Everyday one of the websites I visit is Flickr, not only to see my own photos (to see if people like them or how they might be using them etc) but to also see other people photos. I would say almost ever 20 minutes, my friends and contacts upload new photos so there is always something new to see. There is also always the Explore: Interestingness section as well.

Recently I have been looking at Pixel Works’ Photostream, particular the evening photos that use a long exposure. It got me thinking about heading out in the middle of the night to try and capture some long exposure shots of the neighbourhood. Last night was a decent night to test drive using the ‘Bulb’ setting on my Canon XSi. It was a somewhat clear sky, not cold and a slight ocean breeze.

Burrard Bridge – f/16, ISO 100, 45 sec @ 55mm

One of the most important items you need to bring with you when you try to do night photography is a decent tripod. Most tripods should do well but you do need a tripod. No one has a steady enough hand to hand-hold a 15 second or longer shot.

Inukshuk – f/16, ISO 100, 120 sec @ 32mm

I previously mentioned using the ‘Bulb’ setting. Digtial SLRs should have this setting, but if you don’t you should probably have at least the ability to do up to a 30 second exposure.

The term “bulb” is a reference to old-style pneumatically actuated shutters; squeezing an air bulb would open the shutter and releasing the bulb would close it. According to the Focal Encyclopedia of Photography – [Wiki]

When you set a digital camera to ‘Bulb’ (which is typically found by decreasing the shutter speed as low as it goes), it will keep the shutter open as long as you hold the shutter button down. You will probably need a cable release which will help lock the button down so you can take as long as an exposure as possible. This will help minimize any camera vibration while mounted on a tripod.  A possible solution if you do not have a cable release (remote cable shutter) would be to set the self-timer, that way you’re hands are not on the camera when the shutter opens.

English Bay – f/16, ISO 100, 120 sec @ 55mm

I stayed out for about 30 minutes playing with various exposure lengths. I started at about 15 seconds going as long as up to 2 minutes. The star-burst effect on the street lights happen depending on two factors: f-stop and aperture construction. They happen when light leaks through the aperture blades on your lens.Remember, set your ISO as low as it can go, which in my case is ISO 100, this will reduce noise of grain on your photos. You will probably want to crank the aperture down (larger number, smaller hole) to get more of the landscape in focus (greater depth of field).  This will also force you to take a longer exposure as there will be less light for the sensor to read.

I asked if Pixel Works used a star-burst filter for his lens to get his particular star-burst effect but he just used an f-stop of about 16. Due to the construction of my lens (EF-S 18-55mm IS) against the one he used for his Nikon D200 (17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8) his star-burst effect has more beams radiating out from the street lamps. I think it makes for a cooler look.

What I have been wanting to do for a while now is head out to Stanley Park (the Coal Harbour side) to sit there and photos while the sun goes down, using the Vancouver skyline as my background.  With Summer approaching this would be a later in the evening thing as the sun seems to set around 8:30PM now.  I have seen some pretty impressive evening/night shots of Vancouver and want to have my try at it too.