Caught a shooting star in my photo last night by pure luck

Finley Schmidt · 2026-03-04T18:36:05.85338+00:00

I was just testing my new camera lens on some constellations, not expecting much. Had the shutter open for a few seconds, and when I checked the shots later, there it was, a bright streak across the frame. Totally unplanned, but it made my whole week. I've been into astrophotography for a bit, but this felt like a gift from the sky. Lol, I almost deleted the raw files without looking. Now I'm thinking about how to improve my chances for next time. What's the coolest unexpected thing you've captured in your photos?

charlescraig7mo ago

What settings did you have on the camera when you got the shot? I always end up fiddling with the ISO and aperture for ages and still miss stuff like that. It's crazy how much luck plays a part in this hobby. Makes me want to just leave my camera out all night and see what happens. Do you think you'll change how you shoot after this lucky break?

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the_claire7mo ago

Those raw files almost deleted? UNREAL.

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jason_lewis37mo ago

Almost deleting those raw files is the real horror story here. Makes you wonder how many killer shots we've all trashed without ever seeing them.

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spencer7826mo ago

My old hard drive is full of 30,000 raw files from 2012. I finally looked at them last month and honestly, not a single one was a hidden gem. Most were just bad shots. Deleting the bad ones to make room for new work is part of getting better, not a horror story.

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