Star Trails - Tips on Photographing Stars

This tutorial on shooting star trails has been divided into two pages. The first page deals with basic precautions to be taken and preparations to be made. The second page outlines the technique to be used with cameras having a ‘bulb’ exposure mode (usually the higher end SLRs) as well as cameras without (usually entry level dSLRs and most point-and-shoot digital cameras).

The universe is comprised of millions of stars, and our earth is only a planet associated with one such star, the sun. Rotation of the earth on its axis gives rise to day and night, making the sun appear to rise and set. We can clearly see the sun go round in a huge arc across the sky, but rarely do we consider that the same holds for the millions of other stars too. The rotation of the earth makes the stars take a circular path around the sky. This ‘movement’ is too slow for our eyes to notice. But given sufficient time, your camera can capture it, which appears as a bright streak across the dark night skies. These ‘star trails’ make for very interesting photographs, as you’d agree from seeing the images on the following page.

Capturing star trails with your digital camera is not astrophysics!! Though it certainly is what you’d call astrophotography! Terminologies apart, the technique is quite simple, but requires certain efforts as well.

Starlight comes from millions of light years away, and is quite faint. A bright light in the vicinity of the camera would cause over-exposure and make the star trails invisible (that’s the reason why you can't see the stars during daytime). The city has its streetlights and lights from other sources, contributing to a lot of ‘light pollution’; hence the first requirement for a good star trail photo is to be as far away from a city as possible. Remember the moon too is quite a good source of light, especially the full moon, which is best avoided. A partial moon would be helpful though, to get the foreground details captured.

Here is what you need to capture star trails:

1. Your camera: Yup, don’t forget your main weapon!
2. Lens: Try to use a wide aperture lens. Light will be scarce and a narrow aperture might mean much longer exposures (and consequently, higher noise). You won't need a superzoom though, a medium range room (around 80mm) will help in composition.
3. Tripod: If you left this one out, pack off and retire for the night! A tripod is a must.
   
4. Power: You'll be taking long exposure and multiple exposures. Capturing star trails can even require 2-3 hours of continuous shooting, in the cold night. Make sure you have a couple of fully charged batteries with you, and keep them warm.
5. Memory: Take as much of it as possible. You don’t want to run out of space in the middle of the night at a faraway location!
6. Protection for your camera: Nights are cold and there are chances of dew or condensation. Take along a cover for your camera. A small portable battery powered fan for blowing air on the lens would also help to prevent fogging.
7. Warm clothes and gloves: It's not just your camera that needs to be protected from the elements!
8. Flashlight: You’ll need it to find your way around in the dark. Also useful for light graffiti (more on this on page two).
   

Now that you know how to prepare for capturing star trails and the camera equipment needed, please continue on to page two, where you will learn tips on ideal camera settings, composition and how to actually capture star trails with your digital camera.