Posts tagged ‘stargazing’

July 28, 2022

Star trails & AI

I’ve been wanting to write about star trails for a while now. I love stargazing and I’ve been fascinated by the movement of the stars and planets across the night sky since I was a little kid. I grew up in a rural area where I had to learn the names of the constellations and planets by reading books, and I’ve always wanted to share that love with others. I’m excited to share my knowledge and passion for astronomy with you in this post, and to show you some beautiful star trails I captured with my camera.

Star trails and night sky are two of the most beautiful things in the world. They capture the essence of the moon, stars, and night sky in a way that nothing else can. On a clear night, they can offer a glimpse of the universe, and if you’re lucky enough, they can offer you a glimpse of the cosmos. My favourite thing about star trails is how they capture the motion of the stars.Star trails are a mesmerizing phenomenon that occur when a camera is pointed at the night sky for a length of time. The rotation of the earth causes the stars to appear to move across the sky, giving the appearance of a long line of stars moving across the sky. The effect is most visible when shooting long exposures, and can be used to create abstract artwork or as a way to capture the beauty of the night sky.

P.S : If you have not realized by now or if you were wondering that this is not my writing style, you are damn right – the below shot is from me but this blog post was written by an AI. All I asked for was a blog post regarding star trails, and the bot (HyperWriteAI) gave me this in a split second :O Am sure very soon these algorithm with evolve to mimic individual writing styles as well. Intrigued and scary at the same time, what a time to live !

Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 3200 : 10 mm : f/3.5 : 25 sec (384 shots)

Kanakapura Forest
Kanakapura, Karnataka, India

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February 24, 2022

Stars by a tranquil night

tranquil night
under a blanket of stars –
sleep gone, again :)

This shot is from a lovely spot is nestled less than 100 kms away from the bustling Bangalore, by the forests of Kanakapura (or whatever is left of it). Stay late, it is great to spend time with the stars :)

Sony A7III : Sony 16-35 mm : ISO 3200: 16 mm : f2.8 : 20.0 sec

Stars by the lake
Kanakapura, Karnataka, India

March 27, 2021

Mysterious with Milky Way

Just 50 km from the busy bustle of Bangalore, nestled within the forests of Kanakapura is this classified spot. When the time is right and the stars align, I mean literally – one could witness the magic. Out here, in the darkness of the night – the lava flows and portals to the parallel universe open up. Just witnessing the same under the glow the of Milky Way elicits mysticism beyond belief …

Or maybe it was just a few friends, toying with the laser light by a meek rock, in the mango groves that lies by the edge of the Kanakapura forest :)

Sony A7III : Sony 16-35 mm : ISO 2500 : 16 mm : f2.8 : 20 sec

Kanakapura Forest
Kanakapura, Karnataka, India

March 20, 2021

Hunt for the Milky Way

In the southern part of India, the monsoon season & the Milky Way season greatly overlap. Hence the window to witness & capture the Milky Way is quite small. Add to it the alignment of the same over weekends and access to decent night skies. The probability goes down even further.

After keeping a close eye on the conditions, decided to head towards Coorg with friends for some Milky Way hunting. Though the spot was a Bortle 2, the elevation of the location brought in rolling clouds, fog, and morning mist. After 1 1/2 days of waiting, the weather Gods decided to give a glimpse of the Milky Way, just for us :)

Sony A7III : Sony 16-35 mm : ISO 5000 : 16 mm : f/2.8 : 20 sec

Balyabane
Coorg, Karnataka, India

February 14, 2021

Startling night on Valentines day

Had planned to visit this particular area last year with a friend. That never materialized because of you know who :) Accounting to the same, 2020 had not been great, even more so for travel. Then what can be said for night travel ?!

Hence, when the Astro season started this year, was trying to hold my expectations low. This time of the year the Milky Way graces the night sky after 3 or 4 AM. It was only a small window, but the twilight even from the horizon behind graciously blanketed the lake with its warm light. The stars finally aligned, and I couldn’t be happier.

Feeling thankful that we still have pockets of the night sky in a short distance from busy cities where the stars can be appreciated. Here is to the love of stars. Happy Valentines Day !

Sony A7III : Sony 16-35 mm : ISO 5000: 16 mm : f2.8 : 8.0 sec

A Hillock by the lake
Kanakapura, Karnataka, India

September 18, 2020

By the Silent night

The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows. – Brene Brown

This shot is from few years back, when we used to do occasional visits between Greenville, SC and Alpharatta,GA. Enroute is the fabulous forests of Tugaloo, right adjacent to lake Hartwell. From one such drive, sunday late into the night, ignoring the imminent monday morning blues – pulled over an arbitrary & craggy road. Decided to take a stroll and it didn’t disappoint.

Set on a timer, this was captured as contiguous 177 shots spread over 45+ minutes. As for the processing ran the 177 shots through the (free) Creative Effects UI Photoshop script with Saucer effect. This could have been shot as a single exposure, but I always prefer smaller multiple exposures. It gives a lot more freedom around the creative processing :) How do u like it !

Forest of Tugaloo
Lavonia, Georgia, USA

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