melueth Loc: Central Florida

I finally got this shot closer to what i've been hoping for, except for the trees! Took 100 shots of the sky at 25 seconds each, ISO 200, 12mm lens on my Sony A6000. The one shot of the house was shot separately, at just 15 seconds, ISO 100. After some tweaks in LR, i exported them all to jpg, then opened as layers in PS. Removing plane trails took a long time, and there's still some ghosts left, but so it goes! Comments welcome.

Marylea

(Download)

SkyKing Loc: Thompson Ridge, NY

...pretty cool...!

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Good job.

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Very well done Marylea.
Craig

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Nicely done and nicely processed as well.
Jim

melueth Loc: Central Florida

Thanks very much everyone! Whew . . . took me some time to wrap my brain (and sleep needs) around this one, and it's still a work in progress. I'm hoping for a shot like this in June when i head to the Berkshires, and over something a little more spectacular than my house! Thanks again for all your kinds words and encouragement.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

It is a great composition Marylea.
Watch out though, StarTrails lead to Vixen rails.
You may be safe for now because Orion has run off to the South for the Summer.
But summer planets can drag you in....

melueth Loc: Central Florida

Thanks SonnyE! I'm not sure i will ever get to the place with my equipment that some of you folks are, but the night sky really does intrigue me. I'll read up on the use of Vixen rails.

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

Well done.

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

I'll bite, what is the purpose of a vixen rail. I googled it and found a simple rail but could not figure out what the purpose of having it is. As I tend to do star trails and astro-photography I'm interested.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

A Vixen Rail is one of the most common connectors of a telescope to a mount, such as GEM.
When you begin shopping for Astrophotography Equipment, you get caught in the unstoppable pull of a black hole drawing you into the acquisition and use of more and more expensive equipment to collect those faint and more difficult images in the Universe.
So, although shooting Star Trails is fun and seems innocent enough, it can lead to more sophisticated German Equatorial Mounts, and imaging Telescopes, connected by Vixen Rails.

My own experience was laying back in a lounge chair in heavy winter insulated clothing manually clicking images to make a Star Trails presentation. That lead to an innocent enough device called an Intervalometer to do timed releases of the shutter. In my early stages, it also lead to capturing Orion's Belt crossing in the developing Southern aimed Star Trail. I was unaware I was even capturing Orion until Bloke pointed it out to me.
That lead to me getting out a more powerful spotting scope and over a few nights I resolved a very tiny Orion's Nebula once I learned where it was. I wanted more.
I wanted to be able to actually Photograph The Great Orion's Nebula.
My processes are to determine what it is drawing my interest. Justify the means in my own head why it is worth pursuit. Find the means to get there, and the equipment present or needed. Then research and choose the avenue I will get there by observing how others have gotten where I'd like to eventually go. Once the research is done, slap the cash on the barrel head, and learn how to use the newly acquired equipment. (And staying absolutely determined to succeed in the endeavor. No matter what pitfalls come my way.)

So the innocent joy of Star Trails can, and does, lead to Vixen Rails.
I blame The Great Orion Nebula. As a hunter myself, I was determined to join in the pursuit of the incredible wonders to be found in Space. I chose to pursue Nebula, so I focused my equipment toward that end.
Deep Space Imaging, Nebula. The incredible end result we can observe in our narrow window of life on Earth.

So what will you decide to pursue?
Star Trails lead to Vixen Rails...

The Wizard Nebula with an accidental meteorite capture. As taken.

(Download)

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

Thanks for the explanation. Seeing as I don't use a telescope, at least not yet, it is not surprising that I didn't know about a vixen rail. Maybe down the road...

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Lovely! Very well done!

bwa

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

You're Welcome. Glad to share when I can.

dlmorris Loc: Loma Linda, Ca

You mentioned "except for the trees", but actually the trees add to the composition. Well done! I enjoy taking star trails pictures. But as someone else mentioned, it can lead to small tracking devices... then bigger ones because you need a telephoto lens, then a telescope itself..... O my! but lots of fun. You're off to a great start!