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Night time is the right time

I've done some night photography in the past with my trusty old Hassy of mine. Long exposures slow BW film, pull process... It sure was fun but a bit nerve wrecking, since you have to wait to develop the rolls. I've always wanted to do nights in color but color processing in your own darkroom could be a bit hairy. 


Now with my 5dmk2 I can finally explore the colors of the night... Well, colors of sodium vapor I guess.

I've tried night shots with "older" digital cams like Nikon D200, but I wasn't too happy with the results. Overheating and battery consumption was some of the issue. But the 5d performed perfectly with long exposures (30 sec to 2 minutes) without any heating. Battery lasted almost 4 hrs.

I think this was about a minute exposure.I got lucky with the almost full moon. I like to keep the iso setting pretty low to keep the noise down on the image. Of coarse a sturdy tripod is a must. You have to be careful sometimes, during a long exposure the tripod can sink very slowly, blurring the image. I push the tripod down with my hands a bit before I shoot, if the ground is soft.


The thing about night shooting is that the light never changes, if nobody turns it off that is. So you can really take your time to see the behavior of the lighting conditions. 




Industrial sites and its equipment always interested me.  I admire the "focus" of the machines and the tools they use. There is no BS about it. Since they are designed for a very specific duty, they seem almost pure, in a sense, and beautiful in my eyes. This photo looks like it was taken during sunset light, but the light is from a distant flood light and moonlit sky. Who says pictures don't lie?



Comments

  1. MimiNovember 11, 2010 at 8:34 AM

    Lighting in these photos is beautiful. I'm thinking a shoot in Old Town Alexandria capturing night life soon!

    ReplyDelete

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