Just a quick share of the time-lapse I assembled from about 800 images taken during a week's field trip to the Observatoire de Haute Provence. Here it is in its full glory:
I'd never really tried much astrophotography before so, blessed with the clearest skies in all of France and a reasonably new tripod and camera, I thought I'd give it a go. The first problem I found was focusing. Obviously autofocus doesnt work in the dark, but my bridge camera had no point on the lens specifying a manual infinity position, where distant objects are clearest. Also, due to the motion of autofocus, all modern digital camera focus reasonably far beyond infinity in order to scan through all focuses and find the best region. This meant I had to either focus inside before heading out, or use a bright, distant point source like the moon. Thankfully, I got over this problem and manage to take reasonably well-focused images.
Another problem was the string Mistral wind that, funnelled by the Massif Central in central France, flows southwards through the alpine foothills most of the year. Up on the 650m plateau on which OHP sits, it was blowing a gale on some nights. I nearly lost my camera over the roof of one of the buildings after a particularly strong gust. Determined for this not to happen again, I brought a bag out with me the next night and, filling it full of rocks, I attatched it to my tripod. This somehow managed to hold the thing down, and enabled me to record the spinning of the stars across a nearly perfectly black sky.
Despite the long period spend outside in sub-zero conditions and the occasional problem, I'm more than a bit chuffed with the result. Jupiter and Venus were bright as they set just after dusk. Orion, with his classic belt and nebulous sword were high in the sky. Other constellations like the Plough and the Pliedes were also visible. Later in the evening, an old waning moon rose above the Alps in the East. Hope you enjoy!
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