Mount Coonowrin

Ever since I set eyes on the Glasshouse Mountains I've wanted to use them in the foreground of startrail photographs. I recently decided to stop procrastinating and selected Mount Coonowrin as the most dramatic of the volcanic plugs for the job.

The first time I went out I mounted the tripod on the passenger seat of my car and then tried to sit completely still during the 30 second exposures I tried to stack. Every now and then a limb became too stiff and I'd give myself a couple of seconds to readjust my position before proceeding with the next 30 second exposure.


The resulting image was pleasing for the brighter stars, but in the paler ones the gaps were clearly visible, 2 or 3 seconds though they were. Even if this were not the case I wouldn't suggest this very uncomfortable method of shooting to anyone - or at least, not to anyone I'd call a friend...

So a week later I headed back out, determined to mount my tripod on dry land and simply sit on one of the (relatively) comfy car seats throughout the freezing ordeal. From my newfound vantage point I had the full moon at my back, lighting up the volcanic plug and bringing out detail in the rock face - perfect! With 110, 30 second exposures I was able to create an image I am really happy with. In the good old days of film this would have been impossible - over an hour with the full moon would have resulted in completely overexposed nothingness. Not that I'm saying film is dead - there's definitely something to be said for mounting a tripod outside a tent and going to sleep for a few hours before ending the exposure!

I actually thought all was lost when, 45 minutes into this some tourists pulled up next to me, car lights on bright, and declared they were lost but looking for somewhere to watch the sunrise! Thankfully their lights only illuminated some long grass in the foreground, which has now been cropped out.

Shooting startrails this way may be high maintenance, but I really enjoy the results. The skies remain dark, there's none of the reciprocity failure problems I used to battle with when using slides, and at 30 seconds each they can really be done with the moon in any phase. The only question remaining is what should I use in the foreground of my next one?