Long Exposure Personal Work
Long Exposure Personal Work
You see these light wands everywhere. I decided to use mine in a way I've never seen before to create this body of work. Maybe it's time for you to have some long exposures in your life.
Long exposure photography at night is a fascinating and rewarding technique that can produce stunning and ethereal images. It allows you to capture the movement of light and creates a sense of drama and mood that is difficult to achieve with conventional photography.
The basic principle of long exposure photography is simple: the camera's shutter remains open for an extended period, allowing more light to enter and be recorded on the sensor. At night, this technique can be especially effective, as the limited available light can create unique and interesting effects.
Before diving into the technical details of long exposure photography, it's essential to understand the importance of selecting the right location. Look for places with interesting light sources like street lamps, cityscapes, or even stars. The contrast between the stationary objects and the moving light creates a beautiful effect in the final image. Light sources that are moving in your image works great, but i’ve seen it a million times. I decided to flip the script and create and move my own light source.
The equipment required for long exposure photography is relatively simple: a camera with manual controls, a sturdy tripod, and a remote shutter release or self timer. I shot all these with a standard 50mm, I wanted to use my brightest lens and I appreciate a normal perspective for this type of work.
How I create these is quite simple. I set my camera to shutter priority at 30 seconds. I use the self timer which gives me enough time to run into the frame when I’m in Position, I turn the light wand on and paint through my frame. Use a super low ISO to minimize noise in the image. I have a rock solid tripod, the Manfrotto 055.
If you want to try this type of light painting, Once you've set up your camera, set it on self timer and run in to make your light design, special points for wearing all black and not standing in one spot for any length of time. Afterwards, look at your test shot on the camera's LCD screen. If the light streaks are too dark, widen the aperture. If the image is too bright, decrease the exposure time or close the aperture. You have to play a bit to get your streaks right.
Once you've found the right settings, take a few more shots to experiment with composition and framing. Play with different angles, exposure levels, speed in which you move your light source and distances from the light source to create unique and striking images. I changed the RGB colour in the above photo while I was painting.
One thing to keep in mind with long exposure photography at night is that you'll need to be patient. The process can be time-consuming, as each exposure may take several attempts with each image taking minutes. But the results are often worth the effort, as the final images can be truly mind blowing.
In conclusion, long exposure photography at night is a technique that can produce some of the most stunning and ethereal images in photography. With the equipment you own right now, a great location, and patience, anyone can capture beautiful and captivating, unique scenes.
These posts are all about inspiring you to go out and do something great with your camera. So go grab a flash light or light wand, that camera, find a dark and intriguing location, and start experimenting with long exposure photography at night. If you appreciate this body of work, please give this post a like, and leave a comment, they are appreciated more than you know. if this work gets some traction, I may just make some more of these compositions…. could be a great video.
This scene even worked without the light painting.
Whether or not you choose to become a subscriber, I want to express my gratitude for taking the time to read this newsletter, and for supporting my work in this way. I really love this platform and your readership, feedback, and engagement have been invaluable to me, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with such a thoughtful and engaged community.
See you next week. Unless you come visit me LIVE during Ask a Photo Pro or Behind the Picture, my weekly podcasts… You’ve found me, and read this far, it’s the next natural step. I’m a content machine on my YouTube channel. Of course you can always see more of my work at SteveCarty.com. Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
p.s. For those of you that like wearing comfy high quality apparel while you’re shooting, please take a moment to check out my 2 shops featuring apparel for Photographers and Creatives through my website.
Don’t forget you get better every time you look through that window.
Carty
This work is very cool. Doesn't even look real.
Thanks for reading Josh. It hope you enjoyed. I enjoy yours weekly.