1 Completely Free Stock Footage Clip of the Perseids Meteor Shower

I was very fortunate to have my family vacation time overlap with not only a new moon, but also the Perseids meteor shower event. We were camping in a remote area in the Adirondack mountains, so I decided to take my camera along to see what I could capture.

While I enjoyed what I got, I was using a new time lapse feature that automated the capture differently than how I normally have in the past.  I was able to calculate my exposure using the ever popular "500 rule", which came out to about a 15-second exposure for each frame.  In the past, that meant I needed to set an interval that was HIGHER than 15 seconds to correctly create the time lapse.  Little did I know, this new program factored in the camera's shutter into the interval, which means I could have gotten away with setting a 1-second interval instead of the 16 seconds I had it programmed for.  The camera was also set to go dark, so it did not waste any battery life in inconsequential features.  Since the interval and the shutter time were almost identical, I did not notice that the camera was firing off every other 15 seconds.  The result, while still striking, was about half the amount of frames that I was hoping for in the time I had allotted to be outside, awake and away from my sleeping family.

Let it be a lesson though to anyone looking to go out and do the same.  ALWAYS test new methods and equipment, especially if you are going to places you can't frequent.

You are welcome to use this video in your projects you are working on or keep it in your clip library for future work.The only thing you cannot do is turn around and offer it AS stock footage. Have fun with it!

You can preview and download the video file by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on Facebook, Tweet, Google Plus, Pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

This video was shot using a Sony A7SII and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens with a Sigma Mount Converter MC-11 Adapter

1 Stock Footage Clip is Seeing Stars

Usually twice a year, the family and I travel about 90 miles outside of the city to a very small town in a valley to visit my wife's grandmother.  It is a wonderful place free of things like cell signals, which force you to be more "connected" to the people and things around you.  I've brought my camera down ever since I have started this blog in order to get star time lapses (something I cannot do in the light polluted city limits).  Since we don't go that often, rarely do i have a clear sky to capture (this was the only other one I've been able to get).  This past weekend gave me the perfect opportunity though and I was excited to employ the A/C adapter for my camera that tested so well during the "rotting banana" time lapse.  I also came this time with a much more scientific/mathematical approach to shooting vs. my previous star time lapse.

Most notably, I was able to put into practice something called the "500 rule" which is a calculation that you can perform to figure out how long you can keep your shutter open before you start to capture "star trails" instead of stars.  The formula goes as follows: 500/ (lens focal length) = max. shutter duration in seconds.  I was using my Sigma 24mm f/1.8 lens on my Canon T2i.  The Rebel line of Canon cameras has a 1.6x crop factor that needed to be included as well.  So my calculation was a followed: 500/(24 times 1.6) = 13.  So I had the max time my shutter could be open (13 seconds), I ended up dialing it back 1 second for safety.  Since I was focusing to "infinity" the depth of field did not matter on the camera, so I was able to keep it wide open at f/1.8.  These two known values allowed me to then dial in my ISO to something that would allow me a good exposure.  I settled on 800.  So for those of you interested, this sequence was shot RAW at f/1.8, ISO 800 and a shutter speed of 12 seconds.  I set the intervalometer in my Magic Lantern hacked firmware to 16 seconds, allowing my camera 4 extra seconds to write the RAW file out of the buffer to the 32GB card.  1,464 images later (or 6.5 hours) and what you see below is what I can offer you.

I plan on going back to the RAW files and trying my hand at creating a star trail time lapse by gradually stacking the images.  This is obviously something that will take a while, so I wanted to initially post this video for people who might be able to find a good use for it.  The lights on the trees are actually from trains that pass through town.  I was amazed that the images picked the light from them up.


You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

This video was shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens

1 Clip has a Milky Way

This was my first time doing a time lapse of the nighttime sky.  I was out of town in a remote area, and had a great chance to catch this.  Even though it turned out great, I also learned quite a bit that I will apply to more clips if I ever have the chance to again.  Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the 2 satellites that pass by in the clip.

You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, facebook, tweet, google plus or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

This video was shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens