Meteor Shower

The Geminids meteor shower was going to be visible in my area Tuesday, December 13th, and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was.  I layered up on clothes, packed up my camera equipment, and headed to the beach to take a look for myself.  Living in an area with very low light pollution,  I was in a perfect situation to be able to view the shower from the beach.  If you live near a brightly lit city you will have difficulty viewing the stars, so I recommend driving as far away from the glow of city lights as you can.

For those of you who would like to photograph the stars, here are a few helpful tips if you are using a DSLR:

• Set your camera up on a tripod, compose the shot, and set the focus to “infinity” (looks like the number 8, lying sideways).
• The longer the exposure time, the longer the star “trails” will be.  Use your camera’s “bulb” setting, this gives you complete control over the length of exposure.
• Using a remote or timer will help to keep your images from being blurry because you will not have to touch the camera when the shutter opens.
• Experiment with the ISO – start with 100 or 200, but if you’re having a hard time finding the right exposure, keep bumping it up until you’re satisfied with the quality of the shot vs. the level of noise produced by the higher ISO.

Shooting stars will be easiest if you are using a DSLR because you have so much more control, but decent shots with a point and shoot are still possible using some of the previous tips, like using a tripod.  Most point and shoots are equipped with a night setting that will be helpful when trying to shoot the stars.  Also make sure that your flash is turned off.

Experiment with different settings to find exactly what you are looking for, but most of all remember to have fun with it!

Below is an example of an image I took on 12.13.11. Enjoy!
-Stefanie

“ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." – Matt Hardy