Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Night Time is the Right Time

If anyone can tell me where the heading is from for the title of the post, without using the internet, I'll give you a dollar.
I have never made any serious attempts at taking pictures at night.  I would always see photographers take amazing pictures at night and wonder how.  You always see pictures of cars flashing by with the light blur and other fascinating effects.  I'm reminded of pictures of the Vegas Strip at night and the vibrant energy that the picture contains.  In years past I have taking pictures in the dark, but they looked far off form what other people were doing.  The pictures I took were flash heavy.  I was always interested in how to take a picture at night and make it look natural. 
Julia and I ventured off into Boston with hopes that I would figure it out.  We were well equipped for what I envisioned I needed to do.  I had a trip pod and I had a wireless remote.  My plan was simple.  The slower the shutter speed the more light that the camera's sensor will pick up.  My hands can handle no slower than a 1/60 sec shutter speed.  Any tremble, as little as it may be, will blur the picture and you will lose the crispness you were hoping to obtain.  That's where the tripod came into play.  The tripod would stabilize the camera and allow me to use a slower shutter speed.  So, a while back Julia was wonderful enough to buy me a tripod.  I used it briefly while taking my class, but the pictures I was taking for the final project didn't need the tripod.  Then Corey offered his enjoyment of the blurry car pictures and I decided it was time to get to work with the tripod.  I practiced at home with the tripod to see what results I would get.  I quickly found out that the shake the camera gets when I push the shutter release button is enough to blur the picture.  Enter the wireless remote.  Now, I have the setup I need and We are ready to go.  So, let's go. 
We were walking around and saw a pipe in the middle of a walkway and artsy fartsy senses were tingling.  I took this picture with an ISO setting of 200(My camera is an old model and as soon as you go higher than 200 the picture gets noisy).  The shutter speed was set at 2.5 sec and the aperture was at F/3.5.  
 I love the composition of this photo.  The increasing darkness at the top of the picture and the shadow cast by the pipe.  The glow of the buildings in the background work well with the deep blue of the sky.
The next picture has the same settings as the first.  
  I love the reflection of the lights in the water.  The moon also has a presence but doesn't take over the picture.  I also like how you can see the trail of smoke that is coming out of the building in the distance.  The details of the water ripples is a nice touch as well.  
The next picture was taken with a shutter speed of 5 sec and an aperture of F/5.  
There's a lot of things going on with the lights in this picture.  My favorite light effect is in the middle two buildings where the lights cast off on those floors are intersecting.  I should have either cut out the bottom part or included more of it.  That is my only gripe with this picture.  
The next picture has a shutter speed of 1.3 sec and an aperture of F/4.
We started getting around to where people were walking around as well.  I started getting the ghost effect with people.  There's some on the left side, one in the middle, and another in the background of the picture.  Besides that I enjoy the lighting and the way the garage to the left almost makes you follow it to the end.  
This next picture has a shutter speed of 6 sec and an aperture of F/9.
This clock tower was following me all night, and it would constantly draw you in to look at it.  I think this picture captures that pull pretty well.  I think the first thing you go to is the clock tower and the rest settles in after, even though I feel like the tree and building are more prominent.  
The following picture has a shutter speed of 1.6 sec and an aperture of F/5.6.
I love this picture.  This area is one of those water shooter set ups.  They also had fog coming out of the holes as well.  I think it made for a nice picture.  My favorite part is the child to the right of the two boys in the middle.  The pillars in the back also seem to be drawing your eyes back to the two boys in middle. 
The next picture has a shutter speed of 3 sec and an aperture of F/5.6.
This guy was lounging on this field next to the water area.  He was kind of creepy.  I am fully aware if Julia wasn't with me, I would have also been a creep taking pictures of kids running around in water.  I think this is a great shot.  The focus is good, the lighting is good, and the creepy guy didn't notice I took about 15 pictures of him.  
The next picture has a shutter speed of 20 sec and an aperture of F/10.
The lights reflecting in the water are a plus.  The wood poles in the foreground give an effect of great distance from the buildings.  The water ripples as with the previous picture are a nice touch. 
The next group of photos are form the idea that spawned this adventure, courtesy of Corey.  These pictures have settings of, SS 3 sec-F/5.6, SS 1.6 sec-F/5.6, and SS 1.3 sec-F/4.  The pictures will be shown in the same order the settings were given.  
Blurry cars in the night.  The effects are interesting.  I think with more practice and better understanding these pictures could be much better.  I like them.  It gives the faster than the world vibe.  Constant motion.  
I think that's enough.  I have some more pictures that were going to go up, but I don't want to over do it.  Tell me what you think.  Please, give me more ideas of what you would like me to take pictures of.  I think I'm going to work on doing something with Cena and the dogs who love her.  
That's all for now, but I will leave you with flash Bowser.