NEW MODELS4-21x52 CDS-ZL2 Duplex
4-21x52 CDS-TZL3 TMOAthis example).
The beauty of a release with these
programmable functions is that
you can set it and walk away. Go
back into the hut and have a brew. If
your remote release does not have
the ability to programme consecutive
frames, you could achieve the same
number of shots by manually opening
the shutter for 30 seconds, 50 times.
Fairly laborious and monotonous but if
that’s all you have, then that’s the way
it has to be. Just remember to use the
2-second time delay to avoid camera
movement from your release.
If you would like more light and detail in
the foreground, you can use a headlamp
or torch to 'paint' over the area briefly
during one of the fifty frames.
You may have also seen some
really impressive star trail images
where the stars rotate around
a single point in the sky. This is
no fluke and can be achieved quite
intentionally by pointing the camera
at just the right angle and direction.
The earth rotates around the North
and South Poles, so all star trails are
centered above them. In our southern
hemisphere, this rotational point is
around the South Star, Sigma Octantis.
The easy way to locate this point
in the sky is to have the camerapointing directly south and at a
41-degree angle (Marlborough is at
41 degrees south, whereas the bottom
of the South Island is at 45 degrees
south, although a few degrees out will
not make a heck of a lot of difference).
I’ve also discovered that it is just
as important to have a lens with a
wide enough angle to be able to
include this point in the shot and
also maintain the foreground in the
frame.
Some of the post-production star trail
programmes include a feature called
'comet mode'. The programme creates
the same star trails as the normal mode
but adds a tapered trail behind the stars
and when rendered out, looks very
much like hundreds of comets streaking
across the sky (see second image
above).
Hopefully all this doesn’t
seem too daunting. As always,
experimenting with these types
of images and becoming familiar
with what your camera setup
is capable of in terms of how it
handles high ISOs combined with
long exposures will reap some
outstanding results.Cheers,
Matt
This image taken in North Canterbury
was shot as a single exposure of 862
seconds (just under 15 minutes). A
longer exposure of say 30 minutes
would produce trails twice as long.
The illuminated foreground is a result
of some very dim lighting reaching
out from the shearers’ quarters some
distance behind the camera)
4862 seconds @ f/4, ISO 10058 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019NEWMODELS4-21x52 CDS-ZL2 Duplex
4-21x52 CDS-TZL3 TMOAthis example).
The beauty of a release with these
programmable functions is that
you can set it and walk away. Go
back into the hut and have a brew. If
your remote release does not have
the ability to programme consecutive
frames, you could achieve the same
number of shots by manually opening
the shutter for 30 seconds, 50 times.
Fairly laborious and monotonous but if
that’s all you have, then that’s the way
it has to be. Just remember to use the
2-second time delay to avoid camera
movement from your release.
If you would like more light and detail in
the foreground, you can use a headlamp
or torch to 'paint' over the area briefly
during one of the fifty frames.
You may have also seen some
really impressive star trail images
wherethestarsrotatearound
a singlepointinthesky.Thisis
noflukeandcanbeachievedquite
intentionallybypointingthecamera
atjusttherightangleanddirection.
TheearthrotatesaroundtheNorth
andSouthPoles,soallstartrailsare
centeredabovethem.Inoursouthern
hemisphere,thisrotationalpointis
aroundtheSouthStar,SigmaOctantis.
Theeasywaytolocatethispoint
intheskyis tohavethecamerapointing directly south and at a
41-degree angle (Marlborough is at
41 degrees south, whereas the bottom
of the South Island is at 45 degrees
south, although a few degrees out will
not make a heck of a lot of difference).
I’ve also discovered that it is just
as important to have a lens with a
wide enough angle to be able to
include this point in the shot and
also maintain the foreground in the
frame.
Some of the post-production star trail
programmes include a feature called
'comet mode'. The programme creates
the same star trails as the normal mode
but adds a tapered trail behind the stars
and when rendered out, looks very
much like hundreds of comets streaking
across the sky (see second image
above).
Hopefully all this doesn’t
seem too daunting. As always,
experimenting with these types
of images and becoming familiar
with what your camera setup
is capable of in terms of how it
handles high ISOs combined with
long exposures will reap some
outstanding results.Cheers,
Matt
This image taken in North Canterbury
was shot as a single exposure of 862
seconds (just under 15 minutes). A
longer exposure of say 30 minutes
would produce trails twice as long.
The illuminated foreground is a result
of some very dim lighting reaching
out from the shearers’ quarters some
distance behind the camera)
4862 seconds @ f/4, ISO 10058 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019