10/09/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Stars over Roark Bluff late October

Star Trails over Roark Bluff in October

Taken with a Phase One P45+, 45 minutes,  35mm F3.5 lens @ F4.5, iso 50, Phase One DF Camera,  One of the most amazing aspects of photography is working with time lapse shooting at night.  By leaving the camera shutter open and using  just the ambient lighting from the moon, you can get some great night photographs.  In this shot I was working the Buffalo River Valley near Steel Creek which is one of the most popular spots along the upper Buffalo.  There were no clouds and the sky was very clear with very little wind, perfect conditions for night work.  I left the shutter open for 45 minutes which allowed me to capture the movement of the earth around the north star.  If you can find the north star in the night sky then you will get the concentric circles outward from the north star.  If you don’t have the north star, then you will get different patterns to the star movement, sometimes waves or other partial circles.  I feel that the best shot will have a northern view even if the north star has dropped below the horizon.  Remember, the moonlight will give the sky the wonderful blue tint.