Once downloaded, copy the plugin file to ~/.gimp-2.6/plug-ins/ directory on your machine. Now launch GIMP & you should find a new sub-menu by File>Create>Python-Fu>Startrail. If you’re not able to see the new sub-menu, make sure the permission of the plug-in file is executable to your user. You can do so by;

#chmod u+x ~/.gimp-2.6/plug-ins/startrail.py

This would give the necessary executable permission to the users for the file & you should be able to see the plug-in under the submenu. Make sure you restart GIMP after you’re done with changing the file permission above. Now launch the startrail compositor & you should get a similar window. Proceed as follows;

Light Frames : The folder containing all your light frames, ie the ones you can see the stars in.

Use Dark Frames : Do you want to use dark frame noise reduction

Dark Frames : The folder containing all your dark frames, ie the ones you took with the lens cap on.

Save intermediate frames : Checking this will save an image after each frame is layered, allowing you to make a time lapse of the trail building up.

Intermediate save directory : The directory to save the intermediate frames to. They will be named trail00001.jpg, trail00002.jpg and so on.

Live display update (MUCH slower) : This will display the frames to the screen live as they are stacked together. This slows the process down considerably, around 3-4 times slower. Because of the speed issue, this is disabled by default.

As of now the plug-in works with the following file : jpg, jpeg, tiff, tif, bmp and png. If you have not shot any dark frames, let the directory of dark frames be same as the one you selected for light frames. Once satisfied, hit ‘ok’ & you can go for a siesta. Depending on the number & resolution of the photographs along-with the processing power of your computer, this process will take time. Once done, you’ll be presented with the final composited photograph. However, it is not saved by default & you need to save it manually(CTRL +S). Now get & make others spellbound by the star trail photograph you just took.

This ability to increase or decrease the exposure by stops comes in handy when one is trying his/her hand at really long exposures. Once you put a dense enough Neutral Density(ND) filter, you will need to count back in stops so as to determine the correct exposure. Depending on the density of your ND filter, this may demand to count back up-to 10 or more stops. Now if you’re sound of your knowledge about the aperture & shutter-speed scale, then you’ll breeze through. Else you might go for the trial & error method. However, the trial & error method would take sometime before you figure out the correct exposure. Instead, use ‘Exposure Calculator‘.

Exposure Calculator is a nifty android application which allows one to calculate exposure for long exposures. One needs to simply input the current correct exposure settings(indicated by your camera’s inbuilt meter) in the top part of the application after which you input the density of your ND filter in stops & you’ve your new exposure automatically calculated for you at the bottom. Makes sure you input the correct settings in the first place else your exposure will be skewed.

That’s it! Now if maths was not your favourite subject in high school, simply use the ‘Exposure Calculator’ & give all the worries of your calculation to your maths teacher.

Crowd

Love – Two Bodies, One Soul

Birth

Insurance

In case you’re curious about the first photo series on leaves, check it out.

Music is a universal motivator. I feel, I make good photographs when surrounded by music. Music lifts my soul & freeds it from any anxiety which in turn let me concentrate better on getting the photographs I envision. Try it. Put on your favorite play-list on your mobile phone, plug in the earphones & begin to photograph. You’ll feel motivated & that will show up in the photographs you make.

Music is also known to divert the mind from fear & anxiety. If you or your clients feel uncomfortable, let the music flow into background as you shoot. Playing their(clients) favorite song will make them drop their guard resulting into more natural photographs.

And at times when you cannot foresight any photography, sit down, close your eyes & listen to music for a while. Let it pierce through your soul. When you’re done, you will experience a new vigor to photograph. So put on the headphones & grab your camera to go on a journey to make musical photographs.

# Limit LCD Usage : On every digital camera, the LCD monitor at the back is the sole reason why the battery drains quickly. Every-time you review pictures on the monitor or use it for some another reason, the battery levels begin to tumble quickly. So I recommend, you use the LCD monitor sparingly. Implement the following, so the LCD monitor doesn’t eats up much of the battery.

Monitor Off – Some camera’s have a time setting which enables the user turn off the LCD display. In Canon, the user can turn off the display by pressing the ‘DISP’ button for a couple(on some thrice) of times. Check your camera’s manual to find this.

Limit Live View – Live view can be really useful at times however using it at times when you could have used the optical viewfinder will seriously consume your battery. Its incredible, that when one does not use the live view during shooting, the number of shots one can take increase almost threefolds.

Display Brightness – The brighter the display, the more battery power it will consume. Set the display to its lowest power & turn off auto brightness option. Only increase the display brightness in case it is crucial to absolutely crucial to check the LCD display.

# Use Auto-Focus only if needed : Auto-Focus(AF) too requires a great deal of power to function. In low light, the focus hunting will mean draining more of the battery power. Also I have noticed, some people have the habit of engaging the AF needlessly. Change this habit. Use AF only if you’re shooting at wider apertures when the battery level is low. Using a narrow aperture & manually focusing the lens will save a great deal of battery power & allow you more shots.

# Disable Image Stabilization : The ‘Image Stabilization’ on your lens too eats up the battery. When shooting with a tripod, disable the Image Stabilization. By maintaining the reciprocal rule of shutter-speed & proper hand holding techniques, you can get sharp photographs even without ‘Image Stabilization’.

# Avoid Popup Flash : If your camera has an inbuilt popup flash, avoid using it. If need be, use an external flashgun. The inbuilt popup flash is another battery killer & will end up your battery in no time if you keep firing it frequently.

# Buy a Battery Grip : A battery grip contains two of your normal camera batteries. Attaching a battery grip to your camera will instantly double the number of photographs you can shoot. Additionally, it also provides good ergonomics & comfortable portrait shooting when plugged into the camera. Its advisable you get original battery grip from your camera’s manufacturer for your camera model & put original batteries in it.

# Turn Off : Generally if you’re shooting photographs with not much of delay, it is better to keep the camera on than to switch it off. Switching the camera on-off does takes a bit more battery power than leaving it on. However, if you plan to shoot later then its advisable to switch it off. Its the best way you can conserve your battery. Even if you’ve set the “Power Off” option for your camera after certain delay, it is more effective to completely switch off the camera from the power switch.