Long Exposures at Night

dipm06 · Feb 4, 2013

Hey guys! I wanted to share how I shoot my long eposure photography at night. A lot of you will probably know all of this stuff, but a few of you might find something helpful in the video. Hope you enjoy!

Photos Below the Video

Here are some of the photos!

mustang_dvs · Feb 4, 2013

Please don't take this as criticism (I like the mood of the photos, as you've processed them), but why the long exposures?

I've a friend who was embedded with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan and was able to use his 5D Mark II to photograph combat operations using only moonlight and the illumination of tracer rounds to produce photos that looked as though they were taken in daylight.

The point is: the 5DII (and 5DIII/1D4/1DX) have amazing low-light capabilities and very low noise up to ISO 800; if you're not using the slow shutter speed to demonstrate the passage of time, why not shoot that exact same scene at ISO 400, 1/2 sec, f/8.0?

Prodo123 · Feb 4, 2013

mustang_dvs said:
Please don't take this as criticism (I like the mood of the photos, as you've processed them), but why the long exposures?

I've a friend who was embedded with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan and was able to use his 5D Mark II to photograph combat operations using only moonlight and the illumination of tracer rounds to produce photos that looked as though they were taken in daylight.

The point is: the 5DII (and 5DIII/1D4/1DX) have amazing low-light capabilities and very low noise up to ISO 800; if you're not using the slow shutter speed to demonstrate the passage of time, why not shoot that exact same scene at ISO 400, 1/2 sec, f/8.0?

1. The dynamic range at ISO 100 is far greater than at ISO 800.
2. Color saturation and contrast increases with longer exposure, enhancing the dramatic mood of the photo
3. Why have low noise when you can have no noise?

Doylem · Feb 4, 2013

All sorts of good things start to happen, IMO, when you put a camera on a tripod and shoot with long exposures: a very different look and feel to just cranking up the ISO. But 'night' photography, for me, is more like dusk or twilight photography: ie after the sun has gone down, but while there's still some colour in the sky. It's called the 'magic hour' for good reason...

dipm06 · Feb 5, 2013

Doylem said:
All sorts of good things start to happen, IMO, when you put a camera on a tripod and shoot with long exposures: a very different look and feel to just cranking up the ISO. But 'night' photography, for me, is more like dusk or twilight photography: ie after the sun has gone down, but while there's still some colour in the sky. It's called the 'magic hour' for good reason...

I do agree that photos taken at those hours are beautiful, but my focus in these ware to focus on the artificial lights that illuminate the streets at night!

Phrasikleia · Feb 5, 2013

dipm06 said:
I do agree that photos taken at those hours are beautiful, but my focus in these ware to focus on the artificial lights that illuminate the streets at night!

I think Doylem was referring to the "Blue Hour," during which time you will have artificial lights showing in any urban areas, and because of the increased ambient light, you'll get a better balance between the various light sources. It's really difficult to get that sense of balance once the sky has gone black. At that point, lights tend to overwhelm a scene, making the photos a bit hard on the eyes.

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Long Exposures at Night

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