Astrophotography: Volume Two (All Original Work)

garethb (59) in photography • 7 years ago

This week, I've decided to mix things up a bit, by showing a few of my "startrail" photos, as well as my regular starscape ones.

For the star trails, I use a method known as stacking, whereby you take a bunch of 30 second exposures - one directly after the other - for about an hour (the longer you go for, the longer the trail becomes). Once you're done shooting, load all your photos into your favourite image editing program, and merge them all together. It's a bit more time consuming, but the results below speak for themselves.

As for the regular starscape ones, they have a maximum exposure time of about 20 seconds - any longer, and streaking will become visible. A full guide on both these methods will be coming up soon (in the meantime, I've listed all my equipment used at the bottom).

Hopefully you enjoy these photos, and I'll be posting more when I've had the chance to head out of the city again and do some proper photography. But until then, take a scroll through these and let me know what you think.

Equipment used:

Canon 6D
Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens (for startrails)
Rokinon 24m f1.4 lens (for milky way photos)
Lightroom CC for edits

photography travel nature life creativity

7 years ago by garethb (59)

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suf1an (57) · 7 years ago

Oh God, your pictures are fab. At first when I saw them I was like how it could be possible but then I read your post and came to know how you do it but again, Incredible job man.
Followed and upvoted you to not miss out the interesting content coming from you in future.

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2 votes

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for the awesome comment @suf1an! I'm hoping to make a post soon where I go into more detail about the exact camera setting used / editing process. Maybe it will inspire more people to get out there and try it for themselves :)

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suf1an (57) · 7 years ago

O really? That's great. I am waiting for that. I would love to learn it.

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buddhabrews (50) · 7 years ago

Damn! These pictures are PERFECT! We've been doing a promo campaign at work using the sort of dusk-ish light of the sky and composing stars in which these reminds me of. #2 wins the money for me! Such an awesome shot.

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10 votes

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for checking them out! Lots of people seem to like the second one the most, so I guess thats the "money shot" :)

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1 vote

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kjnk (50) · 7 years ago

Followed, these are seriously awesome!

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1 vote

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @kjnk! Seriously blown away by the response my photos are getting, just makes me more motivated to get out there and take some more :)

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rifkan (62) · 7 years ago (edited)

congrats. you deserve it :) photos are mindblowing :)

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1 vote

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @rifkan! I remember you commenting on my first astrophotography post, glad to see you're still here for the second one :)

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rifkan (62) · 7 years ago

you are welcome.

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1 vote

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ozzy1958 (28) · 7 years ago

Top quality photos you have here Gareth.
I will be trying this type of photography once I get a chance to get away from the light pollution where I live.
Keep up the excellent work and I look forward to seeing some more of your shots in the futrure.

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1 vote

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for the comment @ozzy158. Indeed, getting away from light pollution is key to getting these types of photos. I'm usually at least 50km away from the nearest town when out on an astrophotography journey, and even then, a faint glow is sometimes visible on the horizon.

I posted a few extra photos a week ago, take a look here if you'd like to see some more: https://steemit.com/photography/@garethb/astrophotography-volume-one-all-original-work

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jacksongroves (49) · 7 years ago

These photos are breathtaking! Great photography skills!

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1 vote

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thank you @jacksongroves! Glad to see so many people like them, makes me motivated to get out there and take some more to share with everyone :)

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oyvindsabo (53) · 7 years ago

Wow, your images look amazing. I particularly like the glow in picture number 3. You inspire me to get back to taking long exposure photos myself.

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1 vote

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for the comment @oyvindsabo! The glow on the clouds was from a town a couple of miles away - wasn't visible to the naked eye, so a bit of a surprise seeing it come through in the photo.

You should get back out there, it can be quite a therapeutic experience :)

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1 vote

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mirella (50) · 7 years ago

These photos are breathtaking. Where were they shot?

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @mirella! They were mostly all shot in the Drakensberg region of South Africa. It's an area far away from major cities, so there's minimal light pollution.

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quietstar (37) · 7 years ago

Let the people know the truth about the flat, domed earth! Excellent shots! The Heavens declare The Glory of God

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macarthur1 (40) · 7 years ago

very Original Work) and floower you

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betterbeing (49) · 7 years ago

Obsessed with these photos!! @curie definitely picked up some incredible work here. Wow.

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lauramchz (48) · 7 years ago

What a good article friend, I vote, I hope you also support me and follow me ♥

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alphasteem (70) · 7 years ago

Awesome pics.. love the one with the milky way. Out in death valley, on a clear night you can almost see the red/brown color in the milky way with the naked eye. You should try astrophotography with a telescope...it's a lot of fun!

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for taking a look at them @alphasteem :) I use an app called Stellarium Mobile to help pinpoint where the milky way will be in the sky before I go out - saves a few precious minutes.

I've always wanted to visit Death Valley (after reading about the "sailing stones"), but it's about 16,000km away from where I live. One day I'll go and take some photos of the milky way there :)

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steemitboard (66) · 7 years ago

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brookeloving (62) · 7 years ago

holy shite, @garethb these are amazing. I would love to know where and how. I'll make sure to check back for your guide. Stunning :O

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thank you @brookeloving! Quick answer to the location: they were all taken in the Drakensberg mountains region of South Africa (one of my favourite places for photography, and only a 2 hour drive from where I live). You can have a quick read about the area on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakensberg

In terms of how...well, thats a bit of a longer explanation, but as promised, I'm working on a "behind the scenes" guide :)

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brookeloving (62) · 7 years ago

Dude. What a gift. Thank you. If I'm ever in South Africa, I will have to remember to check out the Drakensberg Mountains!

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hoangtumanh (47) · 7 years ago

I have seen your posts, in which a lot of beautiful photos. and i was upvote and follow you. Please support me by upvote and follow me. I often write about the field of biology

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m1r1 (49) · 7 years ago

I am so in love with the 2nd picture! Looks incredible beautiful! I know how much time it takes to take a startrail picture. I think I tried it 3 times at night (around 2am) but on the first day it was to cloudy, on the second there were to many other lights around but finally on the third night the conditions were perfect. Nevertheless we stayed there for more than an hour haha. But the result made me so proud!
Thanks for sharing your pictures :)

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thank you @m1r1 :) Startrail photos certainly are a "practice of patience", but as you mentioned, the end result always makes you feel proud :)

Interesting fact about the second photo: I briefly shone my phone torch in the foreground of the photo to make sure the road was slightly illuminated. It certainly makes the photo a bit more interesting to look at.

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m1r1 (49) · 7 years ago

Indeed! The fact reminds me of my photo as well haha. I also briefly shone the canola field on my last picture and after editing it, it looked so much better! I am planning to post it soon and to write about how to take a startrail picture :)

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aibolit66 (66) · 7 years ago

Excellent! And I always wanted to do such pictures

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @aibolit66 :) Anyone can get started with a regular DSLR and standard lens (I did it for years), but when you start getting more serious about the photos, its a good idea to upgrade to a full-frame camera such as the Canon 6D / 5D MK3 etc.

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terrylovejoy (62) · 7 years ago

Great work @garethb ! Its encouraged me to get back out there again :)

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for the comment @terrylovejoy, glad I was able to help encourage you get some photos of your own :)

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kuboskeey (46) · 7 years ago

Excellent Post.... You are welcome to Steemit (The best site ever!). If you are multi-talented, you are welcome, and it is a bonus for both parties (You and the Platform)
For multi-talented gifts like you. Chose your niche; I'm happy you have got one (Niche) already. Post daily and earn by having more amazing friends daily; Also, some token awaits you. To be candid, we need you in here.

As a multi-talented blogger, whose exceptional experience is amazing, I would like to share my daily post featuring different niches of blogging. I always claimed STEEMIT is made for me because I'm capable of giving out different services to help grow this platform.

I play football, sing, draw and act comedy. More than that, I’m an expert at drawing, writing, and doing voice-overs.

Help Support My Projects!

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Casting your vote will be appreciated: When you get there, feel free to decide, either to Upvote, Comment or Resteem.

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aziagirl (45) · 7 years ago

Nice ! Beautiful pictures... I wrote an article about the super blue bood moon of the 31th january, you can check my page if you want to see it !

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marsell (42) · 7 years ago

awesome pictures and photography skills !!!
thanks for sharing

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for commenting and taking a look at them @marsell :) More coming soon!

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mbroek1983 (58) · 7 years ago

Really cool shots. I've done a lot with photography like macro landscape portrait etcetc but this is still on my to do list lol. Nice work!!

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @mbroek1983. If you've done landscape photography already, then you should find astrophotography to be pretty simple. It's like landscape photography, just in the dark :)

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ivansnz (72) · 7 years ago

The startrails are impressive! I can really feel the movement.

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks for taking a look @ivansnz! I used to use a rather rudimentary way of keeping my shutter button down for them (taping the button down), but now I use a mobile app to control the shutter - works far better :)

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ivansnz (72) · 7 years ago

i also use an app! its much safer i think!

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mikebro45 (25) · 7 years ago

the stars and night sky will forever be the most beautiful sight known to man :))

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Certainly have to agree with you there :) A 1967 Mustang Fastback is a close second "most beautiful sight" though.

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carlgnash (69) · 7 years ago

These are really some stunning photos @garethb. I am looking forward to the "behind the scenes" post on your techniques, because as you say - the results do speak for themselves!

This post was nominated by a @curie curator to be featured in an upcoming Author Showcase post on the @curie blog. If you agree to be featured in this way, please reply and:

Let us know if we can quote text and/or feature images from your post.
If you would like to provide a brief statement about your posting, your life or anything else to be included in the article, you can do so in reply here or look me up on Discord chat (@gnashster#6522 ) or even (last resort) email, same username as here with ye olde gmail appended.

You can check out the previous week's Author Showcase to get an idea of what we are doing with these posts.

Cheers - Carl (@curie curator)

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Hey @carlgnash, thanks for the comment, I'd be happy to be featured in an upcoming Author Showcase. You can take any text and images that you require for usage :)

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dreamfactory (35) · 7 years ago

Great post.
Follow me on https://steemit.com/@dreamfactory

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captainsailor (58) · 7 years ago

This is so nice... I have 700D Canon and 18-55 / 50mm / 10-18 mm lenses. Which one do you recommend?
I am actually planing to take these pictures with 10-18 but F4,5 so is that good enough?4
Also.
Sky this clear!?
No way. I live in a city so... Impossible.

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garethb (59) · 7 years ago

Thanks @captainsailor :) I also live in a large city, but these photos were taken very far away from it (and on nights with as little moonlight as possible).

In terms of lens usage, your 50mm would be best (as it is f1.8: lower f stop = more light let into camera). However, the 50mm has a very narrow field of view, so your next best bet would be the 18-55, as its f3.5, and has a much larger field of view.

However, if you REALLY want to get into astrophotography, then I'd recommend picking a Rokinon 24mm f1.4. I use it for most of my photos, and the results speak for themselves :) I'm happy to answer any more questions you may have.