Hello Patrons!

After spending the day hiking Glacier Point Trail in February, I decided to go to back to Tunnel View for some star trails.

It ended up being a great decision.

Here is what 43 minutes and 30 seconds of Earth’s rotation looks like over Yosemite National Park’s Tunnel View:

 

Here’s a link to download the hi-res. (personal use only // please don’t share this with anyone)

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM

Settings: 87 x 10″ exposures | f/2.0 | ISO 5000

I do have some critiques about this image (personal critiques are good, right?)

Things to improve for next time I attempt it:

• Take the picture during the time when a half or full moon is up in the western sky (will be a late night) to provide some nice front lighting on El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall and the valley floor.
• Try it during the summer months when climbers are making their way up El Cap. I’ve seen some long exposures before of hikers climbing the various routes and it looks really neat.
• Use a lower ISO. I used ISO 5000 for this and think a longer exposure / lower ISO combo could look better.
• Use a faster lens – I used a standard 50mm 1.8 for this. Using a f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens would allow me to halve or quarter my ISO given the same exposure time.

Until next time…