Star Trails (Gabby Salazar)

While in Africa, I spent a few nights playing with star trails. In the Hamakuya region, I was so far away from cities that the sky was filled with stars. I’d never played with star trails using digital and was curious to see how it turned out. The nice thing about digital is that it is easy to change ISO and to experiment with different settings in the field. It is difficult to make exposures without a lot of grain/noise. In order to do star trails with complete circles, I needed extra equipment. I  only had cable release, so I was able to get bright pinpoints. I composed the image with a Venda hut in the foreground to show the setting and finally came up with this exposure – 30 seconds at f/9 at ISO 1250. Next time you are out at night, experiment with different exposures and ISOs to see what you can achieve. Use flashlights to paint foreground objects so you have a point of interest. In this case, the lights added definition to the house, but in other situations, you can paint plants, trees, or rocks with light.

More soon!

– Gabby