BetterPhoto Member |
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how to take shots at night of lights or moving obj
i recently took pictures of niagra falls at night most came out blurry or some lights looked like a zig-zag effect. what did I do wrong? and what if I am somewhere that I cannot use my tripod?
July 09, 2004
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John A. Lind |
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Jo-Anne,
I saw your question and rememberd that Niagra Falls was specifically mentioned in an "existing light" photography reference I have. Your description is classic of camera shake (blurriness and the "zigzag" lights in particular).Even with ISO 1600 color or ISO 3200 Black&White, the fastest films available, and the falls illuminated with white lights (one f-stop brighter than the light colored lights; 2 f-stops brighter than the dark colored lights), you would still need a tripod or some other very stable support. Exposure times for ISO 1600 color film (Fuji makes a film this fast) with white lights on the falls were:
1 sec. @ f/5.6
1/2 sec. @ f/4
1/4 sec. @ f/2.8
1/8 sec. @ f/2
1/15 sec. @ f/1.4 Even a round railing isn't stable enough for exposures this long . . . other than perhaps very great care for the last one at 1/15th second, but that requires a very, very fast lens (typically a standard 50mm prime). If you can find something to rest the camera on that's a flat surface and push the shutter release very, very slowly . . . and not moving your finger once the shutter fires until you hear it close. I've used a small "bean-bag" in the past . . . but it doesn't work well on round railings . . . needs something flat . . . and the camera/lens is nestled into the bean-bag allowing it to form to the camera/lens some. I'm afraid this isn't very good news and I don't believe you did anything wrong. There simply isn't enough light, even with the very highest speed films on the market. -- John Lind
July 10, 2004
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