Star Trails

throughout my project this is the one technique i failed to master despite several long attempts on a number of cold winter nights. I followed the instructions of many websites and teachers to obtain the shots but time and again unforeseen, irritating problems (such as condensation building up and the lens freezing over) prevented me from achieving my goal of long sharp star trails.

If these problems hadn’t occurred, here’s the basic information which would have allowed me to produce the star trails...

Where to Shoot –

·          choose a spot as far away from any cities as possible to avoid light pollution caused by street and car lights etc (i travelled to Glendoll, a valley 40 miles from Dundee).

·          Try not to shoot during a full moon as this is far brighter than the stars and will appear very overpowering in the final image.

·         long exposure star trails can last for house so try to hook your camera up to a power supply to avoid it cutting out half way through.

·         And of course try to choose a clear night where you can actually see the stars in the sky through the mass of cloud which frequently obstructs out view of them.

http://www.schursastrophotography.com/software/photoshop/startrails.html

Setting up your equipment –

·         set your DSLR to bulb mode which will allow you to take a very long shot. Use the lowest ISO setting (ISO 100) to reduce the amount of noise in your final photograph. A tripod is absolutely essential (particularly when its windy).

·         Use a wide aperture to ensure you capture plenty of light which will give brighter trails.

                ·         And i know it sounds silly but wrap socks around your camera lens to prevent it fogging over – particularly on cold nights.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/re/excathedra/HighRes.htm

Water droplets

Capturing water droplets requires a great deal of patients but the results are well worth the effort it takes to produce them, so if you’re interested in photography give it a try!

Here’s how...

·     Place a wine glass on a baking tray and fill to the brim with water. Using a plastic pipette continuously drip small volumes of water into the glass to create a splashing action.

·         The backdrop can vary – try using coloured card to begin with.

·         An off camera flash is required to light the falling droplets from the side. Sinc this to your camera using a cable.

·         Use manual focus to pre focus on the area you expect the droplet to fall. Place an object in this area so the camera has a point to focus on.

·         Capturing water droplets requires split second timing so set your camera to its continuous shooting mode which will allow you to fire out several shots in straight succession.

Throughout the shoot ensure you keep your camera lens as far away from the splashing water as possible, as water on the lens will ruin any final images. Bare in mind that capturing a perfect splash is rare so keep trying and persevere. Once you have mastered the technique you may wish to try experimenting with alternative liquids and backdrops to create more visually attractive images.

During my last year at high School, I studied higher photography and developed a great range of knowledge and technical ability regarding the subject. However over the past few months i have had less and less free time to expand and reflect on this knowledge and sadly have forgotten a fair bit of what i have learned. Over the next few entries i will look back at the work I completed during the course and hopefully re-jog my memory and develop a liking for photography once again.

Throughout the course, i used my photographs to uncover everyday wonders that were time and again overlooked and unacknowledged by the human eye. Abstract smoke trails were one thing i frequently enjoyed creating and capturing.

Here’s how...
• Place a lit insense stick in a holder in front of a non reflective black cloth to create a pure background tone.  
• Manually set the DSLR camera to an aperture of f8. This will ensure there is enough depth of field to capture the smoke in focus, but not enough to make the background appear sharp.
• Position an off-camera flash to the side of the smoke trail which can be triggered by the camera using a cable. This will ensure the smoke is fully illuminated in the shot.
• With regards to focusing, it is near impossible to auto focus on moving smoke. Switch the camera to manual focus and attempt to pre focus on an object held in the path of the smoke trail before you start the shoot.
Once these rules have been followed you are ready to shoot, although, as i remember, the process is a bit hit and miss so patience is essential. For every 20 shots you take there may only be 1 or 2 which have worked properly but in the end after endless attempts you’ll be left with quite a pleasing collection.