The Glow of Night [Archive] - Digital Photography School

RainPacket

02-03-2007, 09:41 AM

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/378140075_cf1146c1c7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/packet/378140075/)

I took this tonight, close to midnight, as an experiment. I'm visiting friends in Vancouver, BC, Canada this weekend, and I wanted to do a bit of night photography, given how clear it is. I took a lot of different shots... water at night, lamplight on water, some variants on my rapidly-becoming-trademark lamppost and lantern shots. Some of them were quite nice, but I wanted to try something different than my usual. And since I'm somewhere different than my usual, it seemed like a good night to experiment.

I used my 'nifty fifty,' which is pretty much my customary lens for night shots. However, rather than the wide aperture (f/2.2, give or take two f-stops) that I usually use at night, I used f/6.3 for this shot. I shot it at ISO 100, and exposed for 30 seconds. The low ISO gave me a very smooth image, which is a lot of what I was aiming for.

In truth, the long exposure made the scene far, far brighter in the image than it was in reality! To my friend and I standing there, the lights were pretty enough, but the details of the buildings were mostly obscured to the naked eye, and the sky looked completely black. I expected to get more detail in the shot than we could see ourselves, but the city-light glow casting the sky in that color was an unexpected bonus. In all, I'm quite happy with the results!

(Though, admittedly, being in out of the cold and under the blankets of the guest bed, while I post this before keeling over, may bias my opinion slightly.)

steevdavis62

02-03-2007, 09:57 AM

Mate... very very nice photo...reminds me of a segment we used to have on a variety show here called "rove live"... where he would put a roving camera out into the city and focus it on a densley populated apartment building or area of housing. and he would say, if you are watching this show right now, flash your lights.. and you would slowly see more and more lights start flashing...

Anyhow, sorry... love your photo, really clear. Good capture. Goes to show its good to shoot outside ur comfort zone sometimes

Nicole

02-03-2007, 10:07 AM

Mate... very very nice photo...reminds me of a segment we used to have on a variety show here called "rove live"... where he would put a roving camera out into the city and focus it on a densley populated apartment building or area of housing. and he would say, if you are watching this show right now, flash your lights.. and you would slowly see more and more lights start flashing...

Great show that :) I was always amazed how many lights would be flashing.

RainPacket, great shot. Really nice and clear, good colours, great lighting. Really good shot.

steevdavis62

02-03-2007, 10:12 AM

LoL, i know... usually at least half the place would be flashing.... rememeber the time they got the Prime Ministers house lights flashing? Even though he refuses to ever go on the show, and claims he doesnt watch it, ever!.... and then he did a press release after that show, claiming it was his staff watching it. Not him!!

sorry, not meaning to like, get distracted from your photo... i do love it, great job

jiminyClickit

02-03-2007, 11:15 AM

RainPacket,

In another forum a post showed reflections on water that nearly out-shone their sources, blown. As I recall, 8-10 second exposure, 17-85 mm, -1/3 exposure value. Your reflections are as they should be, at 30 seconds. What's the critical factor (don't know their ISO)?

And if I can find the Roget I'll post a different word for 'fantastic' to describe this photo (could you see the boats in the dark?).

jiminyClickit

02-03-2007, 11:35 AM

RainPacket,

Your camera: was it set in cement and does it have a 10 megapixel sensor?!
The only reason I couldn't read the name on the boat - it's in chinese characters! And the apartment on extreme left near top has a huge-screen TV, not sure what's on. Chriminy . . .

It does lean to the left about 2 degrees. Was the cement wet?

RandomConnections

02-03-2007, 01:18 PM

I agree with Jiminy's assessment. The sharpness is amazing. I almost feel like a voyeur looking at some of those lighted windows in the buildings.

RainPacket

02-03-2007, 05:51 PM

I used a tripod -- I love my Manfrotto -- perched right on the walkway alongside the water. The nifty fifty is great for sharp, long-exposure shots. I'd think the critical factor here was not merely the ISO, but the smaller aperture that I used.

And no, I couldn't see the boats in person; I could see the masts outlined against the lights, but it was far too dark to see the boats. :)

(As for the apartments, I took a 300mm shot later, and was startled to realize you can see the pictures on the walls through windows, in that one.)

Glad folks like it!

RainPacket

02-03-2007, 07:03 PM

Took the photo into a tool to give it a quick straighten; this should fix the 'listing to left' problem. :)

Nicole

02-03-2007, 07:15 PM

LoL, i know... usually at least half the place would be flashing.... rememeber the time they got the Prime Ministers house lights flashing? Even though he refuses to ever go on the show, and claims he doesnt watch it, ever!.... and then he did a press release after that show, claiming it was his staff watching it. Not him!!

I do remember watching that one! That was too funny. :) He's supposed to be back on air sometime this year, isn't he?

Sorry for derailing the thread RainPacket. Still really like your shot :D

deathbyevilspoon

02-15-2007, 04:40 AM

Very nice shot...I raelly like night shots...havn't had very many chances to practice with them

stuart

02-15-2007, 06:03 AM

Fractal

02-21-2007, 03:44 PM

You must have generated some noise on that 30 second exposure. How did you eliminate it?

RainPacket

02-21-2007, 05:33 PM

You must have generated some noise on that 30 second exposure. How did you eliminate it?

I didn't, really; digital noise is primarily a property of high-ISO or underexposed shots. Low-ISO, long-exposure shots tend to be very, very low noise; low ISO makes for high detail if you can get the light, and long exposure means that you do get the light. You need to also use a smaller aperture, which not only makes the image crisper but keeps you from overexposing the entire thing.

If you're shooting buildings/landscapes at night, I gather this is the 'traditional' way to do it. I didn't realize that at the time, and just went, 'hey, I bet a low ISO and a longer exposure would produce a really smooth picture,' and tried it. I was only told after the fact, "yeah, low ISO film and a long exposure is how almost all those city-at-night postcards get taken." Live and learn! :)

On my Flickr photostream, you can find a shot I did of the Aurora Bridge near my house (http://www.flickr.com/photos/packet/390918809/), which has similar settings.

Michael Brown

02-21-2007, 07:03 PM

A excellent image you have here, with nice clarity and details.
Makes me want to give this a try. Has been many years since I have even given it a shot!

Keep posting these, ..... love them all!

sabel

02-22-2007, 08:03 PM

Thanks for giving all these information on the shot. It's a great picture and your friends have a great view!

{Angela}

02-22-2007, 10:20 PM

A truly beautiful photo and thanks for sharing all the tips to get it. Love the detail :)

softcell72

02-25-2007, 11:58 PM

Wow, I love this photo, I'm a huge fan of night photography anyway.
the clarity and lack of noise are terrific, the detail is just amazing.
truly beautiful

Tereno

03-21-2007, 02:31 PM

Wow. Just simply wow! Simply amazing really and it gives me a real dreamy feeling but yet it somehow sets my pulses racing.

pyxeldust

11-30-2007, 05:01 AM

you took this with a 50 f/1.8? inspiring! beautiful shot.

Atlas88

11-30-2007, 05:09 PM

What can I say? Great shot! I really like the warmth of the colours and the reflection in the water...

This is a great location for taking pictures of the Vancouver skyline. I was standing close to that very spot back in August in the early afternoon with my Canon A95 thinking "What can I do with this?" <--meaning both the scene and the camera itself. I ended up taking several shots with a portrait orientation and later stitching them together using autostitch to create a panorama. (which i can post if anyone's interested). I just wish the A95 had a bit more reach, it would've been a better shot.

Stanley Park is full of opportunities for night shots! Did you happen to take any others?