Album Night Shots and Star Trails

Stan and I went on an overnight backpack trip in the Borrego Desert, mostly to work out the cobwebs since we haven't backpacked in almost 2 years. I definitely needed the tune-up-for some reason I though a pair of jeans and a cotton T-shirt (and no hat) would be all I'd need, and we arrived to 80 degree weather and an almost all up hill hike. On the other hand, I did bring ALL my camera equipment, including all my filters, spare battery, lens cloth, remote trigger, 2 lenses. You can see where my priorities are! :D So we get there and I was hoping to get my first tent shot, as well as some other good night shots, only to find that there is nowhere left in Southern California without light pollution. None of my shots turned out that well, but we did wake up at 3:00 a.m. in time to see the Milky Way rising over the hill next to our camp. The exposure was a little too dark because the moon had already set, and the city of El Centro lit up the horizon, but the Milky Way still looked awesome over our campsite:

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Marlboro Point ........

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Fantastic shot, RDD!


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Here's a link to a commercial star filter.
http://www.tiffen.com/star_filters.htm
they basically cause points of light to become streaks of light emanating from a single point, typically in either a 4 or 6 type star pattern.
I don't see too much done with the night sky. Some stuff by Wally Pacholka. Here's an example of one of his images where he used a star filter.
http://www.astropics.com/Kipahulu-Campground-Coast-Mars-Scorpio-Southern-Cross.html
I met him once and he told me that effect was all due to filters and no PS. Maybe cool to experiment with, but another part of me is hesitant to drop the cash on something that I might consider gimmicky get bored with after a few shots. Wally's night stuff is the only example I've seen, so just looking for more examples and feedback.

Ashergrey! thats an awesome trip report. Thanks for posting the link you have some very fine images there. Cedar mesa is a great place to go that time of year. Sunny and quiet.

here's another pic, full moon off the Oregon coast.
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Spent some time in Zion the past weekend. Labor day weekend was crazy! But that's to be expected. Found a campsite in the park so no complaints. Canyoneering was the focus, but I managed to sneak in one night photo of the Watchman from the parking lot where they park the shuttle buses. The cliffs and distant hills are illuminated by the light from the crescent moon and the light pollution of Springdale. The light on the hill in the foreground is from the headlights of a car from an employee leaving. Got lucky with timing! Also if you look closely there is a faint meteor above the summit of the Watchman. Lucky again!
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Redfish Lake - Sawtooths

Moon rising over the Sawtooths
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The following night before the moonrise.
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Not my picture but a pretty cool one.
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So here's what happens when you set your camera up to do an overnight time-lapse and a huge thunderstorm moves in. This is at the Agate house (an Anasazi Pueblo made of petrified wood) in the Petrified Forest National Park. I "water-proofed" the camera with a grocery bag and a hair-tie I found on the trail and left the camera alone to battle the elements over night. The Park is closed from 7pm to 7am behind a locked gate. I later watched from town as a huge storm raged over the Park. The next morning I was relieved to see my tripod still standing and my camera nice and dry under the plastic grocery bag. Most frames were pretty dark and not very usable, but this one turned out pretty cool.
All illumination is from lightening which for some reason turned the clouds purple and the sky green!
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