Light Painting

Bought myself, vindicate the purchase was on special....:))), a remote gadget for the camera which allows me to fix the shutter open for as long as I wish.  I have had it a couple of days and the possibilities with artistic license and the camera are endless.

After observing what the camera does with the star trails as the world spins on its axis I am making it a point to visit the observatory of the stars at Maindenwell, a tiny town high in the northern Darling Downs which is only 90 ks from where I live.

I would have to pick the coldest morning of the year to experiment with this....

My first effort and had not located the south axis....ie where I can get to photograph the star trails in a complete circle.  Did a little research and have to find the southern cross and two of the same distance approx beneath that configuration....I also did not have the branches of the tree in sharp focus.

I had the tree in focus and still did not have the axis spot on....This photograph is exactly how the camera sees the night sky.  This was with the shutter open for 15 minutes.

I found the southern roatation point ok but could not step back any further because of a hedge .  I am more fortunate than most as do not have any interfering light ie city light as those in the city who wish to do this have to travel many ks away from any street lights to get the effect or the lights of a town city will blow out the image.  This is straight out of the camera without any deepening of colour with software.

Taking the image in a software programme DPP, and putting a bit of darkness back into the mix.

Taking the concept a little futher leaving the shutter open here for only 5 minutes with the lens facing the east and the trees are backlit with orange light and the foreground are painted with a torch with blue light making for interesting colour.  Torchwood as it were...

The big wheel keeps turning and certainly hope it continues to do so...This image was taken  facing the south and was freezing cold and had to wait for an hour....If the shutter was left open for 10 or 11 hours the star trails would be almost complete circles,  if the shutter was left open for 12 hours for one spin of the earth but is somewhat impossible as daylight encroaches and blows the image right out.  I can not leave the shutter open for much more than two hours because of battery life but I guess those who want the shutter to remain open for the 10 hours would have a special rig up.

The backlighting here was created with very orange streetlights in a housing development south of Toowoomba. (No houses yet)  The shutter was left open for about 50 minutes here as the street lights would completely blow the image out with too much light as need complete darkness and the new moon phase of the sky to get the really stark trails but I enjoy the ambient light....

The stars the stars and guess that is where the future is in a million years of so...sobering thought...I do have a very fanciful imagination and when viewing this realize the insignificance of my being and the immensity of  existence...