So its friday night....

shrimperblue

shrimperblue

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Dave
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The mrs is out with her friends and I fancy attempting my first set of long exposure shots.

I live near the sea, I also live near some nightlife, and main roads etc etc.

Any ideas on what might be a nice starter project on night shots?

I need inspiration!!

SB
 
Well there's the obligatory light trails from cars, it's obvious but worth a crack anyway. Or if it's a clear night you could do something with reflections of light on the sea, moon, stars etc. I've never tried that last idea so no idea if it would work,but you could try.
 
the sea is a nice thought, I have the famous Southend Pier near by, so that could be an idea.
 
Hi,

Well I went down to Southend Pier and it was a nice evening but then the heavens opened. Combined with the sea breeze it was just too hazardous to get into some nice positions so I am going to re-attempt this saturday. In a way it gives me a few more days to prepare.

Any more suggestions or "things I wish id known first" would be brilliant :)
 
Hi shrimper!

I do quite a bit of night photography and I think in some ways it's actually easier than day photography. I tend to exclude the sky and light trails. First thing is to walk around your area at night looking for things that are interesting by night but overlooked (or just boring) by day. I like out of the way places with stperhaps one streetlight (alleys, cut-thro's)

I use strretlamps for illumination - no flash or extra lighting.

Technicals -
Tripod is essential.
Contrast is inevitable (wells of light and deep shadows) Work with this - use as part of your composition.
B+W works best (for me).

Otherwise everything else is quite simple. For instance your light source doesn't vary or move around - it's there night after night.

One tip is - go out AFTER rain as the reflections from wet pavements can help bounce light around reducing contrast slightly.

Look at wet trees (leafy or twiggy) adjacent to light but try to keep light source out of frame or behind subject
 
Hi Barsbyart,

thanks for your tips. I was poorly last saturday so yet again (lol) I couldnt get out....and im really getting impatient!

I like what you're saying about the alleyways. You know when you head out to get some photos and in your mind you have an idea of what your after.....well thats what ive got in mind...something similar to that. I wouldnt mind getting some creepy trees too.

SB
 
It will soon be the weekend, shrimper!

One thing I've noticed shooting film is reciprocity failure - closing 1 f-stop makes a bigger difference to your exposure time than you'd think... don't know how it affects digital shooting (if at all!) Perhaps you can comment next week?

Good luck with your creepy trees!
 
yeah i'll let you know. I think ill head to the sea side by night :)
 
hehe,yeah theres a real nice old one at the end of my raod actually
 
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