Scorpius Trails

Scorpius Trails, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Looking SSE as the mighty scorpion rises above the tree line at my dark sky home in Maine.


Pentax 67 75mm f/4.5 @ f/5.6 80 minutes exposure on Fuji Acros developed in Xtol.


Sometimes, a night of observing and just shooting a few star trail images is what makes a perfect evening. With all this astrophotography stuff, I've been avoiding the pleasure of the telescope. Nice to stop and smell the roses once in awhile.

It was early June, the Pentax was loaded with Acros 100 and I simply found a good area to setup along my driveway looking SSE toward rising Scorpius. This exposure went for 80 minutes at f/5.6 under a dark sky. The Milky Way provided a bright "background" as southern Ophiuchus eventually came into the picture.

I recommend shooting star trails to those that do not have guiding capabilities who want to make interesting and beautiful images without much fuss. Take the camera out and find interesting landscapes or natural monuments wherever they may be. Shoot under dark skies or even under moonlight. Just get out and shoot!