I want to re-do this one at some point to hopefully get a light trail from a train in the photo as well. Still, this one has been received well on the various social media that I've posted it to, so I thought I'd share here:
Moffat Tunnel Star Trails by Chris May, on Flickr
This is a stack of 136 separate 30-second exposures combined with StarTraX (a free star trail stacking program).
As always, comments, questions or criqtiques more than welcome!
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
Another great photo from a man who has the knowledge and scenery to make one.
I have a friend who was raised in Ouray. He likes seeing your work. Reminds him of home.
Norm
Saw this on FB. It's no less spectacular in either place.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Great shot, you continue to amaze!
Now if you manage to get a train in a shot like that it'll look like it's going into warp drive!
I love the shot, but can't figure out how you managed to get the llusion of a reverse curve in there.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Thanks, all!
Carl, it's because of my lens and the direction I'm pointing. It's my 12mm lens, so it shows a lot of the sky and I'm facing kind of SSW with it. If you imagine the earth rotating, the star patterns would be tight circles towards the poles gradually broadening out towards the equator. What you're seeing is the reversal pattern as we transition from the bit of the northern sky that I caught on the right side of the frame to the star circles of the southern sky. While I can't shoot the tight circles around the southern pole because of my location in the northern hemisphere, I could still see the broadest circles that form as they near the equator. Had I turned my camera more towards the west, we would have seen tighter star circles as I moved to the north right up to Polaris, which would only form the very tightest circle since it's only a tiny bit off from the true pole.
I hope that made sense. It's one of those things that I can visualize in my head but can't really put into words as well as I'd like to.
Makes sense now, Chris. Somewhere in there is a star on the celestial equator making a straight line in your picture. I was a little thrown by the fact that the arcs weren't showng in the same place, but that's a function of the geographic features.
Questions and responses like that - from knowledgeable folks - are what make this forum so interesting. Thanks, Chris !
- Paul North.
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