The prospect of a clear sky overnight and on into dawn over North Wales had me setting my alarm for a 1am wakeup call, with the prospect of filming the stars over the hills of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty getting me all excited!
The Clwydian Range AONB currently has a bid in to become the fourth internationally recognised Dark Sky Zone in Wales, along with Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and the Elan Valley, but being in close proximity to the bright lights of Merseyside, the Cheshire plain and the North Wales coastal strip means that any sort of atmospheric haze or cloud will glow orange against the true deep blue of the night sky, as you can see in this time lapse video.
But I don't mind partial cloud cover while I'm photographing the night skies, especially when I'm shooting time lapse sequences, as the fast moving, swirling, yellowish clouds provide a nice contrast to the more stately movement of the stars set in that deep blue of outer space.
You just need to have the right balance of cloud and clear sky in your composition.
And that balance is just what I got on this particular morning in late April 2022, as I looked northwards from my vantage point on the slopes of Foel Fenlli along the Clwydian Range towards the North Wales coast, taking in the instantly recognisable ruins of the Jubilee Tower on the summit of Moel Famau and the red, glowing anti-collision beacons of the Moel-y-Parc transmitter.
In the end I spent four and a half hours watching and shooting as the drama in the night skies unfolded above me, until slowly the approaching dawn cancelled out all the but brightest of stars.
I wonder if the Clywdian Range will achieve dark skies status? We'll have to wait and see, but regardless of official recognition it's still a wonderful place to spend a night, so long as there's not too much cloud around!
Filename - clwydians stars timelapse 02
Camera - Canon EOS 6DMK2
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure (start of sequence) - 15 secs @ f/4, ISO6400
Exposure (end of sequence) - 15 secs @ f/4, ISO100
Filters - None.
Shooting interval - 15 seconds
Music - Kiss the Sky - Aakash Gandhi.
Location - Clwydian Range AONB, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p, 30fps (4K and 1080p HD formats also available)
Clip duration - 25 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2023 unless otherwise stated.