How to capture a dramatic night scene including streaks of light from passing cars...

Twilight is a wonderful time to take pictures. The sky becomes an extraordinary shade of blue, and the light is balanced throughout the scene. Even in rainy conditions as shown above, twilight complements cityscapes and landscapes. This can be one of the best times to record taillights from passing cars as red streaks, creating a dramatic photograph. Twilight lasts for a very short time and the blue sky will fade to black, which can offer creative options as well. Want to capture passing cars with streaks of color? Try these tips...

• Use a tripod, cable release or your camera's self timer
• Choose a low ISO, and use a small aperture for good depth of field 
• Timing, wait until just before a car enters the scene to release the shutter
• The longer the shutter is open, the more streaks that can be captured (more cars, longer streaks)

This photo was taken at  ISO 100, f/11 for about 8 seconds. This is just a generalization, as your exposure will vary depending on quickly or slowly cars are moving through your composition. If the shutter speed is too short, the taillight streaks will end abruptly in the photo. Increase the exposure time as needed to record longer, and more streaks. This is a fun technique and the results can add a lot of color and impact to your photograph! Make great pictures! ~ Deb

PS -My nighttime workshops are sold out in St. Augustine for Florida's Birding and Photo Fest, however I'll cover cool nighttime techniques during my Creative seminar.  I hope to see you there!

HDR - Florence, Italy after the rain...

Night is the perfect time for HDR photography. The dynamic range in the scene is often too great for the camera to record in a single exposure what we can see with our eyes.. Detail can be lost in both the highlight and shadow areas, making a balanced exposure tricky! This scene was photographed in Florence after a rain, which made the cobblestone roads shimmer with light. Nik HDR Efex Pro worked beautifully to combine the images to HDR, creating a single image that reflected more of what I saw when I made the picture. With HDR, you are the artist! You can create an image that is illustrative, or photorealistic, or somewhere in between! I am very much looking forward to my Nik HDR Efex Pro webinar this Wednesday at 5pm Eastern Time (2pm Pacific). I hope you will be there! Make great pictures... ~ Deb

Raining? Don't put your camera away just yet...

Rain can create a wonderful opportunity for dramatic photographs. In Florence recently, it rained around the clock, creating an especially beautiful effect in the evening. I love the look of reflections cast on rain soaked streets. It creates a more expressive image than a photo taken during the day. Paired with a long exposure to record taillights from passing cars, a scene can become quite magical! 

Here are couple of tips to help you with capturing a captivating night scene... You'll need a sturdy tripod, remote shutter release (or use the camera self timer feature). An inexpensive three axis bubble level helps guide you to keeping things straight, especially in the dark. If you are using a lens with vibration reduction or image stabilization, turn it off while on the tripod. If you wish to photograph streaks from the taillights of passing cars, you may need to stop down so that your exposure is several seconds or longer. Use a low ISO to prevent noisy images. Bring an umbrella, a hotel shower cap, it works great to protect the camera, and bring a flashlight too. Have fun shooting! ~ Deb