Startrails Over Gas Works Park

Last night I went back to Gas Works for the second time in two nights. This time to shoot w/ my fellow West Seattleite and buddy Brandon.

This was my first attempt to capture startrails and I wasn’t too hopeful about it, being in the city with a moon approaching full high in the sky when I shot.

However, I am absolutely thrilled with this one.

This is a combination of 9 separate 5 minute exposures (so ignore the shutter section of the exif) taken in Gas Works Park on a remarkably clear night in Seattle. I combined the different exposures as layers with the brighten layer effect in the Gimp.

Made it to #61 in Explore!

View at flickr »

Comments

  1. 001 // slithy-toves // 02.18.2008 // 7:36 AM
    wow impressive! nice contract with the yellow and blue too
  2. 002 // Seattle rainscreen // 02.18.2008 // 8:11 AM
    Great detail on the gaswork giant. Looks very sci-fi.
  3. 003 // brandon_leahy // 02.18.2008 // 10:10 AM
    Alright, we are SOOOO doing that again!!!! beautiful pic
  4. 004 // Forrest Pangborn // 02.18.2008 // 12:21 PM
    Thanks everyone :)
  5. 005 // roberto_blank // 02.19.2008 // 12:54 AM
    WOW, really love those long exposures!
  6. 006 // Minette Layne // 02.19.2008 // 7:34 AM
    Well done, indeed! Your long exposure photos are always terrific and inspiring.
  7. 007 // Forrest Pangborn // 02.19.2008 // 6:07 PM
    Roberto - thanks! I am discovering that low light photography is one of the types I love the most. Minette - Wow. Thanks! Thats some compliment :)
  8. 008 // StarmanMike // 02.23.2008 // 11:58 AM
    Your excellent capture illustrates that urban astrophotography is feasible. Many constellations and star clusters are visible from all but the largest cities, especially if you go only a short distance from streetlights. Here’s one I shot from underneath I-5 with a relatively slow lens and 100 speed film: I-5 / Seattle / Orion
  9. 009 // marcomolo // 02.24.2008 // 6:16 PM
    Great work, and combining photos too..Gotta try that!
  10. 010 // Forrest Pangborn // 02.24.2008 // 11:35 PM
    Mike - I agree completely. I was actually up on the roof of my apartment building the other day watching the eclipse and marvelled about how many stars I could actually see from there. Then 10 minutes later when I was down at the street below, I looked up and literally could not see a single star. And my building is only 6 stories tall. Marco - Thanks! Its a great way to get startrails without having to worry about your battery running out of juice part way thru the shot… though I believe that some DSLRS (most?) will actually save the image data before shutting down in such a case.
  11. 011 // be_yade_yar11 // 05.12.2008 // 10:31 PM
    very nice
  12. 012 // mrwangkai // 07.28.2008 // 7:17 AM
    This is such a wonderful picture. :)
  13. 013 // pdxsean // 09.14.2008 // 8:20 PM
    Ha! That’s funny, I saw this photo several months ago when planning my own trip up to Seattle. It was part of the inspiration I had to visit gasworks park. I think you might have even sent me an email offering help? If so, sorry I forgot who you were. I actually thought of this photo, in a sort of abstract way, when I was doing those star trail shots last night. Looking at this and a few other things help me realize some good ways to get those longer streaks, even with only a 5 minute exposure. Now, I need to find a similarly interesting place here in Portland.
  14. 014 // photocoyote // 10.06.2008 // 4:14 AM
    Ciao, sono amministratore di un gruppo chiamato GAS WORKS PARK. Ci farebbe piacere aggiungere l’elemento al gruppo.