David Spero - 'Star Series' trial.

A while ago when I was researching the work of David Spero before he came and visited us as a guest lecturer, I found a collection of work which really interested me.

His 'Star Series', taken between 1999 and 2000, combines photography with the universe and natural beauty, generating some beautiful images which managed to grab my attention at first glance.

The concept is straightforward and simply depict the sky at night.  What makes this work different is that he has captured something which the human eye wouldn't normally be able to see, stars and their movement across the night sky.  In fact it isn't the stars which are moving, technically the camera has captured the earth's rotation.

Lots of his photographs were taken in a large open space such as the desert.

''In a sense the ‘Star Series’ explores the universal need to come into contact with the spiritual, to experience a moment of epiphany.''
Quote by Rachel Taylor

More information can be read about Spero's work in a review written by Rachel Taylor, a freelance writer and assistant curator at the Tate by clicking this link.

David Spero
Photograph #1, 1999

David Spero
Photograph #3, 1999

David Spero
Photograph #5, 2000

David Spero
Photograph #8, 2000

To achieve this sense of star movement it is all down to the technical side of photography and the camera.  He does it through using a long exposure and often the shutter can be open for around 45 minutes at a time.

I was really captured by this type of work so wanted to see if I could create something similar.  I set my digital SLR onto a tripod in my garden a couple of nights ago, changed the shutter speed to bulb and then left it to expose for around 30 minutes.
Here are my results below:

Original Trial

Edit #1

Edit #2