What’s Your Preference?

macnmotion · #1 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 10:22 AM

Hello everyone, I have been an avid reader of this website on my mobile devices, this is my first post.

As an astrophotographer, I am often accumulating light over multiple exposures in order to bring out a dim object in the sky. In 2004 during a total lunar eclipse in New York State I had an idea to shoot the entire duration of an eclipse from one point of view, creating a "moon trail" shot (similar to Star Trail photos). The technique worked, but my experiment between trees in my yard was far from beautiful.

On December 10, 2011 I had another try, this time in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand.

This image shows the Moon (and Jupiter, above and to the right of the moon) rising over Bangkok over a 3-1/2 hour period during a total lunar eclipse.

Technical Details:
- Canon 5DII + 16-35L at 16mm (using tripod and intervalometer)
- ISO 100
- F22
- 104 exposures (2-minutes each with 1 second in between) shot in RAW
- RAW conversion, and stacking (combining) of photos into one image using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Statistics (Maximum) function (similar to multiple layers with "lighten" mode)

I spent the day hunting throughout Bangkok for a suitable foreground. First I went to the Chao Praya River, across from the Grand Palace, but the only location that would show the Palace well was on Thai Navy property -- not allowed! Next I went to Wat Arun, one of Bangkok's most beautiful temples, but it was closing at 3PM. Then I went to Vertigo Bar/Restaurant on the top of the Banyan Tree Hotel, one of Bangkok's highest points, but they would not allow photography there. Finally I ended up on the 28th floor roof of my cousin's condo building. Shooting ENE from there, unfortunately most of the city's beautiful skyscrapers were behind me. I believe it would have been nicer with more buildings breaking up the horizon.

My goal was to show more than just a moment in time like most Eclipse photos do. I have done the composite eclipse sequence shots that are prevalent. This time, I wanted to show the flow and dynamic nature of the eclipse, how it relates to itself over time, with enough perspective to give a sense of being there. I think that this photo accomplishes that. By shooting at ISO 100 and F22, I was able to keep the light pollution low even over these 2-minute exposures, while still picking up the rusty red during 51 minutes of eclipse totality. F22 results in diffraction spikes which I believe add to the dynamic nature of the image.

It was very windy that night, so a solid tripod was a necessity (I used a Bogen 3021 tripod with a Manfrotto 410 geared head). The Canon Intervalometer allowed me to set up the automatic exposure of 104 shots, however the device requires 1 second between shots which results in the transitions being discrete instead of totally smooth. In order for the intervalometer to work properly, the camera was set to bulb mode, manual focus.

Vincent_G · #2 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 12:31 PM

awesome ... love the taper as it dimmed. I'd like to try your technique ..hurry up 2014

macnmotion · #3 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vincent_G

awesome ... love the taper as it dimmed. I'd like to try your technique ..hurry up 2014

Thanks Vincent. I have another technique for you to try -- and you don't have to wait 3 years! I'll create a new post discussing defocused star trails.

Andy