The Hajar mountains in Oman rise to more than 2000 m above sea level and offer an incredible variety of landscapes, culture, and natural life. They are also one of the last places in the country where it is possible to observe the night sky without much light pollution.
I like to go on camping trips to remote areas and do night photography sessions, where I take many images to assemble as star trails. This was such an occasion, a trip last March when I camped high in the mountains during the new moon period.
I was already familiar with the area, so my plan was to frame this isolated tree on the top of a hill against the night sky. I wanted to point the camera towards the northern star, Polaris so that the remaining stars would revolve around it.
My normal camera setup is to use the intervalometer set to shoot at least 100 images (in Raw format) at ISO 1600 and with an exposure time of 30 seconds for each image. I also shoot a dark frame (with the lens cap on) at the beginning and end of the group of photos.
I took a few test shots to confirm the framing and focus and then simply started the sequence and left the camera to do its business. Later, I used Sequator to stack the photos. It is easy software to achieve this type of image. With modern digital cameras, such images are easy to create with just a bit of careful planning.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor