Night photography
Discussion
Over the break, I fancy heading out into the hills one night to take some pictures of the night sky.
I have a Canon EOS300.
I've done some experiments before, but I wondered what you guys experience of night photography was, and what kind of shots, films, and exposure times you played with.
Here are some recent pictures:
30 second exposure fully open (max without the bulb), on Fuji Velvia
Not sure what the settings were, but most likely a 10 second exposure on Ilford B&W film, probably ISO100.
I have a Canon EOS300.
I've done some experiments before, but I wondered what you guys experience of night photography was, and what kind of shots, films, and exposure times you played with.
Here are some recent pictures:
30 second exposure fully open (max without the bulb), on Fuji Velvia
Not sure what the settings were, but most likely a 10 second exposure on Ilford B&W film, probably ISO100.
Hi PD
I love the bottom one, very moody and the trails came out well too.
I have been obsessed with the fact that i havn't taken any pictures recently and was toying with the idea of going out after work. But at 2am this week i just can't do it. Well done!
PS. I may be talking through my posterior here but i suspect a longer exposure on the trails would be beneficial. Ie, more colour. Those sodium lights look fantastic with their twinkle. What white balance did you use? and where did you meter from?, Having trouble understanding metering at the mo.
Cheers
Ian
>> Edited by bilko2 on Thursday 23 December 02:03
I love the bottom one, very moody and the trails came out well too.
I have been obsessed with the fact that i havn't taken any pictures recently and was toying with the idea of going out after work. But at 2am this week i just can't do it. Well done!
PS. I may be talking through my posterior here but i suspect a longer exposure on the trails would be beneficial. Ie, more colour. Those sodium lights look fantastic with their twinkle. What white balance did you use? and where did you meter from?, Having trouble understanding metering at the mo.
Cheers
Ian
>> Edited by bilko2 on Thursday 23 December 02:03
bilko2 said:
PS. I may be talking through my posterior here but i suspect a longer exposure on the trails would be beneficial. Ie, more colour. Those sodium lights look fantastic with their twinkle. What white balance did you use? and where did you meter from?, Having trouble understanding metering at the mo.
Cheers
Ian >> Edited by bilko2 on Thursday 23 December 02:03
Well I used the camera's meter, but basically to get a sound reading I took 2, one zoomed in on the headlamps, and one on a wide. I stopped down slightly on the wide shot, which actually seemed to work fine. I can't expose any longer than 30 seconds right now as I don't have a bulb for this camera.
TBH I've been thinking of buying an Olympus OM-1, something old but solid. Half the stuff on this Canon you just don't need, and the meter isn't that good (whereas the Olympus is an analogue needle).
White balance was the film's natural balance, which on Velvia I believe is outdoor.
I might also get a bulb for it, stick a blue & green filter on it, and leave it there for 5 minutes on B&W. Should be quite interesting.....
Hi,
My camera has a maximum exposure time of 15s
(no bulb setting).
I use the ND filter as well sometimes.
The trick is to get the front and back of cars
(so you get white and red lights).
The time of day is very important.
If the time is right the sky looks great as well.
try setting up and snapping from about 4pm to 8pm
every 30mins and see the difference.
**FLASH**
I remove my external flash gun and use it at the end to freeze a subject. Ths way you get the long exposure and the subject well lit.
Experimentation is the key.
If the flash is mounted you may want to set it for 2nd curtain synch - this means firing the flash at the end of the exposure - not the beginning.
(Prevents the light trails going into your image)
Ramesh
My camera has a maximum exposure time of 15s
(no bulb setting).
I use the ND filter as well sometimes.
The trick is to get the front and back of cars
(so you get white and red lights).
The time of day is very important.
If the time is right the sky looks great as well.
try setting up and snapping from about 4pm to 8pm
every 30mins and see the difference.
**FLASH**
I remove my external flash gun and use it at the end to freeze a subject. Ths way you get the long exposure and the subject well lit.
Experimentation is the key.
If the flash is mounted you may want to set it for 2nd curtain synch - this means firing the flash at the end of the exposure - not the beginning.
(Prevents the light trails going into your image)
Ramesh
parrot of doom said:
The bottom one seems to have a light source behind the car?? Gives it an ethereal 'UFO' effect.. worth working on
Passing headlights
But there's a sharp-edged shadow in front of the car reaching to either side. How do passing headlights do that, and how do they also illuminate one portion of the shubbery on the other side of the road?
Interesting effect created by the passing headlights, I can see a solid shadow immediately below the car where I guess its always in shadow when a car passes by. There is a secondary lighter shadow created as this area is not always in shadow when a car passes by. I guess its pot luck really as to how many cars go by and what effect this has on the exposure. Needs levelling though 
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