ISO 100 film Photos of starry skies?

[trondsi]

I have a lot of iso 100 film (slide and Ilford B&W) in 35mm, medium format, and large format. My equipment is fairly basic though (Crown Graphic with only a “normal” lens. Rolleiflex etc). I am going to Death Valley where the starry skies tend to be amazing. Any tips on how to capture this? Should I run to the store to get faster film?

 

[Ces1um]

I'd download a film reciprocity app and learn how to use it, along with an external light meter. Otherwise you could use the looney f11 rule if you wanted to wing it a bit. Will you be including surrounding scenery or just the sky?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I've shot starry skies (star trails) on 100 and 400 film. I didn't care about reciprocity. Just set the aperture and open the shutter. Leave for several hours. What you have to worry more about is condensation on the lens. That has ruined a few shots.

 

[Ces1um]

I've shot starry skies (star trails) on 100 and 400 film. I didn't care about reciprocity. Just set the aperture and open the shutter. Leave for several hours. What you have to worry more about is condensation on the lens. That has ruined a few shots.

Absolutely right. I've just let the shutter stay open for hours when doing star trails. The op didn't specify star trails though so I wasn't sure if this was applicable to them or not. Might just be shooting a starry sky, or a starry sky with foreground interest. Or maybe star trails. Maybe even taking images of the milky way (which would be a longer exposure for sure). All of these would require different exposure needs.
Condensation could be an issue but I'm thinking Death Valley isn't really known for it's humidity levels. This time of year google says it's only around 14%.

 

[4season]

You might try Delta 3200 + fast lens, but unless you plan to mount the camera on some sort of tracking device, or wish to depict star trails rather than pinpoints of light, your exposure times are going to be limited to ~20 seconds or less (with normal lens). Nebulae and galaxies can be seen readily under dark-sky conditions, but they're actually quite faint and challenging to photograph using film.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Absolutely right. I've just let the shutter stay open for hours when doing star trails. The op didn't specify star trails though so I wasn't sure if this was applicable to them or not. Might just be shooting a starry sky, or a starry sky with foreground interest. Or maybe star trails. Maybe even taking images of the milky way (which would be a longer exposure for sure). All of these would require different exposure needs.
Condensation could be an issue but I'm thinking Death Valley isn't really known for it's humidity levels. This time of year google says it's only around 14%.

I completely forgot about low RH there! I was there in March a few years ago, and it was quite dry then.

 

[trondsi]

Hi again!
Star trails were not really what I had in mind. Not sure if I want to include foreground landscape. Thanks for all the input folks, I was just wondering if it was possible at all.

 

[trondsi]

OK I am getting the feeling that I should get myself some Ilford 3200 or equivalent
Based on the website below, I suppose ISO 3200, F 2.8 for 8 sec might work? (that's the fastest lens I have for medium format) Or maybe I'll whip out my 35mm Nikon camera and use the F1.4
https://www.lonelyspeck.com/photographing-the-milky-way-on-film/

 

[Ces1um]

Hi again!
Star trails were not really what I had in mind. Not sure if I want to include foreground landscape. Thanks for all the input folks, I was just wondering if it was possible at all.

It's totally possible. If you just want a quick photo of just the stars just follow that looney 11 rule and you'll get something. If you include foreground interest though that part likely will be underexposed and proper metering will be required for that subject, and likely you'll need to account for film reciprocity.

If you have a digital camera you could experiment first with it and then try with film using similar settings and adding a bit of time.

 

[MultiFormat Shooter]

If you just want a quick photo of just the stars just follow that loony 11 rule....

What is F/11 rule? How long do you leave the shutter open?

 

[mohmad khatab]

I'd download a film reciprocity app and learn how to use it, along with an external light meter. Otherwise you could use the looney f11 rule if you wanted to wing it a bit. Will you be including surrounding scenery or just the sky?

Do you have a link to download this app?
Very interesting and great.
God bless you.

 

[trondsi]

My second try at capturing starry skies; with the comet Neowise a few weeks back. I tried using Portra 400 instead (on my Rolleiflex), with much better results. I believe this exposure was about 10 seconds

 

[pentaxuser]

Given it is the night sky and that foreground objects are static I wonder what advantages D3200 gives. Shorter exposures do not confer any advantages, do they? The colour in the ones shown look good

pentaxuser

 

[Truzi]

Those really came out nice.

 

[glbeas]

If you had a star tracker to mount the camera on a film with low reciprocity failure will often do a much better job than a high speed film with more failure. Acros comes to mind as it can do long exposures easily. Hypersensitizing film was a technique using a dry gas infusion on the film emulsion that drastically improved reciprocity characteristics of the film.