Went to a factory with a scrap skateboard park inside, tested out a new shutter I got allowing me to take long bulb exposures. Used a Sigma 8-16mm on my Canon T5.


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IMG_1325Edited by enirus, on Flickr


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...they seem a bit under-exposed, the darks are super dark. They are sharp, though, so that's always a plus! (...my long exposures are sometimes under exposed, too... :/ )

Maybe rather than doing a long exposure, have you tried bracketing? This will pick up and merge all of the light at various exposures. I usually don't have time for the setup it takes to do it but when I have I've been quite happy with the results.

^In a situation like this you can't choose one or another, you'd have to bracket long exposures. Bracketing long exposures would help you add more light without blowing out highlights though. If you've never bracketed your shots before, let's use the last shot as an example.

Basically, that shot is exposed nicely for the highlights (the sky). After you took that shot you'd take another exposed for longer to try and get a good exposure for the midtones (the stuff that the light is slightly illuminating currently in your shot). Then you'd do an even longer exposure to expose for the shadows. Yes, if you leave the shutter open long enough, those sections will eventually light up.

It's a very time consuming task, but you can get some pretty great results when you merge them together in post processsing. I think both lightroom and photoshop have ways to automatically merge them. You could always do it manually too if you wanted.

Another thing to keep in mind is color temperature. Lots of times things light street lights are warmer. These look a bit warm to me.

I would be carefully about getting too good of an exposure/color correction though. Honestly, despite the fact that these are underexposed, I like them. They're exposed the right amount to give a realistic feel of walking around at night. I really like how you captured the shadows in the first. Nice work.

Want a perfectly exposed long exposure every time?

1. Make sure your intervalometer is plugged in and ready to go
2. Switch your camera to Aperture Priority Mode.
3. Set your f-stop between f/8 and f/11, and set your ISO as high as necessary for a proper exposure on your light meter (AKA zero on your light meter). I set mine at about 10,000 because it’s a nice even number to work with.
4. Point your flashlight at your subject and focus accordingly
5. Turn your flashlight off and switch your lens to manual focus
6. Make a note of the suggested exposure time either in your viewfinder or the top-panel LCD display when you half-press your shutter.
7. Fire a test shot
8. If your test shot looks good, now we have some calculations to do. Let’s say my test shot required a shutter speed of 10 seconds at ISO12800 for a correct exposure. Now we’re going to divide the ISO while doubling the shutter speed to get down to an image that won’t be plagued with ISO noise. In this scenario, let's say our target is ISO200. After calculations, you end up with 620 seconds (11 mins).
9. Switch your camera to Bulb Mode, enter 11 minutes into your intervalometer, set your ISO to 200.
10. Trigger your shutter with your intervalometer


There are also apps for Android and iPhone that will do step 8 for you. Just search for "exposure calculator."

Posted by siper Want a perfectly exposed long exposure every time? 1. Make sure your intervalometer is plugged in and ready to go 2. Switch your camera to Aperture Priority Mode. 3. Set your f-stop between f/8 and f/11, and set your ISO as high as necessary for a proper exposure on your light meter (AKA zero on your light meter). I set mine at about 10,000 because it’s a nice even number to work with. 4. Point your flashlight at your subject and focus accordingly 5. Turn your flashlight off and switch your lens to manual focus 6. Make a note of the suggested exposure time either in your viewfinder or the top-panel LCD display when you half-press your shutter. 7. Fire a test shot 8. If your test shot looks good, now we have some calculations to do. Let’s say my test shot required a shutter speed of 10 seconds at ISO12800 for a correct exposure. Now we’re going to divide the ISO while doubling the shutter speed to get down to an image that won’t be plagued with ISO noise. In this scenario, let's say our target is ISO200. After calculations, you end up with 620 seconds (11 mins). 9. Switch your camera to Bulb Mode, enter 11 minutes into your intervalometer, set your ISO to 200. 10. Trigger your shutter with your intervalometer There are also apps for Android and iPhone that will do step 8 for you. Just search for "exposure calculator."

I like the way you explain this! I am worried about doing long shutters that are any longer than 30 sec. I feel like my sensor will get damaged. I shoot with nikon d3300.

Posted by Fbixz I like the way you explain this! I am worried about doing long shutters that are any longer than 30 sec. I feel like my sensor will get damaged. I shoot with nikon d3300.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you ONLY do long exposures for a few years, you may get some burnout.

Posted by Fbixz I like the way you explain this! I am worried about doing long shutters that are any longer than 30 sec. I feel like my sensor will get damaged. I shoot with nikon d3300.

Not a concern unless you're shooting a high intensity point light source such as the sun (not sunset/rise), laser, arc light, etc. High intensity light sources can damage internal lense/cam components and your eyes ie viewfinder, but night shooting with no high intensity light source aimed at the cam will not.