Night Cityscapes
Several folks have asked me to write about how I do cityscape photography at night. It’s really not all that difficult once you get the hang of it, but I thought it might be worth documenting the process I use so that others could use it as a starting point for their own experiments.
For me, this is a very enjoyable form of photography. There’s something magical about a skyline at night. It’s also a really good way to become familiar with light and how you can control your camera to capture it.
First thing, you’re going to need a camera that you can control manually. I shoot exclusively digital these days but film would work just as well. You’re also going to need a tripod.
I recommend you get to the location you plan to shoot from before sunset. It’s much easier to set up when you still have plenty of light. You’ll also have an opportunity to get great shots of your chosen subject during the golden hour as the sun sets.
As far as initial camera settings go, I set it to full manual. Since you’re going to be setup on a tripod and your subject generally doesn’t move you can manually focus it once and then just check focus from time to time. I set the camera ISO to 100 which is best on my Olympus E-3. Some cameras do better with an ISO of 200, so you’ll want to check this on your own camera.
My Olympus Zuiko lenses are generally sharpest with an aperture of 5.6 to 8 so I select something within that range. I’ll then adjust the shutter speed to get my desired exposure. You may need to experiment with the white balance setting to get something that you like. My E-3 does a good job on the auto setting so I generally leave it alone. I shoot RAW anyway, so I can adjust that in post-processing if desired.
After that point, you’ll control things using just the shutter speed. Your camera should have a built in meter that will help you select an initial setting, but you’ll want to experiment from that point. I’ll often select a slightly slower shutter speed to overexpose just a bit to get more glow from the city lights. The main thing here is to try different settings to see how they affect the final image. It’s a matter of taste, so play with it and have fun!
One final tip. To reduce the opportunity for blur, I recommend you use a wired or wireless off-camera shutter release. This eliminates any shake introduced from you pushing the shutter release. If you don’t have one, just use your cameras built-in self-timer if it has one. Your camera may also have an additional setting to lock the mirror up before opening the shutter to further reduce shake. To be honest though, I rarely remember to set this.
And that’s really all there is to it. I hope you enjoy trying this for yourself!
Old Books
I love old photography books. I have a few on my bookshelf and I enjoy pulling them out now and then and flipping through them. You get an interesting perspective when you compare the techniques of the past with the way photography is often done in our modern, digital age.
An example is a chapter I just read in “How To Take Pictures Like A Pro” published in 1982. The chapter in question was a lengthy discussion on techniques for panoramic photos, which are popular even today. Of course the difference is, instead of a piece of software that does automated stitching we’re talking photo prints, an Exacto knife and tape! Things have come a long way here!
Of course, many techniques never go out of style and the explanations and illustrations on effective lighting techniques are just as relevant today as they have ever been. Well worth the .99 cents I paid in a Goodwill store some years ago.
Probably the most interesting perspective is comparing photos that were considered stellar examples when some of these books were published. They’re often grainy, blurred at times and not at all perfect. I think one trap that shooting digital can lead us into is focusing on the “perfect” photo to the exclusion of the art of photography. There’s more to a great photo than sharpness and absence of digital noise.
There’s still a place for photos that simply move us, no matter how technically flawed they may appear… I think photographers that grew up shooting film, in a time when we couldn’t easily shoot hundreds of photos in a single shoot and throw away the 199 that didn’t make the cut probably understood that a little better.
No Excuse!
December 19, 2009 by Michael · Leave a Comment
I’ve been terribly delinquent about keeping this photography blog up-to-date! I’ve got tons of photos I should have posted that I need to wade through, and I’ll be doing that in the coming weeks. I also plan to implement a way to start selling prints of some of my favorite shots. I should make that my New Year’s resolution, it’s one I’m likely to actually keep for a change!
Apart from the usual marathon of photo shoots, there’s not much news to report. I have gotten very interested in night time photography. That has required extensive tripod use and reminded me just how badly I need to invest in a new tripod. I have one really good tripod that is built like a tank (and weighs as much as one too) along with several lightweight, cheap (and flimsy) tripods. What I need to do is bite the bullet and pick up a good carbon fiber tripod that is both sturdy *and* light. What a concept!
The challenge is narrowing down the many options to one that is well-built without breaking the bank. I’ll be sure to do a post on that just as soon as I get around to buying one!
Welcome to Autumn
October 11, 2009 by Michael · Leave a Comment
Autumn is starting to roll into the Northwest with a vengeance and I love it. Still plenty of sun here lately but the air carries a cold, crispness. It’s the kind of weather that inspires me to go tromping around in the woods with camera in hand.
At the moment though, I’m actually indoors. Still wearing my fleece pants and old t-shirt, sitting in front of the computer with a hot cup of green tea, listening to the new Mike Doughty album and finally getting around to updating my photo blog. I’m such a slacker.
The nice thing is, now that I’ve wrangled the blog back into shape and updated both Wordpress and the theme I’m using, it will be much easier to post both photos and the occasional rambling commentary. Like this one.
Look forward to seeing and reading new content a little more often from now on!