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Night Photography
By David Rose, Fri Dec 9th
Night Photography
By David Rose, Fri Dec 9th
Photographers have been trying to utilize the light of the moonin their landscape photography ever since the photographicprocess was invented. It was not until World War II, however,that technology had improved enough to make night photographypossible. Today, despite technological advances, knowing the phase of themoon during a nighttime photography shoot is important as itwill affect everything from the type of equipment that you'llneed to the actual composition of your photos. When embarking on a night photography trip, there are standardtypes of equipment that you will need to take with you. (Article continued below)
- A 35mm camera that will allow you to manually set very longexposure times is a must - A good, sturdy tripod is mandatory - A cable release - A good carrying case or a vest with a lot of pockets for yourequipment - Extra batteries for your camera - Many rolls of slow or medium film (60 or 100 ISA--NEVER use400 ISA even if it's what happens to be in your camera. Yourphotos will turn out much too grainy to be useful). - Lenses with which you are already comfortable - A stopwatch rather than a wristwatch to record exposurelengths is preferable. Stopwatches are more accurate and willgive you more reliable information for future moon photographyshoots. - A notebook and several pens for recording exposure times andother important information - A flashlight so that you can easily record your information Remember that if this is your first attempt at night photographyby moonlight, you will largely spend your time experimenting.The resulting photographs and your
records will help you planyour next venture more effectively. The best times for landscape photography without additionallight sources, or looking at it in a different manner, away fromcity lights, is either when the moon is full, the two daysbefore the full moon and the two days after the full moon. Anyclouds in the sky will also affect the amount of light availablefor your night photography, just as they would if you wereshooting during the day. You will have to experiment with your exposure times as so manyelements will affect the outcome. The degree of availablemoonlight; any other light sources; clouds; rain; lightreflective surfaces; each of them can make a huge difference tothe amount of exposure time needed. In general, during night photography, one can say that on anight of full moon, with optimum conditions, 8 seconds at f/8using ISO 100 film will be about right. If there's a crescentmoon and conditions are also optimal, you'll need as much as 10hours on one shot! So you see, experimentation whilephotographing the moon is really the only way to go. Repeat your shots with different exposure lengths so that youcan get a feel for what your camera will do for you. A very nice composition for a moonscape might include the moonwith beams bouncing off of a river, stream or creek. As the moon moves through its different phases, you can stillenjoy landscape photography at night although you may have tobring some "extras" and move locations. Different moonscape compositions to experiment with during yourmoonlight photography shoot include: - A waxing crescent, or a small portion of the moon, hanging inthe sky over sparkling city lights. - Bring a flash or a flash unit to your moon photography shootin order to illuminate an abandoned house, use colored gels toget different color effects and have a muted last quarter moonlurking in the background. - As the moon goes from full to new, you can play with lighteffects from the stars or allow car lights to streak throughyour composition. When photographing the moon, be sure to record not only thelength of time that you exposed your film, but also generalweather conditions and what phase the moon was in. This willhelp you to produce better photos in the future. Night photography becomes easier when you're able to planproperly so knowing how much natural light is likely to beavailable will help you pick the right time to go out and whatkind of equipment to take. Nighttime landscape photography is a creative, rewardingchallenge that every keen photographer should try. About the author:David Rose is a nature photographer and creator of the popularmoon software, QuickPhase Pro, the fun and easy way to view thephases of the moon. To learn more, visithttp://www.quickphase.com | 
