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About LinkBacksSorry, I should have linked to the article, and not just the pictureOriginally Posted by dancingmatt
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...p45-long.shtml
Sorry, I should have linked to the article, and not just the picture
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...p45-long.shtml
That shot was taken on a medium format digi back. Just FYI you'll be hard pressed to come close to the pop that image has with anything other than medium format gear.
That said, you can pick up low end medium format film backs and lenses for very reasonable amounts these days. You just won't be going digital for a while - unless you're loaded.
Anyhoo, very long exposures are completely plausable with any camera that has full or semi manual controls. Most will offer exposure times of up to about 30 seconds, and then after that a "bulb" mode - which allows you to take exposures only limited in time by how long the battery will last. Some films are better than others for this, and dark frame subtraction is pretty much a must on anything digital.
Dark frame subtraction just takes a second exposure after your first, of the same length, but with the shutter closed // mirror down. That should just result in a plain black image, right? Wrong. You get various fun new types of noise from long exposures, most notably hot pixels (pixels on your sensor that get... Too hot, and just flip out to pure white). Your camera then takes any information in the dark frame away from the normal one. It's a pain in the bee-hind to have to hop about for a further twenty minutes after a twenty minute exposure to shoot again // see the results - but it's worth it, because you're looking at an age of annoying photoshop work otherwise. Take a thermos with you or something, seriously.
It goes without saying that you need a tripod, and it needs to be rock solid. How decent your tripod needs to be for it to stay rock solid depends on where you're using it. You're going to have a harder time getting a solid hold on the edge of a windy cliff than you will from a sheltered balcony, regardless of tripod.
Very long exposures also need very little light, or something which really cuts back on the light. A dense Infra Red filter on an overcast day can let you do that, but the most obvious answer is night - as there's naturally much less light about.
Really think about what you're shooting before you set yourself up for a very long exposure though, because it's damn annoying to wait x minutes while you expose, only to realise that the shot is naff because you didn't spend five minutes at the start thinking it through in your head.
You probably won't be able to use auto focus, although if the sky is quite bright, you may be able to focus on the horizon. If there is something quite close to you you want in focus, then taking an AF reading using a built in illuminator or flash illuminator is a good idea. 90% of the time, though, you'll be fine just focusing near (but not at) infinity and stopping down your lens some. Which you'll probably need to do to get that long exposure anyway.
If the sky is clear, and you can see stars, then you can get light trails - such as those in the above shot.
If there are clouds in the sky and a little wind (movement) then you can get interesting effects with clouds in motion.
Consider the wind and what effect it will have on what's in your composition. If there's even a little, then anything that isn't stable will blow all over the place, and end up as a blur in your final shot. That isn't necessarily bad, just be aware of it. If there is wind, but growth on the ground is very squat, it shouldn't blow about too much - as with the above shot.
Watch out for light pollution. Use it to your advantage if it's there by centering your composition around it - you'll get some great colours and an interesting glow, just be aware that that the light pollution is likely to be by far the brightest thing in your image, so the foreground will likely be a sillhouette.
The ideal situation is one which is evenly lit - such as the above shot. The moon would have been out and bright for that shot, I'm guessing behind the photog. as there's no notable glow on either side of the frame. What that means, though, is that he can get a nice exposure on both the sky and foreground. It's not often you'll come across such great lighting conditions for a shot like this, so abuse them if you do.
Exposure is also one of the biggest challenges. You can meter at a larger aperture // higher ISO to get a rough idea, but you can't just multiply all the way and expect to get a correct exposure, you'll come out a ways under exposed. There is a proper rule for this, but I can't remember it. I usually just throw on an extra stop or so for good measure - the other thing you need to be aware of is changing lighting conditions, even in the middle of the night. What's your light source? How is it going to vary? Will the moon slip behind a cloud for a minute?
Work as your own meter during the exposure. Get a rough idea of how long you want it to be (underexposing by a stop or so, for a little extra freedom). Did the moon slip behind a cloud for a minute? Forget that minute for your exposure (so if you roughly metered 20 minutes, make it 21 now). Similarly if your light gets brighter, adjust accordingly.
The concept of very long exposures is a simple one - but in practice it's always a bit trickier.
So :
Really prepare the shot. If shooting digital, Perhaps shoot it at a very high ISO and a very wide aperture first just to check the composition.
Consider the surroundings, lighting conditions, and movement.
Stay with the camera and monitor lighting, unless you want to leave it to chance.
Take a flask of something hot and wear warm clothing - even on summer nights it gets cold when you're just sat around.
Don't be afraid to reshoot exactly the same shot with exactly the same exposure if shooting something like clouds - you can get very different effects from shot to shot.
i'll be impressed if you can tell the difference between images from either. the canon has more pixels, but the nikon actually resolves more detail (albeit very very slight), something to do with canons noise reduction apparently. the nikon will probably give you more accurrate colours as nikon as a whole are famous for good skin tones etc. again, hard to tell either way.
as far as macro goes 1:1 means the object will be the same size on the sensor as it is in real life. so you'd fill the whole frame with a wasp or bee if you see what i mean. i think with the 1.5/6x crop cameras it might be larger.
In your Opinion Noah is there a logical reason to buy the Canon (at £100 more) over the Nikon?
in my opinion no.
i use nikon now but have used canon in the past and been very happy with them. when asked on another forum what was the most expensive brand and which to buy i had a think and came up with this:
they both hit different pricepoints-
d50 seems the best budget at £400odd (nikon)
30d seems the sensible next step up at £8-900 (canon)
d200 does it for me at £1100odd (nikon)
then the 5d is you need full frame (canon)
1dmk2n for the sports chaps at £2000 (canon)
d2x for pro studio or tough as hell work (nikon)
1dsmk2 for pro studio (canon)
i think that sums the pricepoints up quite well. they really do alternate and i have no agenda in making people buy nikon, it just seems that the d50 is a great value camera.
i know its all very confusing but i hope it helps. best thing to do is to go and try them both out
u get alot of war reporters using 1D's as well u know - the L glass has proven itself time after time for being able to take enormous abuse and keep working
Spend as much as u can on a tripod, like good glass if you spend wisely it should last u a lifetime
| Photographer |
absolutely, i'd happily own oneu get alot of war reporters using 1D's as well u know - the L glass has proven itself time after time for being able to take enormous abuse and keep working
it's not meant to be a comprehensive be all and end all of the uses, just a rough list
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