The image below shows the stars of the constellation of Orion. The bright red/orange star in the top left of Orion is called Betelgeux. Rigel is the blue/white star at the bottom right. Due to the fact that this constellation is far away from the celestial pole the stars appear to trail more over a short period of time. The tight grouping of stars to the right of the image is the Pleiades star cluster, or Seven Sisters. The V shaped cluster of stars is the Hyades and is in the constellation of Taurus. The bright star in the V shaped cluster is called Aldebaran. Click on the image for a much larger version.
The image below shows stars circling about the North Celestial Pole. The pole star for the northern hemisphere is called Polaris. In the southern hemisphere there is no equivalent star near the celestial pole. This image was taken using a Canon EOS 450-d and a 15 minute exposure. In a moderately sized telescope Polaris appears as a true double star rather than an optical one. Stars that are closer to the celestial pole appear to show less rotation. Polaris looks almost like a fixed point of light towards the left of this image. The tree in the foreground is a Scotts Pine.
In this time lapse you can observe the evolution of the cumulus cloud in just 15 seconds! It begins with the fluffy white cotton wool clouds known as cumulus humilis. These then change into cumulus mediocris and finally cumulus congestus. The video is also very relaxing.
The movie is played at 25 frames per second. Photos were taken using a Canon EOS 450d. This is a small part of a time lapse reel that I hope to complete later this year. Basically time lapse movies are made up of individual stills that are played back really fast. In this way you can observe an event that takes many hours, days, weeks or months to unfold in just a few seconds or minutes!
In the following video tutorial I’ll be discussing how to select the right aperture. When selecting the aperture for your photo you need to consider the following
Amount of ambient light
Depth of field- do you want the foreground in focus and the background blurry or do you want most of the photo in focus?
How aperture different apertures will affect your image.
With digital SLR cameras now becoming a mass market product it is easier than ever before for the amateur photographer to take and make panoramic photographs. It is also possible to take panoramic images with point and shoot cameras Read on to find out how to take great panoramic photographs.
Point and shoot cameras with a panoramic function button are very easy to use. You just put them into the panoramic mode and then follow the onscreen instructions but here we are going to learn how to use a DSLR camera. In my opinion DSLR cameras are much better for creating huge panoramic photos.
The process of taking a panoramic photo is outlined in just 5 simple easy to follow steps.
Place your camera on a tripod. It is very important that your camera has a stable level base when it comes to taking a panoramic photo. This is because all of your images need to line up. This makes it easier for the computer to stich it together.
Compose the frame. Compose the shot in the view finder or on the Live View Screen situated on the back of the camera. You can use the rule of thirds or another composition rule if you like. Or just experiment! Also you can hold the camera vertically for greater vertical depth or horizontally for greater horizontal length.
Make sure each shot overlaps. Each photo needs to overlap. This makes it much easier to stitch together on the computer. I tend to make sure that each photo overlaps by around 20%. Try and start with 180 degree panoramas and do 360 degree panoramas when you are more confident.
Choose the right exposure. This is important. Once you have found the best exposure don’t change it for each photo. It will not look like a very good panorama if you do.
Take the shots and stich them together on the computer. You can use free software from a variety of companies and individuals to do this. Usually you can press just one button and it will combine the photos you have uploaded into a wonder panoramic photo.
In part two of this tutorial we will look at some of the things you need to consider whilst taking panoramic photographs.
Doing timelapse movies will really add a new dimension to your photography. This guide will cover everything you need to know to do timelapse photography. You have probably already seen timelapse movies in adverts on the TV, films and documentaries. Well if you have ever wondered “How can I do such amazing timelapse movies?” then you’ve come to the right place. Just read on to find out how!
In a nutshell timelapse photography is basically a series of images played back really fast. Ideas for timelapse photography include:
Rotting fruit
Construction of a building
Glacier movement over the course of several years
Clouds moving across the sky
The rising and setting of the Milky Way
Lunar eclipse
Other stuff that I probably haven’t thought of yet!
All of the above events take place over long periods of time but with timelapse photography you can view such events in just a few seconds or a couple of minutes. First of all let’s have a look at the equipment you will need. Bear in mind that you may have much of it already!
Equipment
Digital SLR camera (the most important thing)
Intervalometer (a fancy name for the thing that lets you decide the interval you want between each frame)
Tripod (helps in keeping your camera rock steady).
Spare camera batteries!
It doesn’t matter what sort of dslr camera you have. They all have the ability to be used in a fully manual mode.
As mentioned earlier an intervalometer is just a device that lets you decide the interval between each frame. There are a variety of intervalometers made by the usual big camera companies. However there are other much cheaper unbranded ones that you can pick up from well-known internet auction sites for under £20. Some dslr camera may have an inbuilt intervalometer in a software format.
The tripod is essential to keep your camera steady throughout the time needed to capture the images.
Spare camera batteries are very important particularly if you are capturing a sequence of Milky Way photos on a very cold night.
You need to decide if you want your final movie to look blocky or smooth. If you are doing a timelapse movie of clouds moving across the sky you will want it to be smooth. Just reduce the amount of time between one photo and the next and the resulting movie will be smoother. If you have a longer interval between one frame and the next it will be blocky.
Put the camera in manual mode and don’t change the settings once you have started the timelapse sequence! It will result in a flickering effect. Not nice if you want a highquality movie. I try to use JPEG rather than RAW as I find it easier to deal with a smaller file size, though you may wish to stick with raw if you are concerned over a lack of image quality.
Use the right exposure and aperture
You can use what is known as a neutral density (ND) filter to cut down light if it is a bright day. This will enable you to use a shorter exposure. A wide aperture will let in more light than a small one. However experimentation is key. Check out my tutorials on shutter speed and aperture for more information.
Again set this manually to reduce flickering. I generally use the setting for sun or shade. It depends on the subject and lighting conditions.
How to do timelapse photography in just 4 simple steps!
Stage 1 Choose what you want to photograph
Stage 2: Plan your photos
This is very important. This also includes making sure you have the battery in your camera fully charged; also I would recommend taking a spare with you. Work out the interval you would like between each image. For example fast cloud motion may only need a few seconds gap between each image whilst an astronomical event like a lunar eclipse may need a few minutes. Don’t forget that whilst it may take hours to capture the time-lapse it will be played back in just a few seconds. Think about how many frames per second you would like it played back at.
If you have a time-lapse movie consisting of 200 frames and this was played back at
Use some photo editing software like Picasa which can quickly and easily download your photos. There is also plenty of other software out there; you could try Photoshop if you like. You’ll find a list of timelapse photography software at the end of this article.
Stage 4: Finishing touches
Add a bit of background music if you like that fits in with your movie. It is sometimes nice to put in a title slide and credits at the end.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial, tell me about your timelapse movie and if you found this tutorial helpful. If you have anything to add to it or a question just leave it in the comments box below and I’ll try my best to answer it.
Time lapse photography resources
Photolapse Useful for compiling and creating your timelapse
