Welcome back! For my first photo discussion, I decided to choose a photo taken in one of my very favorite cities: London. I shot “London Eye By Night” in September 2011 during a short stop over in London on the way home from Italy. This photo was shot with a Nikon D80 at f/11 for an exposure of 25 seconds. I used a Manfrotto 190xb tripod.
I went to Westminster Bridge with the idea of photographing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I planned on taking a few shots of the London Eye as well, but it wasn’t my focus. When I got to the bridge, I quickly realized that Big Ben wasn’t in the cards. I took a few shots at various apertures and shutter speeds only to find each photo to be completely blurred. Now for those of you that don’t know, Westminster Bridge is a heavily traveled bridge by both vehicles and pedestrians. As such, maintaining a completely still surface is next to impossible because of the incessant flood of busses and cars. Each shot was getting blurred because the tripod was moving as cars sped by. So, I had to rethink my strategy. I figured the best chance I had to eliminate camera shake was move my tripod to the edge of the bridge, as far away from traffic as possible.
By the time I reset my tripod and camera, I decided to shift gears and focus on the London Eye. Alas, more problems. Westminster Bridge is lined by large street lamps, which added yet another obstacle in getting my shot. Each of the lamps produced such horrible lens flare that it seemed like a halfway decent shot of the Eye was impossible. After a few minutes of thinking, it occurred to me, why not use the lens flare as a way to enhance the Eye? So, I moved my tripod so that the flare essentially acted as a frame for the giant ferris wheel and began shooting. After the first shot, I knew instantly that I was on to something. I played with the aperture and shutter speed, moved my tripod to pick up different patterns of flare, and ultimately ended up with this shot. People have asked me if I created this effect in Photoshop. The answer is a resounding no. It’s amazing what you can capture by creatively using what you’re provided in any given situation.
A few tips on night photography: A tripod is an absolute must as it is impossible to hand hold long exposures. If you find yourself in a low light situation and you’re without your tripod, brace your camera against something steady like a railing, bench, or table. As far as camera settings, I tend to favor an aperture of f/8 or f/11 for long exposures, and then I adjust the shutter speed accordingly. A cable release or remote are huge assets in night photography, since the simple act of pressing the shutter release button can cause blur in long exposures. If you don’t have a cable release or remote, use your self timer to delay the release of the shutter and in turn eliminate camera shake.
Thanks for reading! Check back next Monday for more photo blogging!
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