Hello! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! This week’s photo, titled “Gamla Stan,” was taken in Stockholm, Sweden in August 2010. “Gamla Stan” is a 13 second exposure shot with an with an aperture f/8 and ISO of 200. A Manfrotto 190x tripod was utilized.
As the title indicates, I shot this photo in an area of Stockholm called Gamla Stan, or “The Old Town,” which dates back to the 13th century. While much of Stockholm has been touched by the fingers of modernity, Gamla Stan is still charmingly old and traditional. Gamla Stan is home to the Royal Palace, Stockholm Cathedral, numerous shops, restaurants, and an endless supply of history. Its narrow alleyways and cobblestone streets make for the perfect area to lose yourself for a few hours. The medieval architecture of the area is beautiful both by day and by night, so it is worth multiple visits to get a full understanding of the unique character of the area.
On my last night in Stockholm, I decided to devote some serious time to shooting historic Gamla Stan. I had already scoped out the area earlier in my trip and noticed its potential for night photography. After a full day of palaces, cathedrals, window shopping, and people watching, I set out, tripod in tow, to capture the narrow alleys of Gamla Stan. Upon arrival, it took some wandering around to find an appropriate alley that didn’t have an excessive amount of foot traffic. While a person or two walking through a frame during a long exposure can have little effect on the final product, a crowd can completely alter the scene. Finally, I found this alley. It was perfect. The building facades had color variation, the lamps were creating a nice side light, and the cobblestones seemed to be glowing. This shot, however, ended up being very labor intensive. Moving the tripod back and forth across the alley, shooting at a variety of apertures and shutter speeds, under exposing, over exposing, zooming in, zooming out – I probably spent at least 30 minutes working towards this image alone.
As the air grew colder and the people walking down the adjacent streets thinned, I was reminded of the laborious process that is night photography. When each exposure takes 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and so on, shooting can become extremely arduous. One of the most frustrating things in the world is when you are on second 29 of a 30 second exposure and someone comes bounding by and accidentally shakes your tripod. Night photography is a true labor of love and takes a lot of thought, planning, and concentration in order to make the most of your shooting session. In this situation, the scene was illuminated by the lamps and not by natural light, so I could afford to really take my time. However, when you find yourself chasing the light, searching for the perfect not-so-light/not-so-dark sky, you may find yourself with a very limited window. Therefore, it is important to bring a few key pieces of “equipment.” The first is patience. As I said before, night photography can be a long process. But it is important to remember that the without the process you would not end up with a final product. Don’t rush through your images – the more you rush, the more likely you will be to discover details that you wish you could change when you sit down to review your images later. The second piece of “equipment” is creativity. My favorite aspect of night photography is the opportunity to really get creative with the light. Because exposures are so long, you have the opportunity to play with light in a completely different way. Experiment with motion, play with composition. Have fun in experimenting. Finally, you MUST have a tripod. I’ve said it before in previous blog posts and I will say it again – night photography is not possible without a tripod. Sure, you could bump up your ISO to its limit in order to hand hold the camera, but I promise you, the quality of your image will not match what could be recorded if a tripod was used with a lower ISO and longer shutter speed. Furthermore, if possible, invest some money into buying a good tripod. I’m not saying top of the line or anything extreme, but buying a sturdy tripod is an incredible investment in your photography.
So there you have it. Night photography at its core requires patience, creativity, and a good tripod. Thank you for reading! Until next week…
You are a great photographer and all great photographers have a great website designer behind them.