I finally pulled my box of star trail prints from the attic.

Everyone praises these clean, noise-free digital composites now. My shots from the 80s have grain and occasional plane streaks. That was the real sky we saw. Not this sterile, processed version.

3 comments

3 Comments

drew4581mo ago

Speaking of old prints, I found one my dad took of a comet in like 1990. The whole thing is kinda washed out and there's this weird light leak in the corner from the camera back. You'd toss it now for being flawed, but it just feels like that cold night in the yard, him messing with the exposure. The perfect shots on my phone from last year don't give me that same hit at all.

the_seth1mo ago

You mentioned the "sterile, processed version" of modern star trails. I mean, do you think the grain and plane streaks actually add to the authenticity, or is it more about the experience of capturing it back then? Idk, maybe it's just me, but I've always felt that minor flaws in analog photography tell a story that perfect digital shots sometimes miss. Like, when you see a plane streak, it's a timestamp of that exact moment, right?

the_tyler1mo ago

Seriously? Hey @the_seth, I see your point about flaws adding story... but come on, a plane streak is often just a distraction in the frame. It's not some magical timestamp, it's just a lucky or unlucky shot. Grain can muddy up the real details of the star trails, making everything look fuzzy. I guess I just don't buy that analog always means more authentic... sometimes it's just older tech with more chances for mistakes.