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Forums · Landscape Photography

Star trail stacking

Discussion

4 replies
Posted by Peter Coskun on December 26, 2011 at 4:58 PM
I'm going to be doing a night shoot soon and want to try a few new things, but is there anything I should know if I plan on stacking shorter exposures to achieve longer star trails? I have tried this a few times and have found that when I do it the stars don't seem fluent and appear jagged. Obviously nothing beats one long exposure to ensure perfect trails and I do have a battery grip to do as long as I need. I'd like to focus on the star trails but may not have the patience to wait up to an hour for a single photo (not yet at least) Any tips and tricks will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Posted by Floris van Breugel on December 26, 2011 at 5:32 PM
My free article from a few years ago should tell you everything you need to know.

The Twilight Hour
Posted by Peter Coskun on December 26, 2011 at 5:33 PM
Thank you I appreciate it!
Posted by Andy Astbury on January 29, 2012 at 4:15 AM
And what a great article that is Floris :toast:
Posted by Nick Leadley on March 5, 2012 at 1:56 PM
I've tried both the techniques in Floris' article and doing one long exposure for star trails. I haven't done many but from the few I have done I find the stacking method works fine and is easier on the batteries. I especially like it when including the star trails as an element in a scenic photograph. But that's my 2 cents worth.