These Head-Spinning Photos Showcase The Beauty Of The Night Sky In New And Inventive Ways

By Mark McConville

STUNNING pictures have revealed the extraordinary trails stars make in the night sky as the earth rotates.

The incredible images show the surreal-looking circular patterns in the sky above a lighthouse, windmill and statues.

Other spectacular shots show the stars blazing their way past a wooden lodge, above a church during the aurora and streaming around a forest.

The remarkable photographs were taken in Ukraine, Nepal and Iceland by travel photographer Yevhen Samuchenko (41), from Odessa, Ukraine.

“I sincerely admire our planet and the beauty of the night sky,” he said.

“When you see the centre of our galaxy – the Milky Way, it’s just hard to imagine how huge it is and how small our planet is.

“We see the light of stars, which may no longer exist (due to the speed of light and the distance to the earth). Meanwhile, our earth rotates fast enough.

“I wanted to convey this beauty and at the same time the transience of the moment, so I chose a technique for shooting star trails.

“You see cosmos, stars and the rotation of the earth and the passing of time. This is the beauty of the night sky and the transience of the moment.”

Yevhen, who took these images with a Nikon D750, explained his technique for capturing the beautiful trails and why he loves this type of photography.

“The technique of shooting star tracks is not easy,” he said.

“It is necessary to take into account all factors and set up the camera in full manual mode, including focusing. In order to get one final picture you need to make from 120 to 350 frames with an exposure time of 30 seconds each, from one point, and then edit them into one with the help of special computer programs. I usually only get one finished shot for a full night of shooting.

“I am particularly attracted to night shooting for its slow pace. You can break away from the bustle of the day, and because of the long exposure shooting process does not interfere with the contemplation of the starry sky.

“Consciously watching the majestic night sky, you feel like a single particle of the Universe, merging into a single whole with it.”