Recently I put together a short PDF document for the upcoming seminar of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), Inland Empire Chapter. It was designed to be short, and give a few examples of what can be done with some low light photography. Bad news was, it contained color images. Upon completion I found out everything was only going to be printed in black and white, so I decided to keep it intact, as it was, and allow it to be downloaded for use by anyone. In a week or so when things slow down here in the office, I'll prepare a second shorter night photography tip sheet, with no photographs or visual examples.
The PSA seminar in May is a great tool for photographers who desire some advancd level training. I highly recommend that you consider attending their excellent seminar. Many Spokane Photographers, as well as a lot of regional photographers from the US and Canada attend these seminars. So if you are serious about your craft, this is something for you to sign up for.
I have been working on an event for all of these photographers for May 2010. The idea is to give the seminar attendees an opportunity to use some of what they have learned, at the Lilac Torchlight Parade. What we anticipate happening is that the attendees will be granted access to the staging areas for all of the floats, prior to the start of the Parade. After agreeing to our "rules of the road," and a signature on a waiver of liability, all of the invited photographers will get an opportunity to shoot all of the floats. Should be fun, although I might be in Tennessee during the Parade. Travel or not for me, this is a good project for me to work on, and a great photo op for photographers who have an interest in low light imaging of Parade Floats.
At any rate, the PDF is available for you to download, and it is printable. Yep, it's all free...:-)
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Looking for 2010 color and light in Hillyard
So, this was not really an "official," hunt for photographs. I had to take my twin grand daughters home, and on my way back to the north side, I made my way through Hillyard. I was interested in getting some views of the new look in Hillyard, with the installation of all the new streetlights. On the way north, I grabbed a large coffee at McDonalds on Market, and headed into the central business district of Hillyard.
Good news was, I could see that the electricians had made a great deal of progress in installing the new streetlights. Bad news was, none of the lights were illuminated. Nope, not a single one. So, my hopes of viewing Hillyard in all the glory of the new streetlights, was not to be. When will the lights actually be turned on? It depends on whom you speak with. As I began to shoot images in the business district, I had the opportunity to speak with about half a dozen people who came outside the Capital Tavern to smoke a cigarette. The patrons from the Capital were generally full of insightful information about when the lights were to be turned on in Hillyard. I heard "never," and also "maybe in two weeks." So, in filtering all of the new information I was given, I was back where I started, not knowing when the lights would be turned on over in Hillyard.
I did enjoy speaking with the Capital patrons, but I wanted to gauge some light levels with a few camera shots. Since there wasn't any significant change in light levels, I gave some thoughts to putting the 40D back in the car, and heading for home. Instead, I just did a few pivots with the tripod, shooting with the ambient lighting that has been there for quite a number of years. I figured I would just shoot a few scenes that exhibited some color. With a few Capital patrons in tow, I shot a few storefronts on Market Street, shook some hands and put the tripod and the cameras back in the truck.
On my way north, there was a small blaze of color, just north of the business district. It was an illuminated sign, which offered up a chance to shoot something with fairly bright color. I had driven past the sign, when I felt guilty and turned around to go back and shoot some frames of the sign. No real cultural or historical significance here, but color...yeah there was some of that. The sign was at the Bubble Machine Car Wash on north Market.
I have a few goals for Hillyard. One, shoot Hillyard, once the streetlights actually get turned ON. Second, shoot in Hillyard from above ground level, and some adjacent rooftops. Third, take a group of photographers into Hillyard for some experience in shooting with low light conditions.
Here are a couple of frames captured in Hillyard on this evening. Nothing of major significance, but capturing Hillyard after dark, is something I chose to do on this evening.
Bubble Machine Car Wash sign:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/bubblemachinecarwash.htm
United Hillyard Mall
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/collectibles.htm
PJ's Cafe Express and Mr. Kens Barber Shop, Hillyard, Spokane, Washington
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/cafeexpress.htm
O'Briens Used Furniture
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/obriens.htm
The thing about shooting traditional, or even what some may consider "mundane locations," is that these places might not be there tomorrow. Look no farther than the former site of the Alaskan Tavern, one half block away from where I was shooting. I did manage to capture that location in 2009, before it disappeared. Maybe that is what a camera is for.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Good news was, I could see that the electricians had made a great deal of progress in installing the new streetlights. Bad news was, none of the lights were illuminated. Nope, not a single one. So, my hopes of viewing Hillyard in all the glory of the new streetlights, was not to be. When will the lights actually be turned on? It depends on whom you speak with. As I began to shoot images in the business district, I had the opportunity to speak with about half a dozen people who came outside the Capital Tavern to smoke a cigarette. The patrons from the Capital were generally full of insightful information about when the lights were to be turned on in Hillyard. I heard "never," and also "maybe in two weeks." So, in filtering all of the new information I was given, I was back where I started, not knowing when the lights would be turned on over in Hillyard.
I did enjoy speaking with the Capital patrons, but I wanted to gauge some light levels with a few camera shots. Since there wasn't any significant change in light levels, I gave some thoughts to putting the 40D back in the car, and heading for home. Instead, I just did a few pivots with the tripod, shooting with the ambient lighting that has been there for quite a number of years. I figured I would just shoot a few scenes that exhibited some color. With a few Capital patrons in tow, I shot a few storefronts on Market Street, shook some hands and put the tripod and the cameras back in the truck.
On my way north, there was a small blaze of color, just north of the business district. It was an illuminated sign, which offered up a chance to shoot something with fairly bright color. I had driven past the sign, when I felt guilty and turned around to go back and shoot some frames of the sign. No real cultural or historical significance here, but color...yeah there was some of that. The sign was at the Bubble Machine Car Wash on north Market.
I have a few goals for Hillyard. One, shoot Hillyard, once the streetlights actually get turned ON. Second, shoot in Hillyard from above ground level, and some adjacent rooftops. Third, take a group of photographers into Hillyard for some experience in shooting with low light conditions.
Here are a couple of frames captured in Hillyard on this evening. Nothing of major significance, but capturing Hillyard after dark, is something I chose to do on this evening.
Bubble Machine Car Wash sign:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/bubblemachinecarwash.htm
United Hillyard Mall
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/collectibles.htm
PJ's Cafe Express and Mr. Kens Barber Shop, Hillyard, Spokane, Washington
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/cafeexpress.htm
O'Briens Used Furniture
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/obriens.htm
The thing about shooting traditional, or even what some may consider "mundane locations," is that these places might not be there tomorrow. Look no farther than the former site of the Alaskan Tavern, one half block away from where I was shooting. I did manage to capture that location in 2009, before it disappeared. Maybe that is what a camera is for.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Hillyard Hobo newsletter, Spokane Night Scenes
The Hillyard Hobo Newsletter features a series of Spokane Night Scenes, including a 2009 image of Hill yard's Alaskan Lounge, on North Market Street.
The Hillyard area of Spokane has been undergoing an almost constant re-invention over the past year. The small business owners in Hillyard, lost almost all of their commercial traffic to their storefronts, as a result of the streets being closed for re-paving and design changes. After Hillyard's Market Street was reopened, the streetlights were not installed, even as automobile traffic was opened up on Market Street. As of this writing, it appears that all of the streetlights are now installed, and it is time to revisit Hillyard with a couple of cameras, after dark.
Hillyard is also a location I think I will invite a few other photographers to, sometime soon. I have close to 40 or so photographers interested in night shoots, so I think that my next group shoot should be in Hillyard. The photographers I take can get some low light experience, and a number of images can be taken of the current view of the redesigned Market street and central business area.
In 2009, I captured the Alaskan Lounge/Tavern, without any idea that the Alaskan would burn to the ground. I am glad I captured images of the Alaskan in 2009, before it ceased to exist.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Spokane Scenes, keep going away
So, today, away goes the Alaskan Tavern, in Hillyard.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/alaskan.htm
Ironically, this week I have been discussing allowing use rights for a number of Hillyard night scenes, including the one of the Alaskan. That image was a combo of layers, with a desaturated layer at the front, and color images lined up behind it. Regardless, that image is representative of what "used to be there."
I have mixed feelings about the departure of the Alaskan. The first arrest I ever made when I was working by myself, was of a drunk from the Alaskan. He crashed an empty beer pitcher over someones head, and I was just a few blocks away when I got the call. In subsequent years, there were inumerable calls for service from the Alaskan, and another Tavern south of it (no longer here). One brawl with our officers occurred as the Alaskan closed one night, and fights broke out in the streets. I remember going to a 99 call (officer needs help urgently) and every officer in the county headed to the scene. 16 arrests later, order was restored. So, I hate to see old buildings close (or worse), but this one has mixed feelings from me.
It is places like this though, that I am glad I was able to document, prior to a demise. I suppose some people actually enjoyed their times at the Alaskan, so for them this has some emotional meaning and perhaps a sense of loss.
One other location that I shot was also a location that will be missed. Ella's downtown on West First was also a location of note, in an area I spent a lot of my former life in policing at. Ella's was the answer to many police problems in the area, and a great place to "take back the neighborhood," from the crooks that seemed to appear from every crack in the sidewalks." Ella's has also been missed by many, and I legitimately miss that place, as opposed to the other one I spoke of above. I recorded Ella's Supper Club, at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ellas.htm
I hate to see Spokane Night Scenes disappear, but I'll keep shooting them. That way we can at least look back. I'm not sure what memories like these are worth to some folks, but personally I am glad I documented them before they disappeared.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/alaskan.htm
Ironically, this week I have been discussing allowing use rights for a number of Hillyard night scenes, including the one of the Alaskan. That image was a combo of layers, with a desaturated layer at the front, and color images lined up behind it. Regardless, that image is representative of what "used to be there."
I have mixed feelings about the departure of the Alaskan. The first arrest I ever made when I was working by myself, was of a drunk from the Alaskan. He crashed an empty beer pitcher over someones head, and I was just a few blocks away when I got the call. In subsequent years, there were inumerable calls for service from the Alaskan, and another Tavern south of it (no longer here). One brawl with our officers occurred as the Alaskan closed one night, and fights broke out in the streets. I remember going to a 99 call (officer needs help urgently) and every officer in the county headed to the scene. 16 arrests later, order was restored. So, I hate to see old buildings close (or worse), but this one has mixed feelings from me.
It is places like this though, that I am glad I was able to document, prior to a demise. I suppose some people actually enjoyed their times at the Alaskan, so for them this has some emotional meaning and perhaps a sense of loss.
One other location that I shot was also a location that will be missed. Ella's downtown on West First was also a location of note, in an area I spent a lot of my former life in policing at. Ella's was the answer to many police problems in the area, and a great place to "take back the neighborhood," from the crooks that seemed to appear from every crack in the sidewalks." Ella's has also been missed by many, and I legitimately miss that place, as opposed to the other one I spoke of above. I recorded Ella's Supper Club, at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ellas.htm
I hate to see Spokane Night Scenes disappear, but I'll keep shooting them. That way we can at least look back. I'm not sure what memories like these are worth to some folks, but personally I am glad I documented them before they disappeared.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Night photography in Spokane, an affliction which is contagious
Last night I left my cameras in the office, and met with a number of Spokane photographers, for a series of exercises I had set up for them. Members of the Photographic Society of America, Spokane Camera Club, Inland Outlook Photo Club, and even some non affiliated photographers. I led the group to the location for exercise 1, and for the next two hours, I totally enjoyed this experience.
The second location was the same location I had shot the night before, and the group immediately recognized that this sculpture (Centennial Sculpture) that was floating in the Spokane River, was actually moving constantly. So now the group needed to adjust for motion in the foreground, as well as retain the background, which was not moving. After about twenty minutes, I started painting the sculpture with a red filter on my Big Max flashlight. I switched it to blue after about 15 minutes, and then one of the other photographers took out his Big Max so we could hit the sculpture with red and blue at the same time. Wow, some of these folks, "nailed it." Although I was not able to see the final products, I could see in their on camera screens, that the red and blue lights really got them some great shots. Having a second person to handle some of this activity such as the Big Max, was evident to me last night. Doing it by myself sure has it's limitations.
All in all, hanging out with these photographers was nothing but "fun." Using some rear screen synch exercises was good for all of them, and timing the rear curtain synch shots is sometimes hard to get "just right." It takes a little doing, but I think that the group pushed the envelope just fine.
I'll get another evening set up for a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully we can give Riverfront Park a rest, and I am thinking that the next location for the night shooting photographers might be Hillyard. All of the new streetlights are finally going in, and then I can gather them at the Hillyard Skatepark, for a somewhat complicated effort at painting with color. Should be fun, no matter what.
I have confirmed my access to the Clocktower in Riverfront Park, in March. I'm going up after a sunset, to shoot from the top of the tower, as it gets darker and darker. Should not only be fun, but there might be some fab shots of the RFP area, downtown, and of course the automobile light trails on Spokane Falls Blvd, and Washington/Stevens.
Today I added one more version of a shoot I did this week, at the "Centennial Sculpture." I added one to the website yesterday, and today I added a script to load a second image in which the lights used on the Big Max were amber lenses. A blend of three images, akin to an HDR approach, the second image was taken about thirty minutes before the red one was.
If any other Spokane photographers want to join up with the "night shooter group," you are most welcome. Send me your contact info and I'll add you to the list of photogs getting all of the location and time information. Just get ready for some fun, and maybe some outside the box photography.
JDM
The second location was the same location I had shot the night before, and the group immediately recognized that this sculpture (Centennial Sculpture) that was floating in the Spokane River, was actually moving constantly. So now the group needed to adjust for motion in the foreground, as well as retain the background, which was not moving. After about twenty minutes, I started painting the sculpture with a red filter on my Big Max flashlight. I switched it to blue after about 15 minutes, and then one of the other photographers took out his Big Max so we could hit the sculpture with red and blue at the same time. Wow, some of these folks, "nailed it." Although I was not able to see the final products, I could see in their on camera screens, that the red and blue lights really got them some great shots. Having a second person to handle some of this activity such as the Big Max, was evident to me last night. Doing it by myself sure has it's limitations.
All in all, hanging out with these photographers was nothing but "fun." Using some rear screen synch exercises was good for all of them, and timing the rear curtain synch shots is sometimes hard to get "just right." It takes a little doing, but I think that the group pushed the envelope just fine.
I'll get another evening set up for a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully we can give Riverfront Park a rest, and I am thinking that the next location for the night shooting photographers might be Hillyard. All of the new streetlights are finally going in, and then I can gather them at the Hillyard Skatepark, for a somewhat complicated effort at painting with color. Should be fun, no matter what.
I have confirmed my access to the Clocktower in Riverfront Park, in March. I'm going up after a sunset, to shoot from the top of the tower, as it gets darker and darker. Should not only be fun, but there might be some fab shots of the RFP area, downtown, and of course the automobile light trails on Spokane Falls Blvd, and Washington/Stevens.
Today I added one more version of a shoot I did this week, at the "Centennial Sculpture." I added one to the website yesterday, and today I added a script to load a second image in which the lights used on the Big Max were amber lenses. A blend of three images, akin to an HDR approach, the second image was taken about thirty minutes before the red one was.
If any other Spokane photographers want to join up with the "night shooter group," you are most welcome. Send me your contact info and I'll add you to the list of photogs getting all of the location and time information. Just get ready for some fun, and maybe some outside the box photography.
JDM
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
What is old, can also be new
So, I had one free evening before I took out as many as 40 photographers, to shoot Spokane Night Scenes. I grabbed the cameras, and headed down to Riverfront Park, to revisit the art/sculpture that has been in the river, for many years. Have I shot this before? "Oh yeah," many times. Yet, this scene just had to be approached differently, and with some color added.
There is no light for this Spokane river sculpture, so I brought my own. I began shooting this scene with an amber lens on the Big Max flashlight, and then switched to blue. After switching again, this time to red, it seemed clearer in the rear screen viewer of the Canon 40D. The metal of the sculpture seemed to glow with the red light on it, and it still appeared that way after the CR2 files were inspected on the computer.
This sculpture continually moves, and is unlike any landscape effort a low light photographer can make. You can shoot using rear curtain synch, but the challenge was to try and get it, without motion blur, using the colors from the Big Max. As I take out all of the photographers tonight, they will find out just how "easy," trying to avoid the motion blur is at this location. Yep, a built in challenge.
Here is an edited version using the red Big Max lens.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/redriverart.htm
I might owe an apology to a guy who was sitting at this location, feeding the ducks. He had at least a hundred ducks feeding when I got there, and as soon as I turned on the Big Max flashlight the first time, all the Ducks he had assembled took off in a big hurry. I'm not sure if the ducks are color blind, but the amber lens on the Big Max, really drove them all away. So, the guy who had been feeding them got up and ambled away from my disruptive activities.
This evening I wanted to look at some sculptures on the south side of the north river channel. West of the performing arts center, there is an invisible sculpture called, "Moon Crater." There are no lights in here, and I almost walked right by it before I saw that something was there. I hit it a few times with the Big Max, but that light was just too powerful. I turned on my headlamp, but that made no difference in lighting the sculpture. So I just shot the "Moon Crater," in the darkness. At about a minute into a BULB exposure, I screened that length of shot, and it was apparent that the sculpture could be seen with just longer exposures.
Here is a cropped version of "Moon Crater."
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/mooncrater.htm
JDM
There is no light for this Spokane river sculpture, so I brought my own. I began shooting this scene with an amber lens on the Big Max flashlight, and then switched to blue. After switching again, this time to red, it seemed clearer in the rear screen viewer of the Canon 40D. The metal of the sculpture seemed to glow with the red light on it, and it still appeared that way after the CR2 files were inspected on the computer.
This sculpture continually moves, and is unlike any landscape effort a low light photographer can make. You can shoot using rear curtain synch, but the challenge was to try and get it, without motion blur, using the colors from the Big Max. As I take out all of the photographers tonight, they will find out just how "easy," trying to avoid the motion blur is at this location. Yep, a built in challenge.
Here is an edited version using the red Big Max lens.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/redriverart.htm
I might owe an apology to a guy who was sitting at this location, feeding the ducks. He had at least a hundred ducks feeding when I got there, and as soon as I turned on the Big Max flashlight the first time, all the Ducks he had assembled took off in a big hurry. I'm not sure if the ducks are color blind, but the amber lens on the Big Max, really drove them all away. So, the guy who had been feeding them got up and ambled away from my disruptive activities.
This evening I wanted to look at some sculptures on the south side of the north river channel. West of the performing arts center, there is an invisible sculpture called, "Moon Crater." There are no lights in here, and I almost walked right by it before I saw that something was there. I hit it a few times with the Big Max, but that light was just too powerful. I turned on my headlamp, but that made no difference in lighting the sculpture. So I just shot the "Moon Crater," in the darkness. At about a minute into a BULB exposure, I screened that length of shot, and it was apparent that the sculpture could be seen with just longer exposures.
Here is a cropped version of "Moon Crater."
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/mooncrater.htm
JDM
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Session scheduled for Spokane Night Shooters
This week I have scheduled a night session for the 40 Spokane photographers who have contacted me with an interest in shooting night photographs. Some of the night shooters are members of the Spokane Camera Club, the Photographic Society of America, Inland Outlook Photo Club, and the Spokane Valley Camera Club. A few of the night shooters are unaffiliated with any Spokane Photo club.
This session will be on Tuesday evening, February 9th, 2010. The session will be no longer than two hours (I think), and I have it broken down into three exercises, with one additional exercise scheduled, depending on any available time.
I'll leave my cameras in my office, since I will be trying to help attendees to get their shot. This is not an evening for me to try and get creative, but if I can get others enthused about going out in low light, I'll go away happy.
Details on this shoot is as follows.
Agenda:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/exercise.pdf
Slideshow from last weeks night photo class (FLASH PROGRAM)
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/SNSnightshooters.htm
This session will "focus," mainly on Motion after dark, and also on Rear Curtain Synch. Examples of Rear Curtain Synch and motion are here:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wabridgebus.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/starena.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverart.htm
Meet at the Ice Arena for some short housekeeping items, at the bleacher section, at 5:30 PM. Then off to shoot location 1. Night shooters are instructed to review their cameras owners manual, as well as their external flash owners manual. Research your hardware's capability to do Rear Curtain Synch shooting.
Next night shoot is not likely to be in RFP, and not likely to be on a Tuesday evening. Info to follow on that session.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
This session will be on Tuesday evening, February 9th, 2010. The session will be no longer than two hours (I think), and I have it broken down into three exercises, with one additional exercise scheduled, depending on any available time.
I'll leave my cameras in my office, since I will be trying to help attendees to get their shot. This is not an evening for me to try and get creative, but if I can get others enthused about going out in low light, I'll go away happy.
Details on this shoot is as follows.
Agenda:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/exercise.pdf
Slideshow from last weeks night photo class (FLASH PROGRAM)
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/SNSnightshooters.htm
This session will "focus," mainly on Motion after dark, and also on Rear Curtain Synch. Examples of Rear Curtain Synch and motion are here:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wabridgebus.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/starena.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverart.htm
Meet at the Ice Arena for some short housekeeping items, at the bleacher section, at 5:30 PM. Then off to shoot location 1. Night shooters are instructed to review their cameras owners manual, as well as their external flash owners manual. Research your hardware's capability to do Rear Curtain Synch shooting.
Next night shoot is not likely to be in RFP, and not likely to be on a Tuesday evening. Info to follow on that session.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Saturday, January 30, 2010
In the dark, in Spokane's Riverfront Park
I have been giving thoughts for at least 6 months or so, about the sculpture on the NW corner of the INB Performing Arts Center. In virtually every trip to Riverfront Park, with cameras in tow, I saw this sculpture as being lifeless when the sun went down. Oh, what to do.
Tonight was the night for this project. I took the Big Max flashlight, with the red, blue, and amber filters. I set up with the 18 X 200 (28mm). I rotated the camera around to shoot vertically, and set up the platform and the tethered shutter release. I switched it so all my shots would be BULB shots, and this would let me somewhat free to move the Big Max flashlight around. I moved the platform only once at this location, moving slightly closer about 30 minutes into this shoot, and a slightly different angle.
My goal was to illuminate the interior section of the sculpture, and once the shutter was released, I was able to walk the thirty feet to the west side of the sculpture with the Big Max flashlight. As long as I kept moving I knew the camera would not register me, and the camera could not see the Big Max on the west side of the sculpture. I'm not sure exactly how long I stayed back there, but I turned the light off and headed back to the camera. I was more worried about leaving the camera out there, than anything else.
I went through this drill a couple of times, and switched the Big Max filter to red. I opened the shutter once more (BULB) and off I went, this time with red. I was behind the sculpture when I started hearing loud continuous noises headed closer and closer. I was able to look through the sculpture and I saw three skateboarders doing circles around my camera and the tripod. I jumped out of the west side of the sculpture and headed back toward my equipment, forgetting I still had the red lamp on in my headlamp. My headlamp did register the speed at which I returned to my camera equipment, but I decided to go ahead and use that image anyhow, although you can see the red streaks headed east along the north side of the sculpture. No big deal, and the three skateboarders did not seem too surprised to see me.
Two of the images are online at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/abt.htm
The second image was shot at a different angle than the first series, and it is the second image that my effort to get back to the equipment was registered as my headlamp red LED bulbs can be seen.
I had about 45 minutes left to use for this nights shoot, so I headed to the "Garbage eating goat." This goat is really dark, so I used a variety of angles and levels of lighting to try and get the goat lit up, without blowing out any of the highlights. I used the Big Max minimally at this location ( blue filter,on the ground ), and used the LED bulbs in my headlamp to do the highlights.
This image is located at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/purplegoat.htm
Total last night was 209 images in CR2 + JPEG. Photomatix, PSE 7, CS3, and Topaz Adjust were used for different things in the editing.
I think we live in a beautiful place, even if I had to work for a couple of hours to shed some light on that fact.
Enjoy.
JDM
Tonight was the night for this project. I took the Big Max flashlight, with the red, blue, and amber filters. I set up with the 18 X 200 (28mm). I rotated the camera around to shoot vertically, and set up the platform and the tethered shutter release. I switched it so all my shots would be BULB shots, and this would let me somewhat free to move the Big Max flashlight around. I moved the platform only once at this location, moving slightly closer about 30 minutes into this shoot, and a slightly different angle.
My goal was to illuminate the interior section of the sculpture, and once the shutter was released, I was able to walk the thirty feet to the west side of the sculpture with the Big Max flashlight. As long as I kept moving I knew the camera would not register me, and the camera could not see the Big Max on the west side of the sculpture. I'm not sure exactly how long I stayed back there, but I turned the light off and headed back to the camera. I was more worried about leaving the camera out there, than anything else.
I went through this drill a couple of times, and switched the Big Max filter to red. I opened the shutter once more (BULB) and off I went, this time with red. I was behind the sculpture when I started hearing loud continuous noises headed closer and closer. I was able to look through the sculpture and I saw three skateboarders doing circles around my camera and the tripod. I jumped out of the west side of the sculpture and headed back toward my equipment, forgetting I still had the red lamp on in my headlamp. My headlamp did register the speed at which I returned to my camera equipment, but I decided to go ahead and use that image anyhow, although you can see the red streaks headed east along the north side of the sculpture. No big deal, and the three skateboarders did not seem too surprised to see me.
Two of the images are online at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/abt.htm
The second image was shot at a different angle than the first series, and it is the second image that my effort to get back to the equipment was registered as my headlamp red LED bulbs can be seen.
I had about 45 minutes left to use for this nights shoot, so I headed to the "Garbage eating goat." This goat is really dark, so I used a variety of angles and levels of lighting to try and get the goat lit up, without blowing out any of the highlights. I used the Big Max minimally at this location ( blue filter,on the ground ), and used the LED bulbs in my headlamp to do the highlights.
This image is located at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/purplegoat.htm
Total last night was 209 images in CR2 + JPEG. Photomatix, PSE 7, CS3, and Topaz Adjust were used for different things in the editing.
I think we live in a beautiful place, even if I had to work for a couple of hours to shed some light on that fact.
Enjoy.
JDM
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Short Night Photography class, Liberty Lake
I have been invited to do a short presentation on Night Photography for the Inland Outlook Photo Club, on Feb 4th, 2010. The short thirty minutes I have been given, will happen at the Inland Outlook Club meeting in Liberty Lake, at 6:30PM (1830). The address of their meeting is: 22510 E Mission Ave, Liberty Lake
The directions given to all the Inland outlook group by their President Dean Huggins is as follows: "If coming from Spokane take the Otis Orchards Liberty Lake exit 296, turn right at the light (go south) which is liberty lake road, go one block to the next light and turn left on Country Vista Dr, (the end of the Albertsons parking lot), go up a little hill and turn left on Mission, the Denny Ashlock building will be on your right set back off the road a bit. It is a brick building; parking lot is on the left facing the building. For those of you that just cannot follow normal directions just go to Liberty Lake, find the Albertsons and drive behind it, you will find us there in the brick building. Dean"
I have created a handout for the short class, which is available online for you to download, and print, if you desire to do so. This download is a PDF file, and available for you at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/NPFAQ.pdf (2.68MB)
If you have time that evening, and you are interested in this short program (FREE) on night photography, you are certainly invited to attend that evening. Please let me know (photos@spokanenightscenes.com) so I can pass along the numbers to the group scheduling this meeting.
John
Friday, January 22, 2010
Downtown Spokane and Riverfront Park. Once again, a most colorful visit
This has, in the main, been a pretty productive week. I have spent about 5 hours so far wandering around the Arena, Riverfront Park, and also Downtown Spokane. While it may seem redundant to continue to go back to all the usual locations, they look different every single time.
Last night I enjoyed my second evening shooting images after dark, in some very familiar territory in Riverfront Park. I started the night shoot east of the northbound lane on the Washington Street Couplet. I'll get to those images likely tomorrow, but there were other images to take.
My next stop was just west of the Washington Street Couplet, on the north edge of the south Spokane River channel. The "floating sculpture in the water," has been shot by everyone who goes into this park...including me, many times before. There was some contrast left in the darkening skies, so I shot a series of images of the sculpture. Since the sculpture is continually moving, I shot it with Rear Curtain synch, and allowed the bright external flash to freeze the moving river art after a variety of exposures using all BULB settings. An average setting was about 7 seconds, at F8, ISO 100.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverart.htm
Next it was on to the footbridge west of the Washington Street Couplet. My original thought was to grab the river as it flowed under the footbridge, to capture some reflections. After I shot that way for about 15 minutes, I began to shoot with a Rear Curtain synch setup, to see if I could partially expose the vehicles on top of the southbound lanes, as I used BULB to expose the reflections in the water below. My first customer was an STA bus that just happened to be going south in the lane closest to my camera position. The light trails were produced pretty well, and the STA bus also produced reflections on the river below since it was a very high profile on the bridge.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wabridgebus.htm
I walked west in Riverfront Park, and observed some very intense red and blue lights that I had not observed before. I walked over to the area east of Avista (Washington Water Power), and found that three of the Avista windows were made up in brilliant colors. I also ran into another photographer at this time, which is very unusual. Dean Huggins is the President of the Inland Outlook Camera Club, and we began to shoot this visual presentation together. Following those images Dean mentioned that we might inspect the river from the Howard bridge, to inspect any reflections from Avista. They were certainly there, and we captured those.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/avistablue.htm
All in all this weeks shoots have been pretty productive. I'll likely be out and about tomorrow evening to get my three night shooting trips completed for this week. Possibly back downtown to all the "usual locations."
One other thing. I am interested in doing a complete nighttime reshoot over in Hillyard, as soon as all the new streetlights have been completely installed. Not sure when that is going to happen, but Hillyard is on the list of things to do, once again.
JDM
Last night I enjoyed my second evening shooting images after dark, in some very familiar territory in Riverfront Park. I started the night shoot east of the northbound lane on the Washington Street Couplet. I'll get to those images likely tomorrow, but there were other images to take.
My next stop was just west of the Washington Street Couplet, on the north edge of the south Spokane River channel. The "floating sculpture in the water," has been shot by everyone who goes into this park...including me, many times before. There was some contrast left in the darkening skies, so I shot a series of images of the sculpture. Since the sculpture is continually moving, I shot it with Rear Curtain synch, and allowed the bright external flash to freeze the moving river art after a variety of exposures using all BULB settings. An average setting was about 7 seconds, at F8, ISO 100.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverart.htm
Next it was on to the footbridge west of the Washington Street Couplet. My original thought was to grab the river as it flowed under the footbridge, to capture some reflections. After I shot that way for about 15 minutes, I began to shoot with a Rear Curtain synch setup, to see if I could partially expose the vehicles on top of the southbound lanes, as I used BULB to expose the reflections in the water below. My first customer was an STA bus that just happened to be going south in the lane closest to my camera position. The light trails were produced pretty well, and the STA bus also produced reflections on the river below since it was a very high profile on the bridge.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wabridgebus.htm
I walked west in Riverfront Park, and observed some very intense red and blue lights that I had not observed before. I walked over to the area east of Avista (Washington Water Power), and found that three of the Avista windows were made up in brilliant colors. I also ran into another photographer at this time, which is very unusual. Dean Huggins is the President of the Inland Outlook Camera Club, and we began to shoot this visual presentation together. Following those images Dean mentioned that we might inspect the river from the Howard bridge, to inspect any reflections from Avista. They were certainly there, and we captured those.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/avistablue.htm
All in all this weeks shoots have been pretty productive. I'll likely be out and about tomorrow evening to get my three night shooting trips completed for this week. Possibly back downtown to all the "usual locations."
One other thing. I am interested in doing a complete nighttime reshoot over in Hillyard, as soon as all the new streetlights have been completely installed. Not sure when that is going to happen, but Hillyard is on the list of things to do, once again.
JDM
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Color and Motion, after dark
This week I was determined to "slow down, the STA buses. No, they were not speeding, but in the past they were always constantly in motion as they drove completely through an image I was set up to take. As an STA bus cruised through whatever photo I was shooting, there were always colors from the various lights adorning each bus, but they were just that....lights and light streaks.
Tonight's project was to display as much of the bus as possible, as it traveled at a moderate speed. I went down to the area of the Arena, where STA had set up a bus transportation hub, for the 2010 Figure skating Championships. I wanted something recognizable in the shot, so I went to the north side of Mallon, which allowed the Flower Mill to be seen. Then I just waited as the buses came in to load and unload their passengers. As the buses departed, I pressed the shutter release (BULB), and as the bus came closer into the right side of the frame, I released the shutter release which activated the external Canon flash (Canon EX). The shutter was open for an average of 7 seconds before the flash ended the exposure, but for the first time I was able to actually see much of the STA bus as it went through the frame, from left to right. Rear curtain synch is what I call the operation, although others call it a variety of terms.
I was approached during the shoot by a gentleman named Steve (Steve Blaska), who was a very friendly guy. We spoke for a period of time about the STA bus photos I was shooting, and I showed him a few of them on the rear screen viewer of the Canon 40D. Steve handed me his biz card, which identified Steve as the STA Director of Operations. It was fun to take a break from standing around holding the tethered shutter release, and nice to see the reaction from Steve as he viewed a somewhat small screen with his buses going by.
I did put one image online, although I would like to do this project once again. My timing to get the bus in the right spot never seemed accurate enough. I mean how tough can it be to just let go of the pushbutton tethered shutter release? Well, for me, it seemed like I always managed to allow the front end of the bus to get too far to the right of the frame, whereby removing the front end of the bus entirely. The buses were shot as they were starting from a dead stop, so at about 5 seconds into the exposure their speed had really increased. At any rate, I was able to capture a bus, in its entirety, from a dead stop as it went through the entire frame of the camera.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/starena.htm
Next up was something more traditional. I had targeted the LED sign displaying info about the 2010 Figure skating championships at the Arena. This sign (SW corner of Boone and Washington) was very blurry, so I skipped shooting the sign. I walked to the east side of the Arena, where I generated a series of images of the east entry area at the Arena. I added one of these images online at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/arenatopaz.htm
I'll try and get out again this evening, to search for more color in downtown Spokane, and Riverfront Park. As long as I don't forget to bring gloves this time, it should be another fun photo op.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Tonight's project was to display as much of the bus as possible, as it traveled at a moderate speed. I went down to the area of the Arena, where STA had set up a bus transportation hub, for the 2010 Figure skating Championships. I wanted something recognizable in the shot, so I went to the north side of Mallon, which allowed the Flower Mill to be seen. Then I just waited as the buses came in to load and unload their passengers. As the buses departed, I pressed the shutter release (BULB), and as the bus came closer into the right side of the frame, I released the shutter release which activated the external Canon flash (Canon EX). The shutter was open for an average of 7 seconds before the flash ended the exposure, but for the first time I was able to actually see much of the STA bus as it went through the frame, from left to right. Rear curtain synch is what I call the operation, although others call it a variety of terms.
I was approached during the shoot by a gentleman named Steve (Steve Blaska), who was a very friendly guy. We spoke for a period of time about the STA bus photos I was shooting, and I showed him a few of them on the rear screen viewer of the Canon 40D. Steve handed me his biz card, which identified Steve as the STA Director of Operations. It was fun to take a break from standing around holding the tethered shutter release, and nice to see the reaction from Steve as he viewed a somewhat small screen with his buses going by.
I did put one image online, although I would like to do this project once again. My timing to get the bus in the right spot never seemed accurate enough. I mean how tough can it be to just let go of the pushbutton tethered shutter release? Well, for me, it seemed like I always managed to allow the front end of the bus to get too far to the right of the frame, whereby removing the front end of the bus entirely. The buses were shot as they were starting from a dead stop, so at about 5 seconds into the exposure their speed had really increased. At any rate, I was able to capture a bus, in its entirety, from a dead stop as it went through the entire frame of the camera.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/starena.htm
Next up was something more traditional. I had targeted the LED sign displaying info about the 2010 Figure skating championships at the Arena. This sign (SW corner of Boone and Washington) was very blurry, so I skipped shooting the sign. I walked to the east side of the Arena, where I generated a series of images of the east entry area at the Arena. I added one of these images online at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/arenatopaz.htm
I'll try and get out again this evening, to search for more color in downtown Spokane, and Riverfront Park. As long as I don't forget to bring gloves this time, it should be another fun photo op.
John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com
photos@spokanenightscenes.com
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Searching for Christmas 2009 nighttime color, in downtown Spokane
So, the goal of this shoot was to find color, during the Christmas season, in downtown Spokane. I was hoping to find color in places other than where the “usual suspects,” are.
On the south side of the Lincoln building at Riverside and Lincoln, I found color atop the Lincoln buildings southern walls, looking straight up.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc2.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc3.htm
I’m not a traditional practitioner of shooting “leading lines,” but I think that all the different angles and lines are helpful in displaying the color on top of the Lincoln building.
JDM
On the south side of the Lincoln building at Riverside and Lincoln, I found color atop the Lincoln buildings southern walls, looking straight up.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc2.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/linc3.htm
I’m not a traditional practitioner of shooting “leading lines,” but I think that all the different angles and lines are helpful in displaying the color on top of the Lincoln building.
JDM
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Spokane Night Photographers
And so the fun begins
Night shooting is a lot of fun. If it isn’t, you are doing it wrong.
One way to get started, at least locally, is to join up with a number of other night shooters who go out with me once or twice a month, to shoot different types of locations. No cost involved, and you can have both fun, and also learn some things. Right now, I have about 30 listed night shooters, who attend the on-location shoots. I tend to break the groups down into smaller numbers instead of getting thirty out there at once, but my groups tend to run about 12-14 people at each location.
For me, this is the “season.” It gets dark early, and you can shoot at night without having to spend all night outdoors carting all of your gear around. This past Sunday, I was joined by about a dozen photogs on the Riverpoint Campus just east of downtown Spokane. My goals of the evening were to get the photogs into a situation that they would have to begin to manage high intensity lighting features. After about 45 minutes, I took them to a second location on the Riverpoint Campus where there was darkness, and almost the exact opposite of what they shot earlier.
Exposure to these situations can be helpful in the future, and having other photogs around can give everyone different ideas. All of these events are “outside the box opportunities.” There is usually more than one way to accomplish each objective, but after developing a workflow at a location, it can prepare you to deal with just about anything in front of the lens.
It isn’t a secret that I love shooting night scenes. To invite all of these folks out to different locations and see them enjoy what they are doing, make a few hours a totally enjoyable experience. Some of the night shooters are not affiliated with any local camera or photo organization. Some are members of the Spokane Camera Club, Spokane Valley Camera Club, Photographic Society of America, or Inland Outlook Photo Club. Some are very basic shooters, some are moderately experienced, and a few are advanced level photographers. The varied skill levels are very helpful in developing answers to photogs questions who are using a variety of camera equipment brands.
Did I mention that night shooting was fun? Of course I did, and it is a lot of fun. I tend to take my groups to areas I have shot before, and I leave my cameras at home in the office. It was hard for me to do that in the beginning, but I found out that coaching and helping some of the others cannot be done successfully if I am trying to shoot for myself. So, I develop my targets and visit them either before, or after the evenings I schedule night shoots around Spokane.
We have room for more shooters, if you want to visit Spokane locations after dark with some others who want to try to broaden their shooting skills. Let’s face it. We live in a beautiful place, and it actually gets prettier as the sun goes down. Lots of different things going on, different lighting and activity centers, and lots of motion. For years I saw very, very, few photographers after dark. Now, I get to visit with at least a dozen or so each time a new night shoot is scheduled. Breaking the existing group in half to shoot the same location on different evenings has been helpful in managing the numbers of photogs in attendance. I am interested in challenging each of the night shooters to a full blown Spokane project, in the future. Something that would combine the developed skills of ALL the photographers, into a single objective. I am testing the waters right now with my local Spokane community contacts, but for now all I can say is stay tuned for a fairly large Spokane project which can use all of the photographers in one evening’s project.
JDM
Night shooting is a lot of fun. If it isn’t, you are doing it wrong.
One way to get started, at least locally, is to join up with a number of other night shooters who go out with me once or twice a month, to shoot different types of locations. No cost involved, and you can have both fun, and also learn some things. Right now, I have about 30 listed night shooters, who attend the on-location shoots. I tend to break the groups down into smaller numbers instead of getting thirty out there at once, but my groups tend to run about 12-14 people at each location.
For me, this is the “season.” It gets dark early, and you can shoot at night without having to spend all night outdoors carting all of your gear around. This past Sunday, I was joined by about a dozen photogs on the Riverpoint Campus just east of downtown Spokane. My goals of the evening were to get the photogs into a situation that they would have to begin to manage high intensity lighting features. After about 45 minutes, I took them to a second location on the Riverpoint Campus where there was darkness, and almost the exact opposite of what they shot earlier.
Exposure to these situations can be helpful in the future, and having other photogs around can give everyone different ideas. All of these events are “outside the box opportunities.” There is usually more than one way to accomplish each objective, but after developing a workflow at a location, it can prepare you to deal with just about anything in front of the lens.
It isn’t a secret that I love shooting night scenes. To invite all of these folks out to different locations and see them enjoy what they are doing, make a few hours a totally enjoyable experience. Some of the night shooters are not affiliated with any local camera or photo organization. Some are members of the Spokane Camera Club, Spokane Valley Camera Club, Photographic Society of America, or Inland Outlook Photo Club. Some are very basic shooters, some are moderately experienced, and a few are advanced level photographers. The varied skill levels are very helpful in developing answers to photogs questions who are using a variety of camera equipment brands.
Did I mention that night shooting was fun? Of course I did, and it is a lot of fun. I tend to take my groups to areas I have shot before, and I leave my cameras at home in the office. It was hard for me to do that in the beginning, but I found out that coaching and helping some of the others cannot be done successfully if I am trying to shoot for myself. So, I develop my targets and visit them either before, or after the evenings I schedule night shoots around Spokane.
We have room for more shooters, if you want to visit Spokane locations after dark with some others who want to try to broaden their shooting skills. Let’s face it. We live in a beautiful place, and it actually gets prettier as the sun goes down. Lots of different things going on, different lighting and activity centers, and lots of motion. For years I saw very, very, few photographers after dark. Now, I get to visit with at least a dozen or so each time a new night shoot is scheduled. Breaking the existing group in half to shoot the same location on different evenings has been helpful in managing the numbers of photogs in attendance. I am interested in challenging each of the night shooters to a full blown Spokane project, in the future. Something that would combine the developed skills of ALL the photographers, into a single objective. I am testing the waters right now with my local Spokane community contacts, but for now all I can say is stay tuned for a fairly large Spokane project which can use all of the photographers in one evening’s project.
JDM
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Night shooters FAQ's
Here are some questions that have come in this morning, as well as from other night shooters.
Do I need a tripod?
The short answer is yes. Image stabilization might be terrific for single shots, but to combine a series of shots means, your PLATFORM CANNOT move. You have to shoot multiple shots from exactly the same spot and camera position. Blending them, or layering them in post shooting processes will produce a finished shot.
Do I need a flashlight?
Yes, you do. Working with a piece of equipment after sunset presents a series of intellectual challenges for all night shooters. This is not just present in basic or midlevel shooters. To streamline your efforts of being able to get around a site safely, and to get around your camera quickly, you need to bring a light.
I tend to operate with multiple lights including a headlamp, and also a small handheld flashlight. I like to use red filters or lenses to mitigate night blindness for myself as well as others who might also be shooting in the same area. When the red filter is not necessary, you use plain old white light to get around safely.
What do I wear?
Not a silly question, as was asked by a couple of photogs locally. This time of year it can get cold, and based on the last two winters in Spokane, we are quite familiar with all of that stuff. Comfortable clothing, usually several light layers. Visibility at night can be important, especially if you are in and around traffic, so a lighter colored or reflective outer layer might be recommended.
Shoes? Yep, bring them along. Sturdy shoes or boots are a must for shooting after dark. Kinda silly? No, not really, since falls with expensive equipment can ruin anyone’s evening. Falls on ice, can cause more than just injury to equipment, so good sturdy shoes are a must.
How many shots do I need?
Interesting question, well, sorta interesting. Some shooters have written me and advised that they can get what they want in only one shot. I think that is outstanding, if it is really what is happening. I have never really had much success with one shot night shooting efforts. On some night shoots I average 400 images at one site, and add them together (not all of them) after they are reviewed on the computer.
At the least I need three shots at a location, which will produce a final outcome. In determining a start point, you can use the viewfinder to determine a start point (or rear screen display). A start point will allow you to view much of the detail of the image, especially in the darkest (shadow) spots. This same view will also show you that your lights (highlights) are almost always totally blown out, but the details look good. Once you have reached the start point, then I shoot one series at this point. Following that I INCREASE the shutter speed, normally quite a bit. This almost always takes away the detail you saw before, but what you also see is that the highlights (ambient lighting) is now very visible without being blown out at all. After being satisfied with the fastest shutter speed shot, you do the opposite, which means you now slow down the shutter speed, and go beyond the spot you found earlier which showed much of the detail. This will really be blown out as far as highlights go, but you will lack very little in detail that is hiding in the shadows. I shoot totally in MANUAL, so I can determine what it is the camera is doing. This type of workflow may be a little different than some other photogs, but it works for me.
What is important now is that in ALL of these different shots, you have NOT MOVED THE TRIPOD OR CAMERA. Combining the three views of your shot are now the editing challenge, but it is likely to reveal a great view of a location after darkness. A wireless shutter release, or tethered shutter release are helpful. It is also helpful to have setup the basics of the camera before you got to the site, so you do not have to worry about adjusting ISO levels or FStops. Determine those in advance and then leave them alone...you only need to adjust shutter speed after that.
Sound simple? Well, it sorta is. Each location has its issues though, but if you go to these sites with some basic tools to work with, you can make the site and camera modifications required. In most cases you only need to adjust a shutter speed.
John
Do I need a tripod?
The short answer is yes. Image stabilization might be terrific for single shots, but to combine a series of shots means, your PLATFORM CANNOT move. You have to shoot multiple shots from exactly the same spot and camera position. Blending them, or layering them in post shooting processes will produce a finished shot.
Do I need a flashlight?
Yes, you do. Working with a piece of equipment after sunset presents a series of intellectual challenges for all night shooters. This is not just present in basic or midlevel shooters. To streamline your efforts of being able to get around a site safely, and to get around your camera quickly, you need to bring a light.
I tend to operate with multiple lights including a headlamp, and also a small handheld flashlight. I like to use red filters or lenses to mitigate night blindness for myself as well as others who might also be shooting in the same area. When the red filter is not necessary, you use plain old white light to get around safely.
What do I wear?
Not a silly question, as was asked by a couple of photogs locally. This time of year it can get cold, and based on the last two winters in Spokane, we are quite familiar with all of that stuff. Comfortable clothing, usually several light layers. Visibility at night can be important, especially if you are in and around traffic, so a lighter colored or reflective outer layer might be recommended.
Shoes? Yep, bring them along. Sturdy shoes or boots are a must for shooting after dark. Kinda silly? No, not really, since falls with expensive equipment can ruin anyone’s evening. Falls on ice, can cause more than just injury to equipment, so good sturdy shoes are a must.
How many shots do I need?
Interesting question, well, sorta interesting. Some shooters have written me and advised that they can get what they want in only one shot. I think that is outstanding, if it is really what is happening. I have never really had much success with one shot night shooting efforts. On some night shoots I average 400 images at one site, and add them together (not all of them) after they are reviewed on the computer.
At the least I need three shots at a location, which will produce a final outcome. In determining a start point, you can use the viewfinder to determine a start point (or rear screen display). A start point will allow you to view much of the detail of the image, especially in the darkest (shadow) spots. This same view will also show you that your lights (highlights) are almost always totally blown out, but the details look good. Once you have reached the start point, then I shoot one series at this point. Following that I INCREASE the shutter speed, normally quite a bit. This almost always takes away the detail you saw before, but what you also see is that the highlights (ambient lighting) is now very visible without being blown out at all. After being satisfied with the fastest shutter speed shot, you do the opposite, which means you now slow down the shutter speed, and go beyond the spot you found earlier which showed much of the detail. This will really be blown out as far as highlights go, but you will lack very little in detail that is hiding in the shadows. I shoot totally in MANUAL, so I can determine what it is the camera is doing. This type of workflow may be a little different than some other photogs, but it works for me.
What is important now is that in ALL of these different shots, you have NOT MOVED THE TRIPOD OR CAMERA. Combining the three views of your shot are now the editing challenge, but it is likely to reveal a great view of a location after darkness. A wireless shutter release, or tethered shutter release are helpful. It is also helpful to have setup the basics of the camera before you got to the site, so you do not have to worry about adjusting ISO levels or FStops. Determine those in advance and then leave them alone...you only need to adjust shutter speed after that.
Sound simple? Well, it sorta is. Each location has its issues though, but if you go to these sites with some basic tools to work with, you can make the site and camera modifications required. In most cases you only need to adjust a shutter speed.
John
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency has contracted with Spokane Night Scenes
The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency has contracted with Spokane Night Scenes for licensed image use (2 images) for their new 2010 Calendar.
The images chosen by the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency for the 2010 Calendar are:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/jundt.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/patsyclark.htm (second image)
JDM
The images chosen by the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency for the 2010 Calendar are:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/jundt.htm
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/patsyclark.htm (second image)
JDM
Spokane Night Scenes chosen for 2010 Spokane Relocation Guide
Greater Spokane Incorporated
The Spokane Chamber and Spokane EDC have contracted with Spokane Night Scenes for a cover image for their new 2010 Spokane Relocation Guide. A sample of the 2009 relocation guide is here:
http://www.relocatespokane.com/
A low resolution image of the Spokane Night Scenes image chosen by Greater Spokane Inc., is located here:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktowereast.htm
We are lucky to live in a beautiful place, and those relocating to Spokane will find out soon.
JDM
The Spokane Chamber and Spokane EDC have contracted with Spokane Night Scenes for a cover image for their new 2010 Spokane Relocation Guide. A sample of the 2009 relocation guide is here:
http://www.relocatespokane.com/
A low resolution image of the Spokane Night Scenes image chosen by Greater Spokane Inc., is located here:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktowereast.htm
We are lucky to live in a beautiful place, and those relocating to Spokane will find out soon.
JDM
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Mission Street bridge, Spokane, Washington
Mission Street bridge, Spokane, Washington
I have been involved in a neighborhood photo shoot for the past two weeks, and as I drove to the target neighborhood, I noticed some reflections from the Mission Street Bridge. This bridge came to my attention as City crews labored on the bridge with equipment lowered over the side of the bridge. It appeared they were doing repairs or inspections (or both). It seemed like a potential target for the cameras after dark, largely because of the reflection potential.
A couple of nights ago I made it to the Mission Street Bridge about 30 minutes after sunset. The reflections were not as pronounced as I anticipated, but I grabbed the Canon with the wide angled lens (11x18), and decided to shoot the bridge anyhow. I wanted to try and capture some automobile traffic lights crossing the bridge, although most of the headlights were below the walls on the sides of the bridge.
I started with 15 second exposures, but it was apparent with those shots that this was going to take much longer exposures to capture the details of the bridge. I settled on 1 minute BULB exposures at F8, and ISO 100. The one minute exposures helped tame the ambient lights, but much of the details were still too dark. By the time I opened up the shutter for about two minutes, the details became apparent. I settled on images of 1:45 and 2:13 and blended those the following day on the computer. It is amazing how dark it can get in areas without street lights, even if you are shooting towards much brighter areas.
Shooting after dark really does draw attention to what it is I am doing. I had a couple of SPD vehicles do a couple of drive by’s, and also someone in a red pickup truck. The truck driver might have thought I was breaking into my XL7 as it was so dark my headlamp was likely all that could be seen. I think that in the future I need to just bite the bullet and wear a reflective vest even when not immediately adjacent to automobile traffic. Sometimes it is not a bad idea to be seen, since darkness can obscure the intent of a photographer at any given site. Shooting photos after dark, and in total darkness, is a wacko endeavor in and of itself. So, adding one more element for safety reasons is not as strange as it might sound…. I guess.
I have edited two versions of the Mission Street Bridge shots, and one of those has been added to the Spokane Night Scenes website at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/msb.htm
The actual location for the series of shots is at:
N 47º 40.276'
W 117º 23.227'
JDM
I have been involved in a neighborhood photo shoot for the past two weeks, and as I drove to the target neighborhood, I noticed some reflections from the Mission Street Bridge. This bridge came to my attention as City crews labored on the bridge with equipment lowered over the side of the bridge. It appeared they were doing repairs or inspections (or both). It seemed like a potential target for the cameras after dark, largely because of the reflection potential.
A couple of nights ago I made it to the Mission Street Bridge about 30 minutes after sunset. The reflections were not as pronounced as I anticipated, but I grabbed the Canon with the wide angled lens (11x18), and decided to shoot the bridge anyhow. I wanted to try and capture some automobile traffic lights crossing the bridge, although most of the headlights were below the walls on the sides of the bridge.
I started with 15 second exposures, but it was apparent with those shots that this was going to take much longer exposures to capture the details of the bridge. I settled on 1 minute BULB exposures at F8, and ISO 100. The one minute exposures helped tame the ambient lights, but much of the details were still too dark. By the time I opened up the shutter for about two minutes, the details became apparent. I settled on images of 1:45 and 2:13 and blended those the following day on the computer. It is amazing how dark it can get in areas without street lights, even if you are shooting towards much brighter areas.
Shooting after dark really does draw attention to what it is I am doing. I had a couple of SPD vehicles do a couple of drive by’s, and also someone in a red pickup truck. The truck driver might have thought I was breaking into my XL7 as it was so dark my headlamp was likely all that could be seen. I think that in the future I need to just bite the bullet and wear a reflective vest even when not immediately adjacent to automobile traffic. Sometimes it is not a bad idea to be seen, since darkness can obscure the intent of a photographer at any given site. Shooting photos after dark, and in total darkness, is a wacko endeavor in and of itself. So, adding one more element for safety reasons is not as strange as it might sound…. I guess.
I have edited two versions of the Mission Street Bridge shots, and one of those has been added to the Spokane Night Scenes website at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/msb.htm
The actual location for the series of shots is at:
N 47º 40.276'
W 117º 23.227'
JDM
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
If there appears to be nothing, there has to be something
One of the issues around night shooting is the number of unlit or dimly lit targets. These same targets might be very distinctive in daylight, but when the sun goes down, they simply disappear.
Such was the case over on the Riverpoint Campus. This campus has very distinctive art installations (sculptures), and these are very well identified in daylight. At night, some of these same art sculptures vanish into darkness. On the one hand, it might simply be easy to just skip them and move on to something better lighted. Yet, there is always the challenge of wondering what the sculptures might look like if there was ample light, and color, provided to them after dark. Perhaps these daytime art sculptures might look dramatically different when it gets dark.
One of these sculptures was a project I shot last year. This project is titled “Cooperation.”
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/blueheads.htm
After dark, this sculpture was nestled into complete darkness. The goal was to illuminate this project with different colors, and make it distinctive in a series of photographs. After shooting this target with different colors, and many bracketed shots while painting with color, the images could be blended into the final shot.
On Sunday night, I took a group of about 14 photogs out to the Riverpoint Campus, so they could be faced with extreme bright lights:
(Light Reading at: http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/blueroom.htm),
I also wanted them to deal with complete darkness. While there I noticed this set of three rocks in an area that I had not paid any attention to before. It looked just like a sculpture, but it was also an object I could not find on the list of Art objects identified on the Riverpoint Campus website. I was purposely carrying no cameras with me the night I took the photogs with me to Riverpoint, so I talked one of the photogs into setting up a shot with his Nikon, so I could paint these three rocks and see how distinctive this approach could be. To me, it looked dynamite, so I made a mental note to go back the following night to shoot these three rocks for myself.
Last night I went back to the Riverpoint Campus and painted the three rocks with a variety of colors, in different presentations of color on each surface. I used a wide angle lens so I could get close (11x18), and the exposures ranged from 3 to 8 seconds per exposure (at F8, ISO 100). After 102 images shot, and speaking to a number of curious passersby, it was time to call it a day as far as lighting up these rocks.
Today I settled on one presentation of the three colors used, and added it to the web:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverpointrocks.htm
I have a request in this morning to the WSU Art committee, so I can try and identify what this work is titled, and who the original artist is that created the work. Once I get that data I can link to that artist and identify what these three rocks are actually called.
This is an example of a piece of art that disappears after dark, but it also represents an intellectual challenge to bring it back to life using color.
JDM
Such was the case over on the Riverpoint Campus. This campus has very distinctive art installations (sculptures), and these are very well identified in daylight. At night, some of these same art sculptures vanish into darkness. On the one hand, it might simply be easy to just skip them and move on to something better lighted. Yet, there is always the challenge of wondering what the sculptures might look like if there was ample light, and color, provided to them after dark. Perhaps these daytime art sculptures might look dramatically different when it gets dark.
One of these sculptures was a project I shot last year. This project is titled “Cooperation.”
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/blueheads.htm
After dark, this sculpture was nestled into complete darkness. The goal was to illuminate this project with different colors, and make it distinctive in a series of photographs. After shooting this target with different colors, and many bracketed shots while painting with color, the images could be blended into the final shot.
On Sunday night, I took a group of about 14 photogs out to the Riverpoint Campus, so they could be faced with extreme bright lights:
(Light Reading at: http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/blueroom.htm),
I also wanted them to deal with complete darkness. While there I noticed this set of three rocks in an area that I had not paid any attention to before. It looked just like a sculpture, but it was also an object I could not find on the list of Art objects identified on the Riverpoint Campus website. I was purposely carrying no cameras with me the night I took the photogs with me to Riverpoint, so I talked one of the photogs into setting up a shot with his Nikon, so I could paint these three rocks and see how distinctive this approach could be. To me, it looked dynamite, so I made a mental note to go back the following night to shoot these three rocks for myself.
Last night I went back to the Riverpoint Campus and painted the three rocks with a variety of colors, in different presentations of color on each surface. I used a wide angle lens so I could get close (11x18), and the exposures ranged from 3 to 8 seconds per exposure (at F8, ISO 100). After 102 images shot, and speaking to a number of curious passersby, it was time to call it a day as far as lighting up these rocks.
Today I settled on one presentation of the three colors used, and added it to the web:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riverpointrocks.htm
I have a request in this morning to the WSU Art committee, so I can try and identify what this work is titled, and who the original artist is that created the work. Once I get that data I can link to that artist and identify what these three rocks are actually called.
This is an example of a piece of art that disappears after dark, but it also represents an intellectual challenge to bring it back to life using color.
JDM
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hillyard Skate Park, Spokane, Washington
Recently I saw a few blown out daylight images of the City Park, just north of the downtown Hillyard business district. A number of the images displayed the Hillyard Skate Park, during daylight. As I looked at these really bright images, it gave me a pause for thought. What would this place look at after dark? I was wondering about how I could try and display the curves in the massive amount of concrete poured at the Skate Park in Hillyard.
Building a system or process, was the next step…and it had to be done during daylight. I traveled to the Hillyard Skate Park, and shot images in a 360 look, so I could review them later to come up with a plan. Shooting with my 18 x 200 was perfect for daylight, but, the field of view was too limited when applied to the curves and deeper areas of the Hillyard Skate Park. The only way to maximize this shoot was to go with an 11 x 18, at the widest view, and even then it would not completely cover the entire concrete areas. I settled on one specific area where I surmised I could throw red, blue and amber lights into the recesses of the various component areas of the concrete surfaces. To do so would require extremely long exposures, as I would have to walk into each area after the camera began the shot process. Then I would have to return and close the shutter with my wireless remote. I’d have to repeat this process in each area, and with each different color. What bothered me the most was leaving my camera on the tripod and simply walking away from it, but hopefully, there would be no people around after dark.
Last night I returned to the Hillyard Skate Park, with two cameras and two tripods in case I used both cameras at basically the same times. One camera was using the 18x200 lens, and the other was sporting the 11x18, which ultimately prevailed and the 18x200 was not used for any images. As I arrived, it was totally dark (pitch black) in the Hillyard Skate Park, but there were no people at the venue. I set up the 11x18 camera at the spot I decided on during the daylight visit, and I started lighting the foreground with red light from the Big Max flashlight. I began the shoot with a 10 second exposures, and even when I progressed all the way to 30 seconds, it was so dark I had to stop doing normal timed exposures, and I set the camera to a BULB setting so I could just run with what I was doing, until I was done with whatever I was doing.
I began shooting BULB shots for the blue areas of the shots, and it took about thirty seconds to get to and back from the blue areas of the shots. Add about 3 to 3 and a half minutes for the blue painting efforts in each area, and I started eating up a lot of time on each exposure. After doing the 2 blue areas, I shot with amber at the east side (rear) of the project. This amber area wrapped all the way around the red and blue areas, but most of the amber was influenced dramatically by all of the high pressure sodium lights which were shining in the distance (background light). In the final image, I can see the amber light that I shined from multiple directions, but it really never was as pronounced as I had originally hoped for. Blue was okay, and red was as “in your face,” as I could make it. Red did well, as it was also farther away from the background lighting, and the red area (and blue) was totally shielded from the influence of the background as those areas were really deeper in depth from the top of the concrete.
After about 30 individual BULB exposures, I had eaten up almost an hour and a half of time at the location. I quickly reviewed the RAW (CR2) images, and it appeared I would have enough material to blend after the files were displayed on the computers in the office.
Today, I added a low res version of a blended series of shots. A total of 7 images were needed for this version of the Hillyard Skate Park. It isn’t quite a pano view of Hillyard Skate Park, but the 11x18 was definitely the right choice to get as much of the concrete depths as possible. Concrete is actually kinda ugly stuff, and really plain. Until I began walking around this location with a LED headlamp and the Big Max flashlight, I never had given that much thought. At least now, there is a little color at the location.
Here is the Hillyard Skate Park, in north Spokane. (LOW RES)
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/hillyardskatepark.htm
JDM
Building a system or process, was the next step…and it had to be done during daylight. I traveled to the Hillyard Skate Park, and shot images in a 360 look, so I could review them later to come up with a plan. Shooting with my 18 x 200 was perfect for daylight, but, the field of view was too limited when applied to the curves and deeper areas of the Hillyard Skate Park. The only way to maximize this shoot was to go with an 11 x 18, at the widest view, and even then it would not completely cover the entire concrete areas. I settled on one specific area where I surmised I could throw red, blue and amber lights into the recesses of the various component areas of the concrete surfaces. To do so would require extremely long exposures, as I would have to walk into each area after the camera began the shot process. Then I would have to return and close the shutter with my wireless remote. I’d have to repeat this process in each area, and with each different color. What bothered me the most was leaving my camera on the tripod and simply walking away from it, but hopefully, there would be no people around after dark.
Last night I returned to the Hillyard Skate Park, with two cameras and two tripods in case I used both cameras at basically the same times. One camera was using the 18x200 lens, and the other was sporting the 11x18, which ultimately prevailed and the 18x200 was not used for any images. As I arrived, it was totally dark (pitch black) in the Hillyard Skate Park, but there were no people at the venue. I set up the 11x18 camera at the spot I decided on during the daylight visit, and I started lighting the foreground with red light from the Big Max flashlight. I began the shoot with a 10 second exposures, and even when I progressed all the way to 30 seconds, it was so dark I had to stop doing normal timed exposures, and I set the camera to a BULB setting so I could just run with what I was doing, until I was done with whatever I was doing.
I began shooting BULB shots for the blue areas of the shots, and it took about thirty seconds to get to and back from the blue areas of the shots. Add about 3 to 3 and a half minutes for the blue painting efforts in each area, and I started eating up a lot of time on each exposure. After doing the 2 blue areas, I shot with amber at the east side (rear) of the project. This amber area wrapped all the way around the red and blue areas, but most of the amber was influenced dramatically by all of the high pressure sodium lights which were shining in the distance (background light). In the final image, I can see the amber light that I shined from multiple directions, but it really never was as pronounced as I had originally hoped for. Blue was okay, and red was as “in your face,” as I could make it. Red did well, as it was also farther away from the background lighting, and the red area (and blue) was totally shielded from the influence of the background as those areas were really deeper in depth from the top of the concrete.
After about 30 individual BULB exposures, I had eaten up almost an hour and a half of time at the location. I quickly reviewed the RAW (CR2) images, and it appeared I would have enough material to blend after the files were displayed on the computers in the office.
Today, I added a low res version of a blended series of shots. A total of 7 images were needed for this version of the Hillyard Skate Park. It isn’t quite a pano view of Hillyard Skate Park, but the 11x18 was definitely the right choice to get as much of the concrete depths as possible. Concrete is actually kinda ugly stuff, and really plain. Until I began walking around this location with a LED headlamp and the Big Max flashlight, I never had given that much thought. At least now, there is a little color at the location.
Here is the Hillyard Skate Park, in north Spokane. (LOW RES)
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/hillyardskatepark.htm
JDM
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
There's daylight at Spokane Night Scenes
This summer, there have been a number of daylight "excuses,"to capture some colorful photographs. One of the "excuses," was the Annual PoW Wow in Spokane's Riverfront Park. This was a great source of color in 2008, and in 2009 the Pow Wow easily surpassed the moment this year.
I have installed a flash slide program of assorted Pow Wow images, online: This is a LARGE Flash program, and it is designed for those visitors who have high-speed, or broadband internet connections.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/POWWOW2009.htm
One other daylight project this summer, was the Gallery display of very large color prints (24 X 36, and 20 X 30) at the Liberty Theater in Toppenish, Washington. Known for it's historic murals all over town, it was fun to display down there. I had a chance to speak with local photography Pro's and that was a blast.
Then I got a chance to setup at Unity In The Community this year, at Riverfront Park. My daughter Erin Gibson was able to display her pencil Art with me, both at The Liberty Theater in Toppenish, as well as the booth setup in Riverfront Park here in Spokane. Her art is available at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ebg/ebg.htm
Lets face it, I am a night shooter. Yet, once in a while doing some things in daylight can be classified as fun (more or less). This weekend I had a chance to complete a community service project for the Friends of the Falls (FOF) in their Spokane River Cleanup event. I shot about 450 images this weekend, and I edited about 75 of those for FOF to use online and in their ongoing efforts with the Spokane River. One of the Spokane City Council members asked for a number of my FOF images from this weekend, and he displayed those at the City Council Meeting held last night at Spokane's City Hall.
I have a feeling that the images from this years event will be used by a few other non profit groups locally, since many were involved in the work on the banks of the Spokane River this year.
JDM
I have installed a flash slide program of assorted Pow Wow images, online: This is a LARGE Flash program, and it is designed for those visitors who have high-speed, or broadband internet connections.
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/POWWOW2009.htm
One other daylight project this summer, was the Gallery display of very large color prints (24 X 36, and 20 X 30) at the Liberty Theater in Toppenish, Washington. Known for it's historic murals all over town, it was fun to display down there. I had a chance to speak with local photography Pro's and that was a blast.
Then I got a chance to setup at Unity In The Community this year, at Riverfront Park. My daughter Erin Gibson was able to display her pencil Art with me, both at The Liberty Theater in Toppenish, as well as the booth setup in Riverfront Park here in Spokane. Her art is available at:
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ebg/ebg.htm
Lets face it, I am a night shooter. Yet, once in a while doing some things in daylight can be classified as fun (more or less). This weekend I had a chance to complete a community service project for the Friends of the Falls (FOF) in their Spokane River Cleanup event. I shot about 450 images this weekend, and I edited about 75 of those for FOF to use online and in their ongoing efforts with the Spokane River. One of the Spokane City Council members asked for a number of my FOF images from this weekend, and he displayed those at the City Council Meeting held last night at Spokane's City Hall.
I have a feeling that the images from this years event will be used by a few other non profit groups locally, since many were involved in the work on the banks of the Spokane River this year.
JDM
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