In The Dead of the Night

Namibia is not only the least densily populated country of the world,it is also one of the driest. The clear desert air is perfect forshooting stars and star trails, so that's one of the things we alwaystry on each year's Namibia workshop.

I had planned the trip to coincide with new moon, so that we wouldhave pitch dark nights with lots of stars. By the end of the tour wehad managed to try it at three different locations. And even if youdon't like star trails (you know who your are, it's still a lot of funto try - being out there in the darkness, fiddling around with yourbuttons and settings, and not to forget the excitement a few hourslater, or sometimes even the next morning: did it all work? Or: ehm,where was it that I put my camera last night? :-)

Last year the only star trail that had ever been shot there before,was done by Art Wolfe (as far as my research could tell me), and I wasthen the only person who wanted to double that and dared to leave hiswhole setup in Deadvlei during the night, 60km away from camp. :-)This time there were more dare devils in our group.

When we returned the next morning, everything worked out, and we spentour time in the bus stack the whole lot in PS to see the results. Ifyou're interested, please have a look on my blog to see the imagesfrom the rest of our group.

For this shot of a dead camelthorn tree I made a 58 second exposurefor the master image, during which I painted the tree and theforeground with a small torch and a warm-up gel. There was still someafterglow on the dunes in the background. During the night the cameratook little over 80 shots, each four minutes long.

I would have liked the center of the star trails to be more to theleft, but to get this view of the tree, with all the branchesperfectly separated, this was the only position that worked - andbelieve me, I tried. :-)

As I was shooting with a D3X, I converted the star shots to jpeg afterraw conversion before stacking them in PS, to keep the file sizemanageable.

Your comments are appreciated as always.

Nikon D3X, AF-S 14-24/2.8 @ 14mm, 58s @ f/5.6, 80x4min @ f/5.6, ISO100, tripod, programmable cable release

[if you would like to join me on one of my photo tours and workshops,please have a look on my website for tours currently on offer]

Ah yes, excellent image!  I think your composition works very well and also really like your exposure on the tree and post work.  Well done.

Nice  shot. I remember you doing something similar, but this one seems to have game out better.

I like the surrealism of this image very much, a surrealism well based on a simple yet very effective composition. Light has a vital role in the success of the picture. Good colors.

Very good!

Regards.

Really awesome shot.

Wonderful composition.

I think everything is positioned excellently. Wonderful, stunning. 7. BR / Volker

Very beautiful and creative.

Very good technique and result.

Excellent shot....

Dosen't the camera-chip heat up during a shot as long as this? A have that problem with exposures above 7 min on my D70.

An amazing technique with a striking result. Thanks for the explanation. Karl

Excellent image, Marsel...wonderful creativity...my best

Deadvlei!

Excellent!

This turned out very well Marsel! I appreciate the fact that you shared your technique, and story, with us. I had no idea you could get programmable releases.The light painted tree makes for more dramatic scene, and gives us a better sense of sca;e. I can see why you'd want the composition framed a bit more to the right, though this turned out excellent  just the same. The existing composition is probably more interesting than having  star trails centered more central, as it lends an air of mystery to the image with the viewer wondering what the star trails to the right look like.  Excellent image Marsel!

All the best,
Neil

Marsel, this is an extremely nice image with the bare tree contrasting with the star circles. I am a bit puzzled by the star "circles", they look more elliptical in shape to me. Actually I think this adds to my enjoyment of the image, but I am wondering as to the source of the distortion. It would be interesting to know what lens you used?

First off, this is a great shot Marsel. I can't help but compare it to "Circling the Dead" which I honestly prefer. Due to the darker color of the lower half of the trunk, I find the tree gets lost in the dunes in the background and the placement of the north star (perhaps southern hemisphere?) seems a little haphazard. It's still a great photograph displaying some interesting techniques (which I'm quite happy you shared). Thanks for sharing the story, this photo is going into my favorites simply for the great read.

wonderful, nothing to say

an exceptional photo, it sounds very hard to achieve. i still do not dare to try such things, being afraid of the sensor over heating. congrats, it worth all the appreciations.

very good work, well done

Another masterpiece to add to your stunning portfolio, ciao Giangiorgio

Perfection.

One of your best, which is saying something.

Cheers

Amazing work and result. I appreciate your explanations, they help to make go inside the picture...

Gasp ... I'm speachless. Technically and emotionally perfect!

Thanks for sharing.

Amazing ... Max

 

Ali

Stunning Capture...

Thank you for sharing your whole procedure etc... I've tried 1-2 times to get a star trail (over extremely long exposures), but haven't had much luck (I've read about the method of taking numerous photos with shorter time intervals and combining them, but never thought of trying it) I guess your photo just gave me the inspiration to give it a try. Thanks

Regards