[Vaquero]

time laps of more than a short period would show streaky stars...but it is possibly just a short time laps.

and the other thing I mentioned about polaris not lining up could be because the sky is more like a dome...and the picture is flat....but if you draw a line along the outer edge of the big dipper it should line up with polaris which is the last star in the handle of the little dipper and it doesn't. but like I said it could be the 3 dimensionality compared with 2 dimensions.

[mountainlion]

Lenses often distort. A fish eye lens up close is the best example. A wide angle lens could cause the effect.