Page 68 - (DK) Advanced Photography Guide

66 APPLYING | BULB MODE

SHOOTING STAR TRAILS

The Earth’s rotation makes stars rise and set in the in the constellation Ursa Minor. The farther north
night sky just like the sun and moon. By using a long you are, the higher Polaris will appear in the sky.
exposure, you can record this movement so that the There is no similar star in the southern hemisphere;
continuous arcs made by the moving stars are visible the nearest equivalent is Sigma Octantis, which is
in the final photo. In the northern hemisphere, stars much fainter than Polaris. The farther south you
appear to rotate around Polaris, the North Star, found are, the higher Sigma Octantis will appear.

CHOOSE YOUR LENS SELECT BULB MODE FOCUS ON INFINITY (∞)
The focal length of the lens will Set the aperture and the ISO. By Using a large aperture means that
affect the size of the star trail arc—the using a large aperture and a moderately the depth of field will be limited, so it is
wider the lens, the broader the arc will high ISO setting, you will record faint important to focus precisely on ∞. Switch
be. A prime lens, with a large maximum stars, as well as those more visible to the to MF to do this, as there is not enough
aperture, is more useful than a zoom lens. eye. Set your camera to Bulb mode. light at night for AF to work properly.

INFINITY FOCUS
On a lens distance scale, infinity (∞)
is the farthest point from the camera
at which the lens can focus. Older or
manual lenses have a hard stop at
infinity, preventing the focus ring from
turning further. Modern lenses have
a soft stop, so you can focus slightly
beyond infinity. This aids the autofocus
system and helps to counter the
effects of temperature variations.
With Canon lenses, use the vertical
stroke of the L on the distance scale;
Nikon lenses should be focused in USE A REMOTE RELEASE EXPOSE FOR 10 MINUTES
the middle of the ∞ symbol. For In Bulb mode, you need to use a Experiment with exposure times,
lenses without a distance scale, remote release that can hold the shutter starting with 10 minutes. If you are using
you will need to experiment. open. You can either use a mechanical long exposure noise reduction (see p.63),
switch or an app connected via Wi-Fi. the total exposure will take 20 minutes.

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