My first star trail ever. I barely knew what I was doing when I hooked an intervalometer to my camera and hit the bulb open. I was using a $20 amazon aluminum tripod. Thank goodness it wasn’t windy or the camera would have blown over. At least I knew to take the camera off auto focus before opening the shutter.
I had tried to get astral shots from atop the sand dunes further south in the Mojave Preserve. Being a total newb to astral photography, I didn’t realize how DARK it gets in dark star locations when there’s no moon. about a quarter of a mile walk towards the sand dunes, I turned to look back and realized that I could not see the rental car nor did I have any visual reference points to navigate back to the car, other than it was behind me. Realizing how bad this could potentially be and not wanting to camp on some sand dunes with only a camera for company, I turned back and located my rental car.
I was extremely frustrated and started driving in the general direction of Las Vegas, where my hotel was located. I hadn’t got the star shots I wanted, which was the whole point for this trip to the Mojave. I suddenly get a bright idea – the Joshua Tree forest I stopped in on the way to the park would be a cool location to try to get a shot.
I drove to the Joshua Tree forest and stepped out of my car. Immediately, I see a problem. The forest was only a few miles from I-15. The interstate was lit up like a Christmas Tree and blocking out stars in half the sky. Despairing, I turn back around and just start driving down Cima Road. After watching the odometer click up another 10 miles, I pulled over on the side of the road and stepped out of my rental car to see a vast plain of stars dotting the sky.
I setup my tripod and shot a few starter background and sky shots before opening the bulb and getting the above results. I still have a lot of love for this photo, as it made me fall in love with the whole star trail photography process. Also, it came out a lot better than my next few attempts at this special and challenging form of photography.