Curtains: Bodiam Castle Star Trails

September 27th, 2024, brought what turned out to be the longest star trail session I've ever attempted—over three hours standing beside Bodiam Castle's moat in East Sussex, watching 539 individual exposures click by as Earth slowly rotated beneath the stars. I'd been planning this shoot for months, waiting for a moonless night with clear skies and still water in the moat to capture perfect reflections of this iconic 14th-century castle.

Bodiam Castle was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He constructed it as both a defensive fortress and a status symbol, complete with a wide moat, massive gatehouse, and crenellated towers. The castle sits in the Rother Valley near the Kent-Sussex border, its medieval walls rising from the water like something from a fairy tale. Today it's one of England's most photographed castles, owned by the National Trust.

The conditions that September night were perfect—no wind meant the moat became like glass, creating mirror-perfect reflections of the castle's illuminated walls. I set up my RF 15-35mm lens at 18mm to capture both the full castle and its reflection, along with the sweeping expanse of sky above. At f/2.8 and ISO 800, each 20-second exposure gathered enough starlight while keeping the illuminated castle from overexposing. Over 188 minutes—more than three hours—I captured 539 frames.

The shoot was a test of endurance. Standing there in the September cold as the temperature dropped toward dawn, I watched the stars wheel overhead while nocturnal sounds echoed across the moat—rustling reeds, distant owls, the occasional splash of a fish. My camera kept firing every 20 seconds, completely automated, but I stayed awake to monitor for any issues. By the end, my fingers were numb but I had captured more than half a thousand frames showing Earth's rotation.

Stacking 539 exposures created these dramatic star trails that cascade down like celestial curtains—the title 'Curtains' comes from how the star trails appear to drape across the sky above Bodiam Castle. The reflection in the moat doubles the effect, creating this mesmerizing symmetry where medieval architecture meets cosmic motion, all mirrored in the still waters of a 640-year-old defensive moat.

When you look at this photograph, I want you to feel that dedication—standing beside Bodiam Castle's moat through three hours of a September night, capturing 539 frames that show Earth's rotation beneath the stars, where Sir Edward Dalyngrigge's 1385 fortress stands reflected in water as still as glass in the East Sussex countryside.