Night Photography: Finding Your Way In The Dark

[ngunbileg]

This video gave me new look for the photography! I have watched this video over and over again for hundred times and keep watching it. absolutely amazing! perfect! Thank ya!

[xMRxpacman]

absolutely amazing, so creative that Ive chosen to do this as my project for Alevel photography at college. Before i go test this.. im wondering how long did you leave some of these exposures for? Thanks.

[skyephoto]

@xMRxpacman - That's very cool that you're doing a NPy project for school! Exposures by the light of the full moon are typically between 5-15 minutes, ISO 100 at f8, depending on desired affect. 5 minutes will make your light painting really stand out, 15 minutes will mean your lighting is more subtle. The book is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US, and will be very helpful!

[MrPetePederson]

Beautiful work. I am very interested in light painting. Your video is inspiring. Thank you! 

[MrBlofeld007]

some stunning images.

[6620960]

@MIphoto What is the name of your book, I would like to do night time shots like this

[skyephoto]

@6620960 The name of the book is the same as the name of the video. Signed copies are available thru my site- TheNightSkye, or unsigned copies on Amazon. Thanks!

[YouLaToya]

Pure awesomeness...

[pgice]

wow! amazing!..i must test this..just one question..lets say that i have an exposure time of 2min..where in that time should i move a flashlight and how fast should i move it around an object to light it up more?

[skyephoto]

@pgice The point at which you use the flashlight, and the speed at which you wave it around are irrelevant. What matters is the total quantity of light, as well as the quality- largely determined by direction- of the light.

[pgice]

@skyephoto ok thanks for the info

[uniteforfunjew]

Hi, Love the video! Just wondering what lights / torches you use or would recommend for night photography? I currently am using a LED Lenser P14 but find the light is very harsh… Thanks in advance

[skyephoto]

@uniteforfunjew I use Streamlight LED lights, and Sure Fire incandescents. You can always use a reflector or diffuser to soften the light, and perhaps your light is too bright for what you are trying to light.

[jisamar82]

i m from nepal and i want to have this book and i want to know if this book has south asian edition or not!

[skyephoto]

@jisamar82 So far, just English, french, Italian, Spanish, portuguese, and Russian... I guess the Nepalese market is a little too small!

[jisamar82]

@skyephoto ya it is true but we are very close to the indian market which is very huge. i just want to know if this book is available in indian market so that i can get this book from india.

[skyephoto]

@jisamar82 I'm not sure, but I'll ask my contact at the publisher for you.

[jisamar82]

@skyephoto thank you very much.

[domokid]

My favorite form of photography.

[xMRxpacman]

if i may ask, how long roughly did you have the exposure length set to?

[skyephoto]

@xMRxpacman - each exposure is different, just as they are in the daytime. My night exposures typically range from 10 seconds to about an hour.

[FortunateFew]

14 seconds in and i already "Liked" this video.

[skiclimbbikesail]

Great!!!

Question: How do you reduce your noise levels? even on a low ISO, how do you prevent yous sensor from 'burning up'? I have a Nikon D7000, and when I go over 30seconds, I seem to get a lot of 'Noise'. Thanks!

[skyephoto]

@skiclimbbikesail That's an awesome camera, and you should not be having noise problems with exposures that are less than 15 minutes at iso 400, unless you are shooting in Death Valley in the summer. If you are having problems, either your camera is defective, or you're doing something wrong. If your camera checks out, I'd suggest getting a copy of my book- either on my website or Amazon.

[AprilJamieRose3]

This video inspired me so much that I am going out tonight to try out some photography. These photos on this video turned out so great, so fantastic. Keep it up! :)

[skyephoto]

@AprilJamieRose3 Thank you!

[MrPeerz]

very very informative

[skyephoto]

@MrPeerz Thanks much!

[Vechet]

@skyephoto I believe he meant it ironicaly

[skyephoto]

@Vechet I hope so, but you never can tell!

[availdname]

19,000 views is a big number, but with such a well made tutorial/ documentary, I would expect this to have more. It's a shame I live in Scotland and can't get to your tutorials. I would love to work with you.

[skyephoto]

@availdname - Thanks! I actually lead photo tours of Scotland. This year s Orkney in Shetland in May, and Skye and the outer Hebrides in October. My book is available thru Amazon UK as well.

About the video, the film makers posted it on Vimeo, where it has over 100 000 views. Very rewarding.

[availdname]

@skyephoto That's great to hear! Motherwell's a little bit south there and I've only been doing photography for about a year or so with much to learn. I feel more comfortable with urban decay etc, I find it more interesting with sneaking about, which is absolutely terrible and terrifying when done alone.

[prtyboi22]

speechless.....

[skyephoto]

@m3g1 - Image stacking, or combining multiple exposures is usually done to create long start trails, with a total exposure time greater than you can do in one shot without a lot of noise. The way the final image looks is dependent on how you process it- and this technique is generally done with a series of identical exposures, not a bracketed sequence like you use in HDR. Hope this helps. It's explained fully in my book.

[yesac41]

omg im right by terlingua! I <3 nighttime photography!

[GodlessPrick]

cool.....



[thelonghairpimp]

This is amazing! i just got my first camera, any way you could show some tutorials or maybe a website i could possibly go to?

[GodlessPrick]

@thelonghairpimp get started @ dpreview.com

[skyephoto]

@thelonghairpimp - Why not pick up a copy of my book- Night Photography- Finding Your Way In The Dark, or better yet, sign up for a workshop! Youtube won't let me post a url, but if you look at my profile or google my name, you'll find the site.

[purvertedmunk]

those are amazing photos... wow

[skyephoto]

@purvertedmunk -Thanks so much, glad you like!

[Videoscape]

A remote for the camera will enable you to set your shutter speed to the "Bulb" setting which allows you to open, and close the shutter at your command.

[skyephoto]

@Videoscape Thanks for helping out!

[m3g1]

how can u make ur shutter speed go more than 30secs? i think thats my max on D5100, is it possible to make it go longer?

[multibigpop]

There is another method to this whole thing (considering you are ok with shooting more than one exposure). You can shoot a bunch of ten second, or 30 second exposures, then merge them later in photoshop by use of layers pallet and paint tools. It's much easier and you can control EVERY aspect of light in a simpler way.

[m3g1]

@multibigpop hehe, im not that good with PS yet.. but i finally bought me a wireless shutter, i didnt know they were that cheap! =) dont u get a HDR effect by doing it with more layers? right now im using photomatix.. since i really suck at PS.. hehe..

[benlyons83]

Wow, awesome pictures! What did you shoot the video with?

[skyephoto]

@benlyons83 Check out walley film's site to find out about the equipment they use!

[mrpacificsurf]

photographers, changing the way we see the world and all its beauty <3

[defiermcg]

@beyoguz as long as you can change the shutter speed I don't see why not

[beyoguz]

Sorry it was "night photographing" :)

[beyoguz]

Hello very cool pics!! I've just purchased a Sony A65, do you think that it can do som photographing?? Thanks again for the nice vid

[skyephoto]

@beyoguz Absolutely, but to make the most of it, you'll need to shoot RAW files, and use ISOs of 400 or lower.

[spadxiii1919]

I'm gonna go and try some of this. I have already scoped some potential images during the day. Can't wait till it gets dark!!

[seijurohiko13th]

It's AWESOME!!!!

[OhSnapitsJuzDin]

What would you recommend if i wanted to film a video outside at night? and/or a club?

[skyephoto]

@OhSnapitsJuzDin Sorry, I'm a still photographer only, but basically, high ISO all the way.

[moomoomooism]

@skyephoto i do loads of night photography.....always iso 100......never high iso makes what your trying to get very grainy !.....

[nerdybirdie]

Very good body of work, and video.

A question: what kind of flashlight do you use?

Tungsten or led? any particular brand?

Thank you very much.

PS

[skyephoto]

@nerdybirdie Thanks for the compliments! Scott and I use Surefire and Streamlight flashlights, both LED and Incandescent. Depends on the color temp required for the shot.

[satri101]

Cool...btw, I have Lance Keimig book about low light photography...I love it.

[skyephoto]

@satri101 Thanks, glad you enjoy it!

[itsjayrcuh]

I live in So.Cal. I want to attend this workshop. This is truly amazing...

[skyephoto]

@itsjayrcuh Check out my site for details of this year's workshops. Mono Lake July 1-4, Death Valley in November will be posted soon!

[christfufool]

This is an amazing video! Thank you.

[skyephoto]

Thanks for the compliments all!

[4EVERMYSERENITY]

@skyephoto after buying my nikon d7000 and other eccessories, I decided my specialty will be portrait and night-time photography, this video has inspired me, i am a amateur and now i am on a mission. thank you so much

[nazgulero]

Stunning ! I am going to try light painting, looks awesome !

[moiloree]

WOW Excellent video and what wonderful, amazing and beautiful work you do!!! I learned more from this video than many other tutorials out there! Thank you so much!!! I'm blown away!!!

[aranhapreta67]

Very beautiful video , one of the best i have seen about this subject . Well done.

[BanerjeeAvishek]

beautiful video, loved it completely

[lifebyabby]

I am so intrigued! I think I am going to go give it a try tonight. My camera's longest shutter speed is only 30 seconds, but I'm going to go see what I can do with my own area and equipment tonight.

[memorilife]

I love these techies...