute exposures. It was all trial and error and nothing came out that great but I am going to work on more. I usually do my light painting with no moon but when there is a moon at the beach it is like the snow since our beaches are very white down here at FL. When I was at Arches in May I wanted to do a lot of light painting but my new wireless remote messed up, so most pix had to rely on the 30 second camera timer. I have a couple in my gallery but the blue sky/stars barely show up on the photo.net site (maybe my computer) but the prints made me very happy. One night there was a professor (or teacher) out there at Arches with his young daughter. I think he told me he was on sabbatical. He was shooting various areas in the desert for about 2 months. I guess he worked out a deal to home school the daughter. Anyway, I shot for an hour or two after sunset. He said he was shooting all night and I think he told me about aiming at the north star & that all the stars revolve around it. Did I hear correct? I wonder if he was doing this technique? I should of gotten his name. I am craving to head back to the desert, but it is about 2,500 miles. I could not believe how well the stars showed up compared to here along the gulf coast and our humidity. In the desert I saw blazing shooting stars that looked like fireworks.<br>

This process can be achieved with just photoshop? How do they do the video?</p>

<p>Dan- I really enjoyed the music on Michael's clip. With the images it made me think of Christmas.<br>

I turned the music down low on the clip that I posted. Did not care for it...but that's just my taste I guess.</p>

 

[bojepsen1]

<p>Great clip, and great image. I like it :-)</p>

<p>I too find the music very well chosen for this piece. Good work.</p>

[wood]

<p>I recommend checking out Harold Davis' star trail work. He's a <a href="../photos/Harold_Davis">member</a> here and he has a <a href="http://www.digitalnight.us/index2.php">website</a> devoted to this subject and he, with another photographer, teaches a <a href="http://www.starcircleacademy.com/">workshop</a> on this subject.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>It would be really nice if there was a Moon in the background !</p>

[derek_kennedy]

<p>Awesome video and the resulting stacked image is spectacular for sure. Curious what you used to create the video?</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>In case there's any misunderstanding, I am not the maker of the video. Just wanted to share what I came across.</p>

[joshuasigar]

<p>Well, I've seen way better shots of this kind, including Harold Davis'. Still better than mine, though, because I got zero star trail shot.</p>