Lake Sylvia

So our baby is scheduled to arrive in a week, and I assume that I probably won't have much free time after that. So I really wanted to get out last weekend and make an attempt at a star trail photo. I did some searching for good places, and ultimately decided to try to get some pictures at Lake Sylvia, in the Ouachita National Forest. The lake is just about 45 minutes west of Little Rock, but is far enough away from the city that there should be a decent amount of stars in the sky. The only problem is the lake access is closed in the winter, but I called the National Forest Service and they were ok if I went in there for a few hours to take pictures.

So last Friday night I headed out to the lake after work and got there just before sunset. I put the tripod by the concrete swimming platform, which just about points due north. After it got dark, I set the camera to take :30 second exposures, which captured some movement in the stars. After about two hours, I had taken 223 pictures which I later combined to get this view of star trails above the lake.