Any advice on faint stars?

[Nova]

Hi everyone! I really love my night sky photography... and I enjoy getting some sort of landscape in the foreground for some substance. However, everytime I shoot this way, the stars come out very faint, and the sky ends up looking almost like it's day time.

My photos also always come out horribly yellow, which I have to process out via photoshop.

Here's an example (after I toned down the yellow saturation and increased exposure and decreased gamma)

Excuse the star trails! I'm still newish at it. Could it be all the ambient lighting? This place was so dark, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face but there are obviously lights hanging around. I want my stars to be more prominent and my sky to be darker.

DSC_0011sm.jpg

Equipment: Nikon D5200
Lens - Rokinon for Nikon AE 14mm ultra wide-angle f/2.8
Settings: Manual focus, ISO 5000, aperture 2.8, exposure 30", zoom set to infinity.

[postcardcv]

Looking at that shot the ambient light is the problem (there is a very bright light on the right which is lighting the trees in the middle of the shot). For good night sky shots you really want to avoid any clear light source (and get as far from the ambient light as you can), even the mon can be an issue and you will get better stars on a moonless night. If you want to get detail in the foreground you can expose for the sky and then illuminate the areas of foreground with a torch for part of the exposure (how long will depend on distance and the power of the torch). Hope that helps a bit.

[Nova]

Originally Posted by postcardcv

Looking at that shot the ambient light is the problem (there is a very bright light on the right which is lighting the trees in the middle of the shot). For good night sky shots you really want to avoid any clear light source (and get as far from the ambient light as you can), even the mon can be an issue and you will get better stars on a moonless night.

That's what I figured. argh. That light up at the right is a street light. I actually live in that house that looks like it's falling off the cliff,LOL. I think the spherical lens makes it appear curved like that; its foundation is sound. I uh... hope. haha.

If you want to get detail in the foreground you can expose for the sky and then illuminate the areas of foreground with a torch for part of the exposure (how long will depend on distance and the power of the torch). Hope that helps a bit.

A torch-- not sure what you mean. What is a torch? Or do you just mean a light source in general? I've used car headlights to illuminate. But was unaware you could light up halfway through the shot. I thought that'd ruin everything. Is that what you mean though, to illuminate halfway or part of the way during the exposure? I feel so stupid asking these questions.I ought to know by now, but only lately have been taking to the sky a lot more than usual.

I used the rule of 600 for my 14mm lens and found that I shouldn't have star trails at 30 seconds, yet, my stars are a little blurred on this shot. You can't see them cause the resolution is small here, but there is some definite trailing. Exposed for 30 seconds. Don't understand why that happened either.

[robski]

Hi Nova

Let me translate Torch = Flash Light

Last time when I was your side of the pond a colleague asked for a torch he was given a oxygen acetylene torch equipment