- #STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC HOW TO#
- #STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC FULL#
- #STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC ISO#
- #STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC DOWNLOAD#
StarStaX was developed by Markus Enzweiler and is available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Stacking Your Star Trails Photographs Using StarStaX Then, after creating your star trails in StarStaX, you can combine your ideal foreground with your stacked sky using layers and masks in Photoshop. Painting out the stray light trails in those few individual pictures allows for a more seamless and less distracting foreground, once you stack all the photographs together.Īlternatively, you can choose one frame in Lightroom or Photoshop and make any adjustments needed until the non-sky portions of your image are just right. You can see a big difference in the foreground between these two stacks of the same individual star trails. The quickest solution to problems like these is to open these individual frames in Photoshop, set the brush tool to black, and paint over any unwanted light. In the photographs below, you can see that this frame captured the light from passing cars on the far side of the lake. You may also need to do some quick editing of individual shots, especially if you were shooting at a location with unwanted stray light. Whether you use Lightroom, Photoshop, or another post-processing software, you will want to apply a similar treatment to all your images if you choose to do any corrections, such as adjusting the white balance or fixing the colors. Preparing Photographs for Stackingĭepending on your photographs and the end result you are envisioning, you may want to do some post-processing on your individual frames before loading them into StarStaX. Leave your settings the same but cover the lens with the lens cap and shoot a couple more frames. Once you have finished capturing your shots, remember to take a few dark frames again at the end. The more photographs that you take for your stack, the longer and more defined your final star trails will be. An hour’s worth of shots is a good goal to aim for. Then pull out your folding chair, sit back, and enjoy the wait. As soon as your camera finishes taking the first 30 second picture, it will start taking the next, and so on. Use your remote shutter release to lock down your shutter.
#STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC ISO#
This image is a stack of 26 images shot with 18mm, 30 seconds, f/3.5, ISO 800. If you want extremely long swirls in less time, then compose for a view farther away from the North Star. If you want an image of the stars swirling around a complete circle, then be sure to include the North Star in your viewfinder (in the Northern Hemisphere). Think about a position that will provide an interesting foreground – an unique tree, a geologic formation, or a body of water – as well as an expansive view of the night sky. Once you are on location, spend some time choosing your final composition. Once you have chosen a location, you can use the web site Clear Dark Sky to check their 48 hour forecasts about the potential for clear sky in a given location. You can use the web site Dark Sky Finder to look for possible dark sky locations near you. You also want to get as far from artificial lights as possible. Capturing star trails around the time of the new moon is preferable, so that bright moonlight does not wash out all the stars from the sky. (Most of the photographs in this article were shot at 18 mm and f/3.5 on my Tamron 18-270 mm lens.)Ĭhoose your location and timing carefully. A fast lens (one with a wide aperture, like f/1.8) is also preferred so that you can capture more light with each frame. I recommend a wide angle lens, like 18 mm (or wider), so that you can capture a larger expanse of the sky.
A red headlamp or flashlight as well as a folding chair can also come in handy.
#STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC FULL#
Check out the linked posts at the end of this article for additional details.įor equipment, you will need your camera, a fast wide angle lens, a sturdy tripod, a remote shutter release, and a full battery or two.
#STAR STACKING SOFTWARE MAC HOW TO#
Many detailed posts have been written about how to capture individual photographs for star trails stacking, so this article will only provide a quick overview. Shooting Your Individual Star Trails Photographs This article will lay out how to capture incredible star trail photographs and combine them using the free program StarStaX. In the digital era, many photographers rely on a process known as stacking to take a large number of individual frames and combine them into the final image. In the film days, this required leaving your shutter open for one continuous exposure on the order of hours and hoping that everything would turn out just right. Long, swirling star trail photography is on the bucket list of many photographers.