after the storm

after the storm
Welcome autumn!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

a little night photography...


I love shooting at night. The world just looks so different, so magical. My friend, Kat, has some great night time photos you will want to check out. I don't have the lovely, far away places to explore that she does but you can find wonderful night, no matter where you are.

Most of these were taken with my favorite night lens, 35mm 1.4. The only tripod shot is the first one. The tripod gives you so many opportunities but you can still capture things without it, as long as you can up your ISO and not mind the accompanying graininess. Different cameras and lenses handle graininess in different ways. A little grain never bothers me much. You can use a fence post, the top of your car or a ledge as a tripod.
In this shot you can see that the bike is blurry but the rest of the picture is rather sharp. This is due to the movement of the bike rider and a slow enough shutter speed that doesn't stop the action. Don't forget that you can click on any image to make it larger.
This shot uses a technique called panning. As I took the shot, I followed the car so that the car stays in focus while the background blurs. This is often a hit and miss technique with me. The color and style of the car really caught my eye but obviously I didn't have much time to set this up. I was going for the angle but if I had a redo, I probably would have shot it a little bit differently. Sometimes, you get what you get.



What may look dull and dirty in the daylight, can look amazing at night. Give it a try.

5 comments:

dille2@cableone.net said...

Wonderful photos!

Jane said...

I would love to try this down on Biele Street in Memphis one of these evenings... so many great neon down there.

Lovely photos!

a quiet life said...

night shots are always so tricky, great job and thanks for the how to info too. i am never out at night... we just go a street light in our neighborhood last year, i cried... i like stars and moon only please :-(

funny you mentioned the figs, i JUST made cinnamon fig jam, tell your friend and have her make extra for you too! next i am making balsamic fig jam, i am on a roll, the season is almost over and trying to spread the joy~

Kat Sloma said...

Beautiful Barbara! This is like a compilation of my favorite night shots I've seen of yours in the past. I'm so glad you posted that panned shot of the bus - that one has stuck in my mind as a good example of panning. I've never gotten one that clear at night. Thanks soooo much for joining in with Exploring with a Camera!

Anonymous said...

You and Kat are inspiring me to get out with my new tripod and give some night photography a try!