Jrkarra Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Last week I camped in Shenandoah national park , and tried for first time photographing the stars.
With my 50mm fixed lens, f2.2 and ISO 100, 20 secs shutter speed, i got stars in circular shapes the bright ones and very dim ones too.

I am aware that Earth's rotation plays an important role.

Here are my questions::

1. Did you guys got in the same way for similar metadata??

2. On the top left corner, I noticed something in light orange. Any idea what it could be? My guess is that it might be Andromeda galaxy.

Second attachment is the photo, first is a screenshot.

Thanks
Sastry Karra

(Download)


(Download)

BooIsMyCat Loc: Somewhere

Definitely not Andromeda galaxy.

Your camera is not in focus. That is why you are getting those oblong rings.

You are displaying the big dipper. Each star should be "round" and a solid white dot.

larryepage Loc: Where there's still a little sanity.

You don't say what camera you are using. It can make a big difference. 50mm isn't ideal for night sky photography, but with some effort, you could make it work by shooting and assembling a panorama. But to get your individual images, I would suggest the following approach:

Before dark, find infinity focus, then turn off AF and tape your focus ring in place to keep it from shifting. Correct focus is a requirement, and you are not going to achieve it with AF. You also cannot depend on the infinity indicator on your lens to tell you where to focus.

For your lens, you are going to need to use f/2 as your shooting aperture. You will be using Manual Exposure for all settings.

The Rule of 500 says that for a 50mm lens, 10 seconds is the maximum exposure without obvious star trails. For that to work at f/2, you are going to need an ISO setting of at least 4,000. This will probably not be enough exposure, and you will probably need to stretch your expisure to 20 seconds. This will likely result in some trailing, but is likely the best you can do with that lens.

Please note that location is a problem for you. Most spots in the eastern US offer high humidities and low elevation. The low elevation means more atmosphere to shoot through, causing loss of exposure and clarity.

Finally, you are going to need to be capturing raw files, and you are going to need to do post orocessing to bring your images out og the shadows. If your camera is an older model, it may not have enough dynamic range at the necessary ISO to allow you to capture anything but the brightest stars.

Try again with this setup and see if you capture more of what's there.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

I agree with the above. Stars come in a range of colors. Dont be surprised to see all kinds. If the temperatures are changing much dont tape to maintain focus. Learn to use live view to focus,if your camera offers it.

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

The 500 Rule is a minimum for point stars. It is based on 35mm photography. For crop sensor or M4/3 cameras you need to use the 35mm equivalent focal length.

PhotoPills has a calculator.

jcryan Loc: Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

If you are having trouble with star trails being produced in a too long exposure, I recommend you try the techniques described by Nico Carver on his YouTube channel Nebula Photos. The basic technique is to take a number of photos and, using free or purchased astronomy software, stack them to increase the effective exposure, then "stretch" the stacked image to bring out the details.

The YouTube playlist below shows this in a series of three videos about photographing the Orion Nebula. You can adapt his methodology for star field photos by decreasing the number of photos you take.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrzbdmripj1c9p7hzt7ffgH3oN8vzCFI3

Jrkarra Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Thanks to all for responding immediately and above all sharing a lot of information.

I will try again on June 18 when I camp in Caledonia state park in PA.

Last time it rained heavily the previous night and looks like there was a lot of moisture in the atmosphere.

Hoping for dry atmosphere this time.

In the meantime I will go thru the YouTube videos suggested by one of you.

Thanks again for everything
Sastry Karra

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

A different place to try is Cherry Springs State Park, 15 miles southeast of Coudersport, PA. It is reported to be one of the darkest places in the state.

bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD

A couple of things. First off you're not in focus, that's why the stars kind of have that oval/egg look to them and then your ISO is waaayyyy too low to be doing night photography.
Fix those 2 things first then see what happens.
Good Luck.

bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD

Excellent reply.

bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD

There is also a really nice dark sky park/area in PA called Cherry Springs St. Park in Potter County.