The trip is coming to an end.
I would be heading down the mountains and towards Lyon for my flight home, and I know these two nights in the Swiss Alps would be my final chance to have a go at some star trail shots.
I began my 3-month trip with some hope for taking some shots of the stars and even the Milky Way. The Peruvian Andes and Patagonia were prime targets. And I brought along a camera and lens specifically for it! Sadly, it was to be severely under-utilized. I did have a good clear night (on my final night!) during my trek in Peru that I managed to convince my worn-out body to stay up for the shoot.
Alas for Patagonia, the weather was rather unkind. The only night of perfect clear sky was also the supermoon night, which lit up both earth and sky. But at least for that, I have some supermoon shots.
The Galapagos Islands were supposedly great for night skywatching too. But even as I wandered off to the outskirts of town to less light-polluted areas, the showing was disappointing. And of course, throughout the trip, there were plenty of cloudy nights.
But tonight at the village of Gimmelwald, the stars twinkled seductively. Even though the moon was also out, and there were some wispy clouds, the stars were clearly out to entice me! There was just one tiny problem. It was a frosty -12 deg C.
Still, with my tripod and camera, I trudged half an hour out to a higher point, and after quite a few test and trial shots, I began my shoot. As I paced around a one-metre circle trying to keep warm, the cold winter's night silently takes its toll. It seemed like eternity, but actually worked out to be barely 20 minutes, when I finally caved-in. The clouds are coming in, I told myself, and sped-walk back to my guesthouse where I quickly bundled myself to bed.
In the past, taking star trail shots essentially entails opening the shutter until your desired duration. Nowadays though, most people use the image-stacking method, which basically merges a bunch sequentially-shot images. I am also still learning and exploring this, and as I was processing the images, I was cursing myself for not "enduring" longer. Easier said than done :|
So here's a first cut of the short star trail and my last "stars" shot of the trip. Definitely hope there will be opportunities for more in the future!
I would be heading down the mountains and towards Lyon for my flight home, and I know these two nights in the Swiss Alps would be my final chance to have a go at some star trail shots.
I began my 3-month trip with some hope for taking some shots of the stars and even the Milky Way. The Peruvian Andes and Patagonia were prime targets. And I brought along a camera and lens specifically for it! Sadly, it was to be severely under-utilized. I did have a good clear night (on my final night!) during my trek in Peru that I managed to convince my worn-out body to stay up for the shoot.
Alas for Patagonia, the weather was rather unkind. The only night of perfect clear sky was also the supermoon night, which lit up both earth and sky. But at least for that, I have some supermoon shots.
The Galapagos Islands were supposedly great for night skywatching too. But even as I wandered off to the outskirts of town to less light-polluted areas, the showing was disappointing. And of course, throughout the trip, there were plenty of cloudy nights.
But tonight at the village of Gimmelwald, the stars twinkled seductively. Even though the moon was also out, and there were some wispy clouds, the stars were clearly out to entice me! There was just one tiny problem. It was a frosty -12 deg C.
Still, with my tripod and camera, I trudged half an hour out to a higher point, and after quite a few test and trial shots, I began my shoot. As I paced around a one-metre circle trying to keep warm, the cold winter's night silently takes its toll. It seemed like eternity, but actually worked out to be barely 20 minutes, when I finally caved-in. The clouds are coming in, I told myself, and sped-walk back to my guesthouse where I quickly bundled myself to bed.
In the past, taking star trail shots essentially entails opening the shutter until your desired duration. Nowadays though, most people use the image-stacking method, which basically merges a bunch sequentially-shot images. I am also still learning and exploring this, and as I was processing the images, I was cursing myself for not "enduring" longer. Easier said than done :|
So here's a first cut of the short star trail and my last "stars" shot of the trip. Definitely hope there will be opportunities for more in the future!
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| Star Trails over Gimmelwald and the Swiss Alps |
