my first attempt at moving car lights

[kayicolyn]

please tell me what i am doing wrong or right, i am new to photography and the night time light trails have got my attention so i thought i would try it out, but not sure if i am doing anything right at all.



I like this one, except the light flash to the right hand lane.

January 7, 2012 at 6.08pm GMT
Camera Panasonic DMC-G3
Exposure 2.5
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 14 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias -0.33 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire



and this one seems to have bounce on the lights.

Camera Panasonic DMC-G3
Exposure 8
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 14 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias -0.33 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[digirebelva]

They dont look bad, you have a bit of lens flare in the first one, if you have a UV filter on, take it off, they have been known to cause flares (I learned the hard way.. )
And play around with lengthing & shortening the exposure for different looks. You may find you like a certain look better.

[Krusty79]

I think your light trails are fine. The only suggestion I have is to look to take some shots where you have more interesting surroundings and hopefully a more interesting sky.

[Barry Jackson]

I like the first one best.

I might even like a vertical cropped out of the bottom with just the yellow lights. It would have been a good entry for the assignment yellow.

All you need to do is take a lot more pictures under different conditions in different places.

How come everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road?

Just joking.

[Izak Moolman]

You mentioned bounce in the second photo. I can see that. My guess would be that you were on a bridge when you took the shot. Not a good place to place a tripod, as even a vehicle going underneath a bridge can create movement on the bridge.

[kayicolyn]

Thanks guys,
I dont feel too bad about my shots now with those comments. I dont have a UV filter on as all I have for now is my Panasonic DMC-G3 and GVario 14-42 lens (funds are quite low for now). You mention lengthening and shortening exposure, with risk of sounding stupid ! how do I do this ?
I didnt have a tripod I rested my camera on the bridge side, and it was very windy, so I supose thats why I got the bounce. so with your tips I will now practice more.
Oh one more thing, how do i put my flickr link under my signiture ?

[Barry Jackson]

Here is a link to an explanation of shutter speed and lengthening and shortening of exposure.

Shutter speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Time to get out that camera manual.