I'm new here, but I know a lot of people here... anyway, I've been trying to get up to Rhyolite for star trails/light painting for almost a year now... see my post on Flickr for sample images: http://bit.ly/4zRRPm

Thanks for sharing. I wasn't able to access your page, but I'm technically inept. Two other sources for your visual pleasure:
* In Google Images, type "star trails"
* See this AMAZING light painting video (a Sprint commercial) on UTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW_9SYaWAQg

Oh yeah, let's make a movie!

About my link, I guess you have to be a member of Flickr to view Flickr content...

Nelson would be good for light painting as well. NCC has been out there and I know that "Tigger N. Bennie" has posted some of his light painting results on Flickr. You do need to contact the owners of Nelson so they know you are coming.

Thanks Bill. Nelson is soooo much closer than Ryolite or Tonopah. As we get closer to the day, we'll have everybody who's going vote on the location.

I'm throwing down a challenge for the light-painting event: Please practice drawing an object that begins w/the first letter of your last name. We will create a group painting. For me, Jan W, that would be an....er....hmmmm. Well, it will be a surprise.

For Star Trails, you have to find the really dark area. The site below shows the transparency, darkness and light pollution for all the sites around Vegas

http://cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/Nevada_charts.html

Check this site for info on making the best camera settings and exposure for star trails.

http://www.olegnovikov.com/technical/startrails/startrail...

In addition to the dark sky chart and website, try this site for info on sun and moon rise and set times and luminosity. This will help to determine when would be a good time for night shots such as this event.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/moonrise.html

Just select your city or the city you will be closest to and you will get accurate info for the moon phase and brightness as well as rise and set times.

Enjoy!

Thanks Bill. Here's an example:
http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/member/9/4/e/5/hig...

I recently did some lightpainting at the boneyard; however, those aren't on Flickr. There in the private stash though I had a few prints made since they were freebies. ;)

Have we nailed down a location for this Meetup yet?

Two places that I personally want to try are "the wave" near Kanab, UT and The Pinnacles of Trona near Trona, CA

Some ideas for possible locations. Nelsons landing, cottonwood valley, Rhyolite?

Do we have a location picked out yet?

So many places to chose from. Let's try Rhyolite (ghost town 4 miles west of Beatty...about 1.5 hours from LV) this time. On Sunday, scouted Death Valley, and closer locations, but Rhyolite offers interesting foregrounds. (I'm w/you Sam, let's try other locations in the future.) There's an Open Studio at the Goldwell Open Air Museum that night. Should be interesting, and should not conflict w/our lighting needs. Potluck dinner on Saturday? All the details to follow tomorrow.

are you guy going to camping over there?

Although the BLM site says that Rhyolite is "day use only," I've seen tons of night shots from there (i.e., seems to not be an issue).

We're planning on staying until Sunday morning (and will provide a continental breakfast). If an "all night photography session" becomes an issue for some reason, we can always move down to the Goldwell Open Air Museum (adjacent to Rhyolite), which is open to the public 24/7.

Check out my light-painting resources. This is going to be a blast!

anyone up to carpool??

Great idea Derek!!! We can take two people in our van. We plan to leave Henderson by 10a Saturday, and will be staying in Rhyolite until Sunday morning. If that schedule works for anyone, we're happy to share our very comfy road-yacht (please write to me offline).

Jan, thanks for creating the notes. I get an error message when I try to access the file.
Anyone been succesful in downloading the instructions ? any tips ?

Sorry! I couldn't open it either, but I fixed it (title was too long). Please let me know if you have any problems opening it.

Weather Update: it seems that there is some chance of cloud cover Saturday night. I'll watch that closely and keep you posted. If we must cancel (and reschedule) the event, I'll post that announcement by 11p Friday.

Unfortunately, it seems that it will be cloudy all over Nevada this weekend. We're rescheduling the Rhyolite star-trails shoot to Saturday, March 13.

Just a thought for you guys
Rhyolite sound cool and all but if we drive a feww more hours we can go into Bryce Canyon almost 0 light polutions :)

Make sure you turn off any vibration reduction software in your camera when shooting star trails. The movement of the stars will cash the VR to activate and give you bumping trails.

Any info on campsite with water and port-a-potties?

Thanos: I'll check on nearby campsites and restrooms.

UPDATE: Rhyolite-Area Motels & Campgrounds. I just uploaded a two-page doc to FILES. It's from the website for the Goldwell Open Air Museum (7 acreas at Rhyolite; open 24/7), where we plan to park our mini-RV overnight. No restrooms at Rhyolite, but we can use the toilet in our RV for emergencies.

UPDATE: OPTIONAL DEATH VALLEY SHOOTS (3/13)
Meet for briefing at 10a at DV's Borax Museum parking lot (Furnace Creek Ranch). Look for white RV w/Meetup signs. I'll have info for 3 different shoots:
(1) Borax Museum ("...a myriad of relics")
(2) Wildflowers ("...transform DV's barren browns into carpet of color")
(3) Mosaic Canyon ("...polished narrows...intimate sedimentary styling")
FYI, entrance fee to DV is $20/car (good for 1 wk). (We get $80 annual National Parks pass.)

UPDATE: Talked w/BLM today. Yes, Rhyolite is day use only, because the structures are unstable and dangerous. But, we can be there at night IF WE REMAIN ON THE PAVED COUNTY ROAD, which goes through the center of Rhyolite. As well, there are "SST" toilets in Rhyolite (i.e., "sweet-smelling toilets"), which are along the county road. Finally, there is an official BLM camping site next to The Red Barn (i.e., within walking distance of the ruins). We will camp there.