I thought I’d share a shot that was originally destined for the recycle bin, but after some tweaking in Photoshop I decided to save this uninspired picture from such a grim fate.
While it’s not the most eye-poping picture ever taken, there is something about it that has grown on me. Perhaps it’s the element of dynamism - the blurred streak of the clouds whisking across the sky as the stars rise. Taken at the start of October, the constellation Auriga1 can be seen over the eastern horizon right in the centre of the picture. The G class star Capella2 can also be seen shining brightly in the centre of the frame. It wasn’t a cloud free night as can be seen in the photograph - I was eventually forced to take a brief pause in my session before I could continue shooting again. The picture was taken at ISO 800 using a 30 second exposure with an F/Stop of 4.5 and a focal length of 26mm.
- There are various Greek myths that surround the constellation - in one legend Auriga was the son of Mercury who trained chariot horses which were said to be the fastest there were. Another Greek myth sees Auriga as Erichthonius, a king of Athens and son to Hephaestus (Vulcan) and Gaia (Mother Earth) who taught his people to yoke horses and use them to pull chariots. ↩
- The star Capella also has some myth surrounding it and is supposed to represent the goat that suckled Jupiter. Accidentally breaking off a piece of the goat’s horn, Jupiter imbued the piece of horn with magical properties. Known as the Cornucopia or the Horn of Plenty it could be filled with what ever the posseor wished for. ↩
