Tynong Star Trails

H George, on August 16, 2008, said:

Taken facing south west, grain is due to sensor heat. South celestial pole at the centre of "spiral". Exposure time of around 22 mins.

I think this shows one of the limitations of digital photography compared to film, as film photography can go for as long as the batteries in your camera will hold the mirror up and the blinds open (I found out the hard way that batteries can't be pulled out while the shutter is open. The mirror didn't come down, but the blinds internally were closed...little did I know...)

However I was very pleased when I finally got a good look at this shot on the monitor. I've always wanted to capture the south celestial pole!

Craig Ward, on August 17, 2008, said:

Nice job HG ,did you use long exp noise reduction? or would you have to wait another 22 min, it would interesting to see what diff it my make,Cheers Craig :)

Liviu Chirilă, on August 17, 2008, said:

Great shot, George! I think you are right about the differences between digital and film photography. Before the digital era I had a Zenit E (Russian camera) which was fully manual and with fully mechanical operation. Using no batteries at all, it could take photos using exposures as long as needed. Anyway, your photo is very good. Sorry for the interference. Regards, Liviu

russianrachel, on August 17, 2008, said:

Fascinating photo! Rachel

H George, on August 18, 2008, said:

Thank you, Craig, Liviu and russianrachel!

Craig, yes this was using noise reduction, and yes I did have to wait 22 mins for the camera to do its thing. I ended up packing all of my gear back into my car and driving home. By the time I got home, the image was ready for viewing. The original image histogram was showing very low in the lighter areas, so this version has been adjusted accordingly and desaturated.

Liviu, I would love to have a fully mechanical camera for all of the above reasons. No batteries, no fuss, a lot more work but a lot more appreciation for your results no doubt. I recently had a film developed from a pinhole camera of mine, with some very interesting results...not GREAT results necessarily but interesting certainly.

Rachel, thank you so much for your kind words!

Liviu Chirilă, on August 18, 2008, said:

Hi George! If you have a few minutes and you are interested in fully mechanical cameras, you can take a look here. They have cameras with some interesting specifications and also very good lens. And the products are very reasonable priced. Greetings, Liviu

Liviu Chirilă, on August 18, 2008, said:

P.S: As I said before, their cameras are reasonably priced, but I don't know any details about shipping. Liviu

H George, on August 18, 2008, said:

Thank you, Liviu. I'll give them a go!

k.andre, on August 27, 2008, said:

Very artistic photo!!!

Well done!

Greetings from Greece, Kostas

H George, on August 28, 2008, said:

Thank you VERY much, Kostas!

pal_sandipan, on September 15, 2008, said:

Very nice shot. Voted.

H George, on September 18, 2008, said:

Thank you so much, pal_sandipan! I'm honoured!

Valerio Maruffi, on September 26, 2008, said:

Mooolto bella George. Una foto che non sono ancora riuscito a fare. Complimenti

dick v., on November 29, 2008, said:

Wonderful result HG! Your patience has certainly paid off... Greetings from Holland, Dick

H George, on December 4, 2008, said:

Thank you, Valerio and Dick. Patience certainly comes into it here, Dick. I keep waiting for another clear night when there is no moon but they never seem to occur together. Either no moon and cloudy or clear sky and full moon or none of the above. It seems the entire universe has to align for me to get out and take these kinds of shots :)