"Do you always have a camera with you?" asked many a person. The simple answer is mostly. Not always, but 90% of the time I would have to say I do. That means I often take images that were never meant to be . Unplanned random shots that just jump out at me and beg to be taken. Like this one last tonight along Parliament Street. Gary and I ordered and Chinese, waited for the taxi to take us home, camera came out. Needless to say we had also had a drinkies or several down the Swan prior to the Chinese. Photography, booze and 5 spare mins a heady mix. So who's for a lesson in night time photography?Firstly lets explode a few myths. You don't need a tripod. It can be done hand held, even when inebriated. You don't have to have fancy pants light meters. You don't have to have camera hoods. It's all about the settings. The shot itself is easy. Enough white building to bounce/reflect light. The sky although darkening still has a little tinge of light. The only bugbear are the artificial lights. This is where people go wrong and get those nasty trails of blurry orange or white light instead of sharp chunks of glow. So firstly forget the auto. Switch to manual and fiddle around with your white balance (ISO) and the F. stops. Take 3 or 4 at different speeds until you eliminate the trails. So this one was ISO 400, F2, low light(slow) wide angled lens on full zoom and a drunken photographer, although that is optional. You keep the warm tones, see the lettering clearly and the feel of a nighttime shot without sacrificing detail or sharpness. If I can do it drunk then you can do it sober. I want results people!
Well busy weekend. Apparently a big rugby weekend coming up and I have to drag my sorry ass up the Mooragh to photograph it, plus go to the clubhouse later that evening to see what we think is a Ska band or a Ska/Punk band. Who cares it's live music, and I love a live band. Ramsey you see knows how to have fun once in a while. What are your plans?
44 comments:
Hello Babooshka !
Nice picture !
"C'est beau une ville la nuit !"
Your text is full of humorist (?) !
Sweet babycakes it's a humdinger!
I have laughed till I cried. I can't do it drunk or sober. But it's fun trying. Have a great weekend and you all try and stay out of trouble.
Laughing out loud.
If I could get pictures to look like that, I'd start drinking.
:)
That's a great sky.
Hi Bab, I am trying to remember Parliment Street but am having trouble. Will look at my Ramsey map when I get home.
Next week I might try to put a pretty little 50's or 60's Morris Minor I found at Ramsey last year. It was in good shape, you probably know the car.
..
Bottle of booze, practice my nighttime photography, wake up and do it again, lol. Love the photo. Thanks for the lesson.
Absolultely fantastic photo. Thanks for sharing
Cheers
http://reginainpictures.blogspot.com/
even when inebriated!! I concur ;)
beautiful scene
I have camera with me almost all the time, I feel naked if I don´t have it. Weekend plans? Staying home sick...
LOL..playing with the settings scares me..but I will try..but I can be off balance while perfectly sober. I have a little camera I carry in my purse if only I would remember and then be able to find it in my handbag..
"What are your plans?"
"Louis" plans to stay sober.
He has enough trouble with camera settings what with hooves and the lack of opposable thumbs. He fears ethanol added to the mix would be a bit much...
i love this pic! interesting perspective.
i love this pic! interesting perspective.
You are a better drunk photographer than a sober one like me.
When I take night photos, I usually switch the (point-and-shoot) to either the long exposure or night setting, find a stable place to balance the camera and shoot away. I usually take upward of 10 photos hoping one will come out nicely.
Oh, and I do that with one foot up and one hand on my head.
Note to file, instead of lugging the tripod, two bottles of red will have the same effect!
Nice thoughts all round!
Sunshine Coast Daily - Australia
My plans would bore you to death. Honey, a few decades ago, I could give you a run for your money, but today...Alas! PS. The sky is very cool!!
Fascinating to read you don't need a tripod for night shots. I have a night setting on my camera and now know to change the White Balance to the Tungsten setting for street lights - doesn't always work for me tho. Obviously I need to drink more...
Loved yesterday's harbour shot too - that was fabulous.
First thing first: Thank you for your kind words and comment on my 100th post, Babooshka. I appreciate your frequent visits, comments, and the link you gava to my blog - they all mean a lot coming from an experienced photographer like you and a top blog like yours.
I find that having a camera with us most of the time really handy. Like you said, photo ops do often come at an unexpected moments. Oh, and thanks for sharing this tip on night photography. I don't think I have got any in my posts. SHould explore it and have some posted soon.
Eki
Brava! I must try the drunk MODE!
Love that purple sky! Gotta get me a camera with all those options!
Yaehh! I dig going out to see music loud and live too! I love your swooning shot!
Nice image Babooshka and yet again great tips, thanks. The band that you are going to see tonight are called "Buncha Skankas". Don't however let the name put you off because they are excellent. I've seen them quite a few times and can highly recommend them. As you say a ska tribute band playing stuff by Madness and The Specials. Missed them last week at The Britt and was told by friends that they were amazing.....Have a good night...
Digital has revolutionised this kind of shooting - the camera tell you so much.
My light meter is a faithfull Weston which got most use with a 'dome' for incident light reading when shooting transparency stock. It never gets a look in these days except when using print.
As far as the majority of my pointandshoot shots from island days, it had to be left to modern processing methods and modern colour film with its huge tolerance.
You will be pleased to know we will be up Olivers Mount watching the bike racing! Yes, the IOM stars are over here this weekend and I'll be there with my camera! Have a good weekend!
Dxx
That's it! I need to start drinking more when I shoot pictures! :-)
WOw, Babooshka, this is a tasty shot. I love that you cropped it square, too.
Have a great weekend.
I'm with the others - I'd better start drinking! I love this photo!
I have a new camera, and it's taking me a while to learn the "easy" and "auto" modes. I won't get to the "manual" bit for a while at this rate!
Great Photo!
babooshka, through your photos, I can say that the September skies both here in the Philippines and there in Isle of man are somewhat identical. Especially every dusk. That's why I spend a lot of time these days just looking at the magnificent colors of the sky. So RelaxinG!
Steven^^
This is such a fun shot and beautiful too!
And thanks for the photo lesson- were you lurking about my mind? i have been googling around the last few weeks trying to figure out how to take good night shots, especially at football games, the harvest moon, or of the sunsets. thanks! I'm gonna give this a try tonight!
lovely picture and thank you for the tip about manual settings. very useful.
Is having a drink or two the secret to your success?! lol
Thanks for the top tips, I'm going to start trying my hand at manual settings.
Thanks for the tip, Babooshka. My camera's tiny but I always use the manual settings too. Can't say I've been successful though. LOL
Watched a musical last night, then this afternoon, a kiddie version of The Magic Flute and an ethnic-modern ballet (or something like that). The ballet was awesome! :)
yeah its always nice to have the camera with you, so as not to miss whatever might come your way, love the photo...
I like it. I really need to figure out how to work out the manual settings on my camera. Apparently they're there, but I've never used them.
I loved the photo but loved the text more...
Note to self: night shots. Drink more...
So thats your secret- have a few drinks before you shoot. I think I'll try that tonight.
Thanks for the night shot lesson.
I am working on this as the weekend progresses - the conversion to manual, that is. The drinking-mode is standard format. Bloody hell - and you want results. Tough chick!
very nice photo
Great Shot. A couple of wines generally has me taking blurry pictures of the ground. Maybe I could try lying down. Might get the sky that way.
Nice shot! I've been up that street :)
i love this shot. really makes me feel I am there at sunset, about to head into a local pub. And than a walk around town.
I really like this one. Looks so calm and beautiful. :)
Thanks for your comment on my blog. Always nice with a little bit of support. Take care and have a great day. I'll soon be back blogging and look forward to start vising yours again. :)
It looks inviting and yet frightening at the same time. Inviting because of the colour and the warm light. Frightening because it's getting dark and I don't know the area. I'd love to visit, though!
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