Long Exposures

Ferries and Planes
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/16, 66sec, 100ISO, 40mm

A couple weeks ago, I was shooting an event that I produced for my company. I try to photograph all of my events, as I have found clients can lack an imagination. Since I sell lighting, it is a visual art form. If the clients can't see examples of your past work, they may have a hard time deciding to spend money on you and the service your company provides. Another benefit of documenting the work is that there is ever an issue where the client says something wasn't provided, you can refer them to a photograph and show that it was indeed present.

Sometimes we are unable to photograph events due to nondisclosure agreements, or the event photographer may have exclusive access. I don't mind these circumstances, but I always appreciate the chance to practice my craft, both lighting and photography. This blog will not show any of my event photography, as I save that for the company Facebook page and website. My event photography is very similar to interior architecture photography; I shoot the room with the goal of capturing the room and those design elements, not the guests. 

Ferry Streak
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/16, 141sec, 100ISO, 40mm

This post is my experimenting with some long exposures. Having a sturdy tripod is a must, as the shutter will be open for many seconds, even minutes. A cable release is also recommended; even the pushing of the shutter button can cause the camera to move ever so slightly leading to a blurry image. And one final piece of advice I use is to utilize the mirror lockup feature, as again, the mirror snapping up may cause slight movement to the camera. 

When shooting at night, I will sometimes use the live image preview on the rear LCD screen, as the camera may have problems locking focus in the low light.  I am able to look on the back screen and zoom into a section of the landscape to ensure that focus is correct, something that is hard to do through the small viewfinder.

I also used a small aperture opening to let less light in, creating longer exposure time and then capturing the streaks of light. A goal of mine is to obtain a neutral density filter to try some long exposures during the daytime. Neutral Density, or ND, are much similar to sunglasses; they let less light in but don't change the color.

Verrazano Flight Path
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/16, 151sec, 100ISO, 40mm