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How to Shoot Star Trail Photos 1.0

Nick

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Nick submitted a new resource:

How to Shoot Star Trail Photos - A tutorial for shooting star trail photos with a DSLR camera.

I've had a lot of people ask how I shoot star trails so I thought I'd post up a little tutorial here. I won't claim to be the expert on this but I've done it enough to know my way around.

I haven't updated this for a couple years so I may need to read through this and update shortly. Just getting this posted as-is for now to get the Resources section running. :)

Equipment needed:
- A digital SLR Camera
- A sturdy tripod
- A wired remote control trigger

The wired trigger can be an...

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Thank you for sharing this Nick. I've wondered how folks have gotten their night shots for a while.

One question: how are you getting the shutter to stay open for so long? I'm new to my DSLR but I know my old camera could only stay open for 30 seconds and I could never figure out how to get it open longer. I could probably figure it out but advice from an expert is generally the quickest option ;)
 
For stacked trails (preferred method), you only need 30 second exposures. For single exposure trails (option 1 in the tutorial), you just set your camera shutter to bulb mode and lock down your wired trigger. It will stay open as long as the trigger is locked down.
 
For stacked trails (preferred method), you only need 30 second exposures. For single exposure trails (option 1 in the tutorial), you just set your camera shutter to bulb mode and lock down your wired trigger. It will stay open as long as the trigger is locked down.
Hello: can you recommend a basic but good tripod for backpacking/hiking use? I think you suggested Manfrotto but I don't know what type/model. Their website is confusing with so many options; then you have to buy the head separately.
I have a Canon T4i camera. Thanks, Jerome in Tucson
 
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