A Fresh Start - Month #1: Long Exposure

[MasterPpv]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums, and I couldn't help but notice that this one hadn't gotten a new theme for quite a while. I looked through the previous themes, and I had an idea for one that might work out quite nicely. I also figured that since the activity of this part of the forum isn't as great as some of the photo critique forums, we might need to lengthen the contest a bit. If this 'revival', so to speak, is successful enough, then I might shorten the time as we get more and more people, but until then, I think a month should be fine.

So this month, how about we try shooting with long exposure times?

For those that don't know, what that means is using a slow shutter speed to allow in more light. What you consider a 'long exposure', then, is relative. However, for our purposes, I'll consider anything shot at a speed slower than 1/30 of a second. Tripods generally help with this type of photography, but there are still ways to be creative with it otherwise. If you own a point-and-shoot and can't manually set your shutter speed, try turning up the exposure compensation in 'P' or 'Program' Mode and keeping the flash off. The camera will probably automatically use a slower shutter speed.

If you can, please also post what shutter speed you used.

I'll start off with an example of a 25 second exposure at 200mm of my computer's power switch light. As I said before, you can still be creative without a tripod! Experiment and try out different things! ;)

Light graffiti is another great way to make use of long exposures!
Here are some examples of what can be done with it!
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZf2W3S7gV0
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ep_EkspmAI

And here's how to do it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioiMlDhC_IU
NOTE: You DO NOT have to used the exact settings specified in the above video. Experiment, experiment, experiment!)

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! :D

[db]

I am new to SLR photography and to this forum. I don't know what month = #1 so I will submit a cool photo just to have people see it. I just got my first slr camera, a Nikon D90 and the first night I was sitting at my son's house and we had a small campfire. Knowing nothing about the camera, I focused on the fire and snapped the shutter. I then moved the camera before I realized it was still processing the picture. So this is my first "Long Exposure" photo which was purely accidental.
Thats why I signed up for this course, so I can learn to become a great photographer one day...... ty for bearing with me and I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place...

[MasterPpv]

I am new to SLR photography and to this forum. I don't know what month = #1 so I will submit a cool photo just to have people see it. I just got my first slr camera, a Nikon D90 and the first night I was sitting at my son's house and we had a small campfire. Knowing nothing about the camera, I focused on the fire and snapped the shutter. I then moved the camera before I realized it was still processing the picture. So this is my first "Long Exposure" photo which was purely accidental.
Thats why I signed up for this course, so I can learn to become a great photographer one day...... ty for bearing with me and I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place...

I'm planning to do this once a month, and this is my first month. Does that clear up your question? :)

Hey, sometimes accidents can make great pictures, too! And you posted it in the ight place, don't worry. ;)

If you really try and work hard you'll be taking better pictures in no time! :D

[MasterPpv]

Hey guys, I have to double post like this, but it's been quite a while now and there have only been two entries so far... Was the theme not that good? How could I improve it for the next time around? If you haven't seen / tried this yet, please do; long exposures can make for interesting shots that you probably wouldn't normally take. Hope to see some more entries popping up in the coming weeks! :)

[mingkywingky]

Ok, these are my experiments :)

Tenny
Canon Rebel T1i

[MasterPpv]

Ok, these are my experiments :)

Tenny
Canon Rebel T1i

Hey, those are quite nice! Great job with the experimenting! :) Hope you enjoyed it! :D

[Kaye]

Tenny, I just love nos. 1 & 3. So well done.

[mingkywingky]

Hey, those are quite nice! Great job with the experimenting! :) Hope you enjoyed it! :D

Thanks masterPpv, yes I enjoyed it, it's kind of fun, I'm always excited to see what comes up. I hope there will be more entries here :)

Tenny

[mingkywingky]

Tenny, I just love nos. 1 & 3. So well done.

Thank you Kaye, I appreciated.

Tenny

[MasterPpv]

Thanks masterPpv, yes I enjoyed it, it's kind of fun, I'm always excited to see what comes up. I hope there will be more entries here :)

Tenny

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm hoping to get some lights soon and try out light graffiti myself! I'd love to do it! I hope there will be more entries, too; I love seeing what everyone here comes up with. If it contains anything even close to the amount of creativity and talent I've seen around here, this is going to be amazing! :)

[craigpauli]

Having just read these today, most of my photography is around the 30sec to 2 min mark as I mainly concentrate on night photography.
The first was when camera wouldn't take a photo was trying to get and eventually it decided to work when had it in my hands so was a case of what to do.
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The 2nd is a park where I was doing some night shots of the water
7254

[MasterPpv]

Nice! The first one's cool... in a spontaneous kind of way :p

The second one, though, is amazing. Excellent job on this! :D

[craigpauli]

Thanks fixed up the thumbs now so can actually see the images larger ..

[britainy]

i was playing around with Light Painting the other night with a slow shutter speed..

I love that second photo

[Fusion07]

Yoga Class..

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/4268314552_b2cbf16749_o.jpg

[MasterPpv]

Very nice! Did you forget to set you white balance to even out the lighting or did you want to keep it like this?

[Fusion07]

Very nice! Did you forget to set you white balance to even out the lighting or did you want to keep it like this?

Wanted to keep it warm !! :):)

[MasterPpv]

I see :D It's a nice shot! Might I find it in some magazine or another some time in the future? ;)

[Fusion07]

I see :D It's a nice shot! Might I find it in some magazine or another some time in the future? ;)

Cheers
Here's one with the color adjusted.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5024428023_296ca2e594_b.jpg

[MasterPpv]

I personally like the adjusted one better, but of course that's just preference ;) Nice work! :D

[craigpauli]

Mix between flash and long exposure.
7559

[MasterPpv]

Hmm... Try cropping out the bit on the left... Nothing much can be done about the overexposure from the flash though. Interesting light streaks :)

[johnbiondo]

Not a freshly taken picture, but it is the best long exposure I have ever taken. I am new to the forum, so if I was not supposed to post it due to it's age, please forgive me.:D

Subject: Flame and Horse Head Nebula in the constellation Orion.

Equipment: Nikon D90, William Optics 5" APO f/4.9 Refractor, Orion Atlas computerized mount.

Specs: Four, 90 second exposures. layered, stacked and color corrected in PS CS2 (Trimmed to 800x600 to post on the forum)

http://myonlineart.com/photos/horsehead.jpg

[Kaye]

What an absolutely brilliant shot John! Thanks for posting this, and age of shot does not matter.

[coffee]

That is a stunning image John.

[MasterPpv]

Gorgeous... Does your camera actually have a setting for 90 seconds or did you put on Bulb and actually hold it 90 seconds? Close to flawless stitching as well... Really great work :)

[SJGordon]

Unreal. That is fantastic.

[johnbiondo]

Thank you everyone. I have spent countless hours at the telescope in the past few years taking shots like this. Recently I sold that scope, so it'll be a little while before I am able to get some more...

As for the exposure, when using bulb and a wireless remote, you can hit the remote to open the shutter and time it, then hit the remote again to close the shutter. (All modern Nikon's work this way with the wireless remote)

There actually is no stitching needed. The pictures are exposed and then opened in PS. You create new layers of each exposure and then stack them on top of each other. Then you align each one so the edges all match. Each layer is color corrected separately. Sometimes if one or two of the shots are a little "off" as in sharpness, etc. I'll adjust those layers separately as well. Then you flatten all the layers into one and Viola' there you have it.

A raw photo of the Orion Nebula is shown below so you get an idea of how small space objects are in exposure. This is why no stitching is needed. (I re-sized it to show on the forum, but you get the idea) This particular photo was selected by National Geographic for inclusion on their image purchasing website in 2009. So, I didn't get publishing rights.. but it is for sale and if ever bought by someone, I get some $ for it.. LOL

Subject: Orion Nebula in the constellation Orion.

Equipment: Nikon D90, William Optics 5" APO f/4.9 Refractor, Orion Atlas computerized mount.

Specs: Raw exposure.

http://myonlineart.com/photos/orion.jpg

[DoctorJazz]

Fantastic work John! Thanks for sharing it and your info too.

[eyerkish]

John,

That shot is awesome!! Thanks for sharing it as well as the info you provided on how you were able to take that shot.

[MasterPpv]

Thank you everyone. I have spent countless hours at the telescope in the past few years taking shots like this. Recently I sold that scope, so it'll be a little while before I am able to get some more...

As for the exposure, when using bulb and a wireless remote, you can hit the remote to open the shutter and time it, then hit the remote again to close the shutter. (All modern Nikon's work this way with the wireless remote)

There actually is no stitching needed. The pictures are exposed and then opened in PS. You create new layers of each exposure and then stack them on top of each other. Then you align each one so the edges all match. Each layer is color corrected separately. Sometimes if one or two of the shots are a little "off" as in sharpness, etc. I'll adjust those layers separately as well. Then you flatten all the layers into one and Viola' there you have it.

A raw photo of the Orion Nebula is shown below so you get an idea of how small space objects are in exposure. This is why no stitching is needed. (I re-sized it to show on the forum, but you get the idea) This particular photo was selected by National Geographic for inclusion on their image purchasing website in 2009. So, I didn't get publishing rights.. but it is for sale and if ever bought by someone, I get some $ for it.. LOL

Excellent insight! What mode do you keep the layers in?

And congratulations on being selected by National Geographic! That's an amazing honor! :D Good luck; I hope someone decides to buy that piece! ;)

[johnbiondo]

Thank you all! And yes, being selected by NatGeo is an honor to say the least... I also have one published shot with NASA. (A solar eclipse) I'll have to dig that one out... that one was also selected in an Astronomy book used in colleges. (I have been VERY fortunate)

MasterPpV - I didn't do anything fancy with the layers. I just opened each shot (# 1 through #4) I left #1 as the background layer. Then I copied each shot #3 through #4 and made each one a new layer within #1. Giving me 4 layers within shot #1. Each was RGB. Then I selected one layer at a time as visible and adjusted each one until I was happy with them all. Occasionally I will adjust the transparency in the layers if something in the noise looks weird (You can see that weirdness in the raw Orion shot as little whirls near the brighter areas)

Once I was finished, I flattened the layers into a single layer.

I have some old videos somewhere of this in action. If I can re-locate them I will upload to YouTube and put a link on the forum so all can check it out. (I have a video capture program that allows me to record whatever I do on the screen and turn it into an MGP movie. Real handy for lessons, etc. On second thought... I will re-record it with my handycam so I don't have to look around.

[mickncrispy]

Absolutely amazing image John, I may have just dislocated my jaw when it hit the desk. I can see why National Geographic wanted that picture. I would love to see the solar eclipse

[johnbiondo]

Thanks Lisa. I am not liable for medical reimbursements. :D

Here is the Solar eclipse.

The story: Most astronomers use a solar filter when taking pictures of an eclipse due to the inherent dangers of damaging their eyes because of the intense brightness of the sun and it's effect on your eyes. This is why there is a warning label on every telescope about NOT directly pointing a telescope to the sun without a proper filter. The filters however block out almost everything and you end up with a sun picture and a chunk of the sun missing where the moon is. but, during this particular eclipse, it was raining out and the cloud cover was intense. So, I was able to use a camera and 600mm telephoto lens to capture this once-in-a-lifetime shot. You can even see the curvature of the moon in the picture making it one of the most unique solar eclipse photos ever taken. (According to others who have seen it)

http://myonlineart.com/solareclipse.jpg

[Kaye]

Hi John,
Congratulations, and thank you so much for posting such an amazing shot for us to view (as well as all your other amazing images).
You must have felt so proud of all your work and efforts when this one was one published by NASA.

This has obviously been a real love of yours for some time. I have always had a great interest in astronomy, but could never imagine ever being able to acquire the knowledge, equipment and time to be able to achieve what you have achieved.

Really well done, and I look forward to more of your work.

[johnbiondo]

Thank you Kaye. I was astonished when NASA selected it. When I took the Eclipse photo, I really didn't realize its significance until one of my other astronomy buddies mentioned just how unique it was. She was the one who notified NASA. It wasn't even one day and I had an email from them asking me to release it for them.

I am looking at getting a new computerized mount in the very near future, so I can continue doing these types of images. I plan on using large lenses however instead of a telescope as lenses are much faster. Such as my Tamron 200mm f/2.8 lens. Typically, telescopes only get as fast as f/5.0, so the significance of exposure time goes down drastically allowing to capture more in less time making images much more crisp. (Same principle for normal photography)

Here is the link I promised from YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpXhtWwtUVI

[Fusion07]

Excellent work, I normally have difficulty just photographing the moon..lol

[johnbiondo]

Thank you Ian. The moon is difficult without a telescope. I have difficulties with it using a camera lens too :rolleyes:

[MasterPpv]

Absolutely stunning works... I can't wait to see how far you go with your new lens... I'm sure you will soon have many more of your images being published! :D

[johnbiondo]

Absolutely stunning works... I can't wait to see how far you go with your new lens... I'm sure you will soon have many more of your images being published! :D

Thanks! Although I am competing with other Astro-imagers and of course, the Hubble...

I ordered a new mount today. I should have it within a week. So those images should not be too far off. (Pun intended) :rolleyes:

[MasterPpv]

Haha, I'm sure you'll do just fine! Can't wait to see some shots with the new lens! :)