Tag: Night Sky

Nine-Years Ago (04-November-2006) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Night Sky Over New Jersey: Star and Jet Trails.

Learning from mistakes. It took a while to figure out how to make star trail images with a digital camera. My first attempts to do long exposures ran into problems with digital sensor noise, the length of time the shutter could remain open, and camera battery life — especially on cold nights. The camera had an option for “long exposure noise reduction”, however this required taking a second exposure with the shutter closed and then subtracting the sensor closed image from the sensor open image. The result is missing every other exposure needed for a smooth composite star trail image.

Star trails looking southeast from my backyard. Composite of 27 images taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 17 mm, f/2.8, 28 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star trails looking southeast from my backyard. Composite of 27 images taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 17 mm, f/2.8, 28 sec). (David J Mathre)

Other than the Big Dipper, Orion was probably the second constellation I learned to recognize.


Four-Years Ago (09-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey.

In Camera Moon Sequence. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec).

In Camera Moon Sequence. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
In Camera Moon Sequence. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (31-July-2008) — Colorado

Summer Nighttime Sky Over Colorado.

Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). Note that these images were taken using the in-camera intervalometer and noise reduction so for every minute, only 30 seconds of exposure. I’ve learned how to do it better since then — using an external intervalometer and doing the noise reduction post processing.

Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (29-July-2015) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

Nearly Full Moon Sequence. In camera composite of moon images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec). Images taken every 2 minutes. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.

It is two nights before the July Full “Blue Moon” but I am not sure that the sky will be clear on that night so I took this sequence early this morning.

Nearly Full Moon Sequence. In camera composite of moon images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec). Images taken every 2 minutes. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Nearly Full Moon Sequence. In camera composite of moon images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec). Images taken every 2 minutes. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (15-June-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Late Spring Full Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 (ISO 100, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5

Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 (ISO 100, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)
Late Spring Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 (ISO 100, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) on a Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre)