Photography

A simple yet fun motion study

Making a base exposure is important so you can decide on how long to keep your shutter open. I stopped down so that I could get at least a 10 second shutter speed at ISO 100. On my Canon 5 D Mark2, I can actually lower that to ISO 50 if I need to.
Making a base exposure is important so you can decide on how long to keep your shutter open. I stopped down so that I could get at least a 10 second shutter speed at ISO 100. On my Canon 5 D Mark2, I can actually lower that to ISO 50 if I need to.

 

Canon 5DM2 with the Vello Freewave Plus on the hotshoe. The receiver is plugged into the camera's N-3 port.
Canon 5DM2 with the Vello Freewave Plus on the hotshoe. The receiver is plugged into the camera’s N-3 port.

Remember those cheap radio remotes I bought for triggering my cameras?

In that post, I highlighted how they could be used for self-portraits a.k.a selfies.

There’s actually a better use.

So I took a drive with my tripod, the Canon 5DMarkII and my 17-35mm lens.

It’s important that you do this at dusk or early morning just before sunrise.

light trials as I enter warp speed ;-)
#1

During that very small window of opportunity, the sky has a gradient with the sun at the horizon and then the rest of the sky is progressively darker at the top of your frame.
#2

A completely dark sky isn’t as interesting but don’t take my word for it.

There's no way to predict with certainty what you'll get as you can see. Let me know which you prefer. I like this 3rd one best because the instrument panel is better lit and that gives the picture some visual interest in the foreground. What do you think? Let me know in comments. If you try this, do share your results in comments.
There’s no way to predict with certainty what you’ll get as you can see. Let me know which you prefer. I like this 3rd one best because the instrument panel is better lit and that gives the picture some visual interest in the foreground. What do you think? Let me know in comments. If you try this, do share your results in comments.

Naturally before you start, you’ll want to position your tripod between the 2 rear seats, adjust your framing then lock everything down.

If you have a flimsy tripod, it may be a good idea to use a sandbag to steady it further.

Light levels change very quickly at dusk or just before sunrise, so you have to make lots of exposures within a short time frame.

If you have the luxury of getting someone else to drive, all the better.

Since I didn’t, I attached the receiver to my camera body and then held the trigger or transmitter so I could trip the shutter as I drove.

My best exposure was for 10 full seconds at f22 ISO 100.

You may have to experiment on how fast to drive during the 10 seconds the shutter is open.

Go ahead and post your results under comments. Good luck.
Peter Phun Photography

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