Comments

john_dennis wrote on 3/12/2012, 7:08 PM
I've been wondering what I was going to do with myself in the future. The image I'm beginning to get is me nodding in the back of my truck while my still cameras fire every half minute somewhere that one can't see the lights of the city.

Then, when it comes time to edit it, I'll exclaim that I have to make one more trip to catch another couple thousand frames.

I may never get back to the editing machine...

... so you guys may never see the result.

But, who'll care.
Serena wrote on 3/12/2012, 7:31 PM
Note that that is on an astronomer's web page, so has merit in that context that it might lack in the action-hero video context. Requires great effort (more than just sitting in a truck) and patience to get the right combinations of location, sky and wind. Most locations it's difficult enough to get a clear sky for observing, let alone meeting the other essentials.
NickHope wrote on 3/13/2012, 1:19 AM
John, you have drive your truck all night at a steady 0.1mph to get this footage. So there'll be no nodding in the back!
ushere wrote on 3/13/2012, 1:50 AM
what would be a good resource / site to point my students to who are interested in the technical side of shooting time lapse?

i keep getting asked questions such as how to determine correct aperture, how many frames per minute for smooth movement, etc.,

tia
Serena wrote on 3/13/2012, 2:50 AM
I'd suggest exploring Phil Bloom's tutorials. He's fascinated by using a DLSR for doing timelapse.
http://philipbloom.net/2010/12/16/timelapse-with-dslrs/Phil Bloom[/link]
apit34356 wrote on 3/13/2012, 3:03 AM
Nice shots! Nice foreground and sky detail! one should note for the beginners in time lapsed shooting that the motorized slides do not move forward or track the stars during 15-30sec shot used from want I see in these shots. Great work, it was fun watching, but I like this type of work for "fun" viewing.
NickHope wrote on 3/13/2012, 3:30 AM
The "timelapse of the night sky" genre has been getting a lot of attention since this amazing video. There has been so much stunning footage that it's now difficult to do something different and new with it.

I tend to think that if you're going to move the camera for this type of shot, the shots tend to look better with the camera tracking sideways in the same direction as the stars. I've seen a few shots with tracking for tracking's sake, where for example you're watching the stars and then a tree shoots past in the foreground in the opposite direction, which just doesn't sit right.

Edit: Another.