One of my best yet.
Discussion
Just got in from taking this and i was after some feedback on my photo.
Spent 2 hours in -6 on the side of a hill 1063ft up to complete. Getting to the point when the cameras started freezing over and run out of coffee.
The image is straight from the camera and has no changes. It is a 30 minute exposure at F/5.6. Then a 40 minute wait to process the shot.

28/365 - Madness - January 28th 2011 by Oliver Meads, on Flickr
So, whatcha think.
It really was cold!



Spent 2 hours in -6 on the side of a hill 1063ft up to complete. Getting to the point when the cameras started freezing over and run out of coffee.
The image is straight from the camera and has no changes. It is a 30 minute exposure at F/5.6. Then a 40 minute wait to process the shot.

28/365 - Madness - January 28th 2011 by Oliver Meads, on Flickr
So, whatcha think.
It really was cold!
Edited by XG332 on Saturday 29th January 01:31
You've overcome two of the night photographer's biggest hurdles- focus and stability- so the final image is crisp. Well done. I like the exposure too with soft light just livening up the tower, although that's somewhat offset by the silhouetted shape on the left.
I used to shoot single long exposures for star trails but these days if I want the stars to be a significant part of the image I use a stacking technique which gives me 2 or 3 more stops worth of starlight than your image at f/5.6. Particularly in those conditions (another pat on the back from me for braving it) the stacking technique also means your success is not at the mercy of battery life as some Canon cameras also send your current file to the grave when the battery dies. The other big change to my technique since I started shooting at night is to ditch long exposure noise reduction. For the negligible difference it makes, I'd rather get twice as many shots of a night or get home considerably earlier.
I used to shoot single long exposures for star trails but these days if I want the stars to be a significant part of the image I use a stacking technique which gives me 2 or 3 more stops worth of starlight than your image at f/5.6. Particularly in those conditions (another pat on the back from me for braving it) the stacking technique also means your success is not at the mercy of battery life as some Canon cameras also send your current file to the grave when the battery dies. The other big change to my technique since I started shooting at night is to ditch long exposure noise reduction. For the negligible difference it makes, I'd rather get twice as many shots of a night or get home considerably earlier.
dibbly dobbler said:
Quick question - why does it take so long to process after the shot is taken?
Long exposure noise reduction takes an identical length dark field (no light) shot straight after the normal one and uses that as a mask to subtract noise from the main photo. It takes ages and can be very usefull and not something you can do out of camera.Though it seems multiple exposures and layering is the current prefered method for star trails.
XG332 said:
Just got in from taking this and i was after some feedback on my photo.
Spent 2 hours in -6 on the side of a hill 1063ft up to complete. Getting to the point when the cameras started freezing over and run out of coffee.
The image is straight from the camera and has no changes. It is a 30 minute exposure at F/5.6. Then a 40 minute wait to process the shot.

28/365 - Madness - January 28th 2011 by Oliver Meads, on Flickr
So, whatcha think.
It really was cold!



I think it's excellent!Spent 2 hours in -6 on the side of a hill 1063ft up to complete. Getting to the point when the cameras started freezing over and run out of coffee.
The image is straight from the camera and has no changes. It is a 30 minute exposure at F/5.6. Then a 40 minute wait to process the shot.

28/365 - Madness - January 28th 2011 by Oliver Meads, on Flickr
So, whatcha think.
It really was cold!
Edited by XG332 on Saturday 29th January 01:31
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