During the time of the new moon is usually the best time to shoot, so right now is great! If it’s not at 0%, you’ll want to shoot after the moon as set. This makes uring Waning Crescent time an easier to get star trails than the Waxing Crescent like it will be in a few days. Know the current phases of the moon through timeanddate.com or apps, like Phases of the moon.
You’ll want to be in as dark a place as possible too. The app Light Pollution Map is helpful for this. Since I live close to a little town, the map indicates that I can get a greater level of darkness southwest of me. I found a cemetery 10 miles away in this darker zone and so that’s where Jonathan and I are going to shoot this Saturday. (It didn’t work to do it last night, as I mentioned in the webinar, because of cloud cover.)
And for those of you who missed it, here’s the section of the webinar where I explained how to use the Lighten Blend Mode!
https://www.lenspiration.com/video/lighten-blend-mode/