Night Time Photography

[dales]

I would like to try my hand @ taking pics. @ night. I am confussed about lens settings, etc. I know that you need a tripod and remote control but what settings do I use on my PENTAX K10D? Do I use bulb, Is the remote control used to open the shutter & close it? Is exposure time controlled by guess as far as how long the lens is held open?

As you can see, I really know nothing about this and would appreciate your help. Thank you.

Dale

[Joe M]

Hello Dale.

I also have a K10D but I really haven't tackled night shooting yet. I suggest getting the Magic Lantern Guide for the K10D and visiting the Pentax Forums (http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/). I would guarantee the subject has already been written about on the forums. If not, those guys would be glad to help you.

[bayhli]

Hi Dale,

I just posted a a couple of very basic night images with the settings I used, in this same section of the forum:

http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=350491#post350491

Take a look at this thread and what we are reading; it's an excelent book. There are various techniques depending on the light available, what you are shooting etc, so you have some reading to do. :) Search the net specific to what you want to shoot, there is tons of reference to get you started.

Hope this helps a bit...

[lexcell]

Pat,
I forgot to comment on your night images posted. They are very well done. Your hard work is paying off.

Night shots...Depending on the subject, set your camera on a tripod a take a picture. then looking at the rear lcd, highlight warnings or histogram decide what is the most important part of the image and make corrections accordingly. If you are shooting lights at night, they are your subject and you don't care if the rest of the image goes dark...in fact that is what you want to make the lights pop.

If you are photographing a city scape for example and there are lights on buildings plus moving cars, a slower shutter speed will give you a cool effect of the stationary lights being pinpoints and the moving cars will be lines of blurred light.

Try shooting at f22 when shooting lights...you get the starburst effect. If you are on a tripod, you don;t need to worry about the shutter speed with stationary objects.

If you really want to have fun, try shooting fireworks or lightning (from a safe distance) at night. Using a tripod, set your camera to manual, bulb setting, using a remote release or cable release hold the shutter open until the lightning strikes. Or, click the shutter when you see the fireworks streak through the air. Try leaving the shutter open long enough to get more than one fireworks burst. I shoot both subjects in bulb, at around f8 at 100 or 200 ISO (depending on the camera) and experiment with the length of time I leave the shutter open. If there are city lights in the frame you need to be careful of leaving the shutter open as they can blow out from too long an exposure.
Ya gotta love digital and it's instant feedback when experimenting.