Night Shooting

[F-15_Flyer]

As you all know i am a beginner and want to learn some good techniques on shooting at night. Things such as the effect of cars going by on roads and the lights are blurred and in the line that the car was going, i know you have to have the ISO at a low speed. But what is the best speed to have it at? Also I know that using a tripod is a MUST on night shooting, but ANY tips and suggestions would be great so i dont go out there and waste film.

THANKYOU.

[another view]

Here it is, the big 1,000!

OK - back to business... You're going to waste film, simple as that. Night shooting is difficult and you'll take a lot of shots getting used to it. A good long exposure doesn't look like how our eyes see the scene, anyway so it will take some getting used to - even then you don't necessarily know what you're going to get.

Slow speed film is not really necessary depending on the effect you're going for. If I had to choose 100 or 400, I'd probably go with 100 because two stops isn't a big deal in most cases. If you have a good B&W lab, try some of the 3200 speed films (Kodak and Ilford) and expose at 1600. It's a different look, not better or worse - depends on the result you want. If you're shooting print film, don't underexpose it, a stop or two over will still give you a good print though. Can't remember what camera you're using, but most Nikons will tend to underexpose if you use matrix (evaluative) metering. Center weighted is usually a better choice, and spot metering is best but can be a difficult technique to learn.

A tripod is a must, and a cable release too - but I'd add a hot shoe mounted bubble level to make sure the camera is level, it can be really hard to tell in the dark. Don't forget spare batteries, long shutter speeds with electronic cameras will make them go quickly.

[another view]

Here's an example. Fuji Provia 100F slide film, about 8 minutes at about f5.6, after sunset.

This is from a kayaking trip this summer to Lake Superior. The lighter part at the bottom of the frame is the calm water in the horse shoe shaped bay of the island we were camped at. The darker water in the center is the open lake on a windy evening, and the sky is at the top. The light is a buoy marking a shoal a few miles away. There's also a reflection of it just below in the water. I didn't know what I was going to get but I thought it might be interesting. Quick scan, for some reason the horizon isn't flat here.

[F-15_Flyer]

thankyou for the information another view.

and congrats on the big 1,000!!

the camera i have is a minolta, maxxum 4, with a promaster 28-80 zoom lens. It has the ablility of being fully manual, or fully automatic. I do not own a remote release cable, i do however have a self-timer option, which may or may not help in this case.

Lets simulate a scenario, lets say im on a somewhat busy highway and its around 9pm outside, so its pretty dark. There is a little light still from the sun, but not much. Unfortunately alls i have right now to work with is 400 speed film. To have a picture, say, like this one:

http://www.mit.jyu.fi/tt/photo/seasi...ures/kl16.jpeg (not my picture, picture by Kuala Lumpur)

what do i need to do? (i.e. f stop, iso, etc etc)

p.s.-nice photo. ;)

[another view]

Thanks and thanks. I'm not familiar with that camera though (paging Clemmie!). Use the self timer, in this case it will work the same as a cable (remote) release. Put the camera on manual, including focus.

If it has a spot meter, I'd probably use the it (in this shot) to measure the pavement where it's lit by the street lights. The brighter areas I'd probably set at about 2/3 or one stop over that reading. I'd also bracket a little bit, maybe 2/3 stop in each direction. If there was any light left in the sky, I'd usually use that as my basis for exposure, as I did in the example above (probably one stop over the meter reading).

The longer the shutter speed, the more (and longer) light trails you'll get. You will still need a pretty wide aperture, maybe start with 8-15 sec at 5.6 as a rough guess. Try the center weighted meter in the camera, it should be pretty accurate. However you do it, take notes so you know what works. Slide film is usually a better choice than neg film with this type of shooting, that way you know what you shot, rather than having the lab make adjustments to your prints.

[F-15_Flyer]

so when you say 8-15 seconds, should i use the B option and time it with a stopwatch or is there a mode where you can set it to a wanted time automatically.

what is a spot meter? never heard of it, maybe i have but i dont realize what your talking about.

and thanks again for the information, im going to use it tommorow night. see what happens.

[another view]

Use the B option unless your camera has shutter speeds that long. You can use a stop watch, but the second hand on your watch is accurate enough, one less thing to carry.

There are three types of in-camera meters:

Matrix (evaluative), center weighted and spot. Some cameras have one, some have all three. Matrix basically takes a lot of readings and throws out any that are really high (like a specular reflection, the sun or a bare light bulb).

Center weighted will vary from camera to camera, but there's usually a circle in the viewfinder that covers most of it's height. In that circle (in the center - like the name suggests), 60-75% of the meter reading is made. It takes into account a little bit from the top, bottom and sides but doesn't take into account any bright readings. Try pointing the camera at a light bulb, the reading will change a lot. I don't know of any camera with an in-camera meter that doesn't have this type, and it should work pretty well for the shot you posted or one like it.

Spot meters only measure one "spot", sometimes only one degree which is probably about as big as the AF point on the viewfinder. They only measure in that one spot, so usually you'd take several readings and make your own determination on what the exposure would be. After a while, you can be more accurate with this than any evaluative meter but it does take time. I usually only use it in tricky lighting situations where I'm not sure what the camera will do. Spot meters aren't very commonly built into cameras, but they are available separately too (but can get expensive too). If you really get interested in this, you might want to look at a used Pentax digital spot meter, that's probably the best deal.

[Clemmie]

Here I am! Been having to concentrate on making a living the past few days.

Maxxum 4, eh? Nice choice - very similar to the HTsi Plus (discontinued) that I use as backup to my Maxxum 7. I wish the cameras had been this nice when I was starting out.

OK - on Shutter Speed, you can manually select all the way up to 30 seconds. Do that in 'S' mode (what we used to call Shutter Priority mode - where the camera selects the aperture), or in 'M' mode (Full Manual, where you'll select both shutter speed and aperture).
For longer exposure times, you can do up to 5 HOURS (according to Minolta). I'll have to refer you to the manual for how to do it, though, as I haven't tried it.

If you don't have the manual for the camera, you can find it (in three parts) here:
http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/...Detail=Manuals
(these are PDF files, which you can save on your computer for ready reference).

The Metering Modes are 14-segment Honeycomb (Minolta's version of Matrix), or Spot. The Honeycomb is the general default - and Minolta's system does quite well in low-light situations. Spot is manually selectable (refer to the manual). The camera also does 'center weighted' when using the Flash (uses the central cells of the honeycomb).

The Remote Cord is a very nice accessory to have, once you can get it. The RC-1000 comes in S (16 inch) and L (16 feet) versions. I definitely recommend the L version, as the added reach gives a lot more possibilities. Cost is around $35 either way - and it's very rare to find a used one any cheaper. In the meantime, though, you can certainly use the built-in timer - a good lesson in 'makin do with what you've got'.

Twilight shooting makes for some interesting results. I recall once setting up along I-10 in Texas, as it was getting just good and dark. Arranged a wide shot, taking in a nearby mountain I could barely see, and about a mile of the Interstate. 30-second exposure on 400 film. It came out with the mountain and the highway visible, as if at mid-day - with long streaks of white and red from the headlights and taillights of passing vehicles - but not a single vehicle visible! Pretty strange effect.

As you're just starting, you'll want to keep careful notes of your exposures, to learn what works for desired effect. And since Minolta's metering is pretty good with low light situations, you'll want to take an initial reading in 'P' mode as a reference point. See how dark the camera thinks it is, and work from there.

[GB1]

Experiment, bracket, watch for color shift, and expect reciprosity failure to where you have add 1 or more f-stops.

Always use a tripod if possible. Laying the camera on a ledge works in a pinch, but may lead to tilting. In a windy situation, light tripods can disappoint. Try to find a spot that blocks the wind. Or, you can do like I do and push down on the tripod from just below the head for the length of the exp - seems to work.

Kodachrome gets a little green in long exposures, and Velvia does also. There's filters to compensate to get it back to pretty close to normal, Cokin's light violet P046 being what I use. Note that each film may have a different color shift and it gets worse as exp increases. Check online for specifics for each film.

There's a number of filters that can create some real neat special effects - stars, halos, etc. Multiple exposures also work nicely with black scenes.

Watch the power drain on your batteries! I use an old Nikon FE with mechanical B to do my night work, but seems like mechnical anything is fading away. Try rechargables to save the cost.

GB