Long exposures

[anonymous]

Guys,

Long exposures are basically something I haven’t touched at all since I got my gear this year.  I was bored yesterday afternoon and decided to go for a walk around the lake to take some pictures.  I didn’t realize how much earlier it is getting darker these days so it was almost dark when I got there.  I set up my tripod and snapped a few long exposures before it started raining.  I’d really like some insights/tips/critique.  This is the one I liked the best of the handful I got.  This one was f14, ISO 100 with a 19 second exposure.  

This was the last one I took after it started raining.  I wasn’t sure what caused it to look so much differently than the previous shot.  Its a shame because I really liked the look of the water.

[John Bennett]

Matt I would suggest that the primary difference in the two photo’s is the rain and loss of light in the second, relative to the first.

Long exposures can be alot of fun. In your second shot you captured something that’s typical of (and often the goal) them. That being the the suggestion of the passage of time and motion. I’m not sure what the right word is for it, but the wind/rain has created sheer across the right side. While visible to the naked eye (due to the passage of time), thats not the case with standard photography where your freezing time.

Cotton Candy water, light trails (stars, cars, mid way rides etc) are all common examples of subjects to explore through long exposures. Less common, but no less interestng
Clouds
Tall grass being blown by wind
Waves/tides

Another often interesting appoach, is night photography. Night photography differs from the above (where your suggesting motion to the viewer) in that your taking “night scapes” as opposed to “landscapes”. Leave the shutter open long enough and night becomes day. The more light (stars/moons) the shorter you have to leave it open. Try a “landscape” under a full moon and you can litterally produce a dozen very different images. A typical shot of this nature is a graveyard under a full or half moon.

Tips?
You have the most important. A good solid tripod. A cable release and/or mirror lock up, after that your imagination.

Look at something mundane and likely uninteresting by day. Ask yourself how it might look in the absence of light and a 2 to 30 second exposure.

My personal *must try/do/get* shot I’ve been after for 2 years. No love as yet as it requires being in the right spot at the right time, is to set up on the edge of a clearing some evening/night and get some 20 second exposures of fire flies ghosting about. A typical “night scape” with neon green light trails across the meadow.

[jan kristensen]

Hi Matt,

Long exposure photography is a lot of fun, I can only recommend experimenting some more! Some excellent advise from John, already.

I bought myself a 9-stop neutral density filter. This allows me to do very long exposures in daylight, for some pretty special effects. I still haven’t used it much for flyfishing photography but have a few things lined up that I need to try. If you don’t mind me spamming your thread, here’s a few examples:

Jan  🙂

[anonymous]

Very cool stuff Jan.  I haven’t experimented with ND filters yet.  

John,  thanks for the input.  I’m going to keep playing around with this since I enjoy the results.  I just tend to forget about the opportunities for long exposures when I’m out and about.  Not sure why.

Heres one from this morning on a local stream.  I couldn’t really do much with these until recently when I got a circ polarizer.

 

[Eric DeWitt]

Nice shots.

[anonymous]

Thanks Eric.  I wouldn’t have thought to crop it below the waterfall.  I haven’t developed much of an eye for tweaking shots to strengthen them.  I appreciate the insight.

[Author]

Posts