Star Trails

"Star Trails"

When I first started my journey into the art of photography, there was one type of photo that I knew I wanted to learn how to get. I had seen so many different images that others had captured, and I longed to be able to do it as they could. By taking continuous photographs while your camera remains focused on one single point, then stacking them into one image, each shot blends with the last, until you're able to see the movement of the stars through the night sky over any given amount of time. This art is known as star trails, and I believe it is truly one like no other. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Tucson, Arizona and have a workshop with my favorite astrophotographer, Sean Parker.

What I thought would be a very difficult picture to attain, turned out to be very simple. The first thing you'll need is a clear sky with light to no air traffic. I say this about the air traffic purely because of the amount of time it takes to edit once you start to stack the photos. Some other pointers I was taught were to have a dark sky, no wind, and flat ground to place your tripod. This photo was taken with an intervalometer (a device used to count intervals of time on your camera) over the course of one hour.

Some of you may have probably already heard of Sean, and perhaps follow along with him on social media sites such as facebook and twitter. I had been following his work for a while, always stunned when he released another breathtaking image, and when I learned that he enjoyed to teach others, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet and shoot with him so I could finally better learn what I love to do. I highly recommend you check out his page and view some of his amazing images. I'd even suggest taking a workshop with him if you'd like to learn some pointers.


If you would like to purchase this photo, you can visit facebook.com/shaidphotography to contact me, or find me on etsy at etsy.com/shop/shaidphotography. I invite you to like my page, look through my photos and share your thoughts on them! Your shares, comments, likes and follows are so important to me!

Photo Details:
Canon EOS 70D
Lens: Rokinon Ultra Wide 14mm
Focal Length: 14mm
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 1600
Exposure: 20 seconds per exposure
182 exposures stacked in StarStax

Other places you can find me:
Instagram
ViewBug
Flickr
500px
Twitter
Email

Galaxy Rise

"Galaxy Rise"

If I were to say that I like astronomy, I'd be lying. I'm not even sure that "love" would be a strong enough word. I suppose that everyone has that one thing that they absolutely live for when it comes to hobbies. I live for the sky. The universe encompasses me, and I'm forever filled with wonder, awe and questions. Just the simple thought that I have the ability to look back in time millions of years across such a vast and seemingly endless amount of space sends chills down my spine and makes me yearn for answers to all of the secrets out there.

That being said, I'm lucky enough to live in an area where I have the ability to step outside and look up to view a million stars without the worry of city lights or pollution. This photo was taken in July of 2014, while the Milky Way Galaxy was rising into the sky. If you look closely, you can spot Scorpius in the bottom left, and also Sagittarius on the bottom left. Sagittarius shows us the center of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The bright band is our galaxy's arms spiraling outwards into the universe, with the center being bright because of the enormous number of stars. Even if you're not a stargazer, the night sky is absolutely something to experience free of light and sky pollutants. If you're lucky, you may even see a "shooting star" like I've captured here.

If you would like to purchase this photo, please visit etsy.com/shop/shaidphotography. You can also find me on facebook at facebook.com/shaidphotography. I invite you to like my page, look through my photos and share your thoughts! Your shares, comments, likes and follows are so important to me!

Photo Details:

Canon EOS 70D

Lens: Rokinon Ultra Wide Lens

Focal Length: 14mm

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 6400

Exposure: 30 seconds

Other places you can find me:

Instagram: Smileygirl469

ViewBug: viewbug.com/member/smileygirl469

Flickr: flickr.com/photos/shaidphotography

500px: 500px.com/shaidphotography

Twitter: ShaidPhoto

email: shanna@shaidphotography.com