auto light trails at night

[photobyfelix]

I wanted to study motion by photographing the light trails of cars at night. So, I started at dust with 0.5 seconds exposure time. The tail light streaks were too short and the traffic was moving rather slow because it was nearing rush hour. I increased the time until I was up to 5.0 seconds and geting decent light trails almost blending into one another so they looked like one trail. But I noticed the lighted signs on the buildings in the foreground were now blown out and not show enough detail.

So, was I a victum of slow moving traffic that forced me to go to too long an exposure time in order to get long light trails, or is there somethings else that I missed? I know I should have taken a couple of test shots to see what settings would have given me detailed signs, but I noticed the blown out signs after the fact. Any feedback from others who have studied this?

Also, how do I submit a larger image. This seems to be too small. but I was limited by theJPEG file size of 19.5kb
Thanks

[Speezer9999]

Sometimes it's the right location just the wrong time. This is where scouting your location comes in. Look for times when the traffic levels are less and speeds are increased.

For larger pictures, I use Flickr. Select the picture you want. Above it you will see a link labeled "all sizes"

Select the size you want. Medium usually works best. Once you have done this you will find a box below your picture with an HTML code. Copy this code. Then in your message paste the code.

You can still add comments just make sure to keep the code seperated from your comments.

Hope this helps

[Nicole]

photobyfelix- What sort of settings were you using aside from the shutter speed? Speezer9999's comments are definitely the starting point, you need less traffic with increased speed. But if you're using a longer shutter time, then make sure that your aperture isn't open too wide or you'll get the blown out areas. One other thing to look into is a neutral density filter. See a discussion of this in the Filters thread.

[hpebley3]

Another trick is to use a tripod with multiple shorter shots; short enough you don't blow out the non-moving details, long enough to get some blur in the moving lights. Then in post processing merge the light trails from the multiple shots into one, leaving the rest of the scene alone.

I suppose some might call this cheating... ;-)

[photobyfelix]

Thanks for the feedback.

I was in manual mode using 4.0 seconds at f/18. I was attempting to get a longer witness of the taillights and to get some depth of field clarity. The lens is an 18-200mm Nikkor on a D200 mounted on a tripod.

I would hope there is a way to accomplish this shot with one image.
I wasn't able to scout the location ahead of time as I was visiting another city (Hong Kong) and had a spare hour. But after some feedback from this group, I will try this near my home.

Thanks all

[trey45]

I just started playing with light trails. Here are a few of my first tries.
Used ISO 200 F/8 and shutter speed 20.

[jiminyClickit]

trey45, Welcome

It's good you found an old thread and responded to it. Here is a link to some helpful hints about how to get the most out of your Critique section:

The 'Rules' for this Critique Forum

If you post your one photo on a separate thread, it gives you individual attention, and lets photobyfelix have his, too. One photo, separate thread, we look forward to seeing your work.