more photosThe sun still colors the night sky for at least an hour after it goes down. Even if your eyes can't see the color, the camera can still pick it up. I wanted to get a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge while using a long exposure to turn the water into fog. I used a graduated neutral density filter to cut down any extraneous light in the sky and let the camera go for a couple minutes. The result was better than I hoped for because of the leftover light in the night sky.
Photos by Pete Erickson
Well, shoot! Installment 5: The Dark
Picture-taking advice from The Bulletin's professional photographers
By Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
Last modified: November 04. 2009 10:51AM PSTPost your own photos and check out the gallery so far at www.bendbulletin.com/wellshoot.
Light becomes the most important aspect for making pictures in the dark. The photograph needs enough light for the forms in the picture to take shape. The source could be streetlights, moonlight, firelight, lightning, headlamp, car lights, whatever. The light sources create an endless supply of photographic possibilities. Long exposures with strange light can always surprise you with new ways of seeing. The photographer needs endless patience and should probably do most of this type of photography alone. The photographer also needs a curious mind and the ability to previsualize the scene.
Photo 1: The sun still colors the night sky for at least an hour after it goes down. Even if your eyes can't see the color, the camera can still pick it up. I wanted to get a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge while using a long exposure to turn the water into fog. I used a graduated neutral density filter to cut down any extraneous light in the sky and let the camera go for a couple minutes. The result was better than I hoped for because of the leftover light in the night sky.
Photo 2: I woke up at about 3:30 a.m. in July 1995 near Mono Lake in California to be there long before sunrise. There was no moon and it was almost impossible to make out the forms rising from the water. I took a chance and did a couple of long exposures of the tufas and was happily surprised with how the pre-dawn light made the scene look like something from another world.
Photo 3: Being in Zion National Park, I had to wait until about 2 a.m. before the full moon lit the wall well enough to make an exposure. The slow shutter speed created the star streaks, and the reflection from the walls just barely lit the Virgin River. Patience and practicing the art of visualization are required for night photography.
Photo 4: Earlier this year I made a road trip to Olympic National Park to do photos and camped on Second Beach during a very rare full moon with no wind and a clear sky. The moon, a small fire I had going and a headlamp in the tent lit the beach perfectly.
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