longexposure

How I Shoot Solargraphs with a Digital Camera

Solargraphies (pinhole images on photographic paper that capture months of the sun arching across the horizon) were a thing starting sometime in the 2000s. When this caught on broadly in the early 2010s, it got a lot of people excited for film again.

Intentional Camera Movement: An Intro to ICM Photography

I have been getting quite experimental with my photography this year and recently stumbled upon Intentional Camera Movement, or ICM, photography. I fell into the work of photographer Andy Gray and was immediately blown away by the painterly feel of his images.

Apple Names Spectre Camera the Best iPhone App of 2019

Yesterday evening Apple crowned the best iOS and MacOS apps of 2019 and, unsurprisingly, a camera app managed to take the title of "iPhone App of the Year." Created by Lux Optics, the winner is Spectre Camera: an AI-powered app that allows you to capture high-quality long exposures with your smartphone.

A Guide to Long Exposure Photography

In the past few years, long exposure photography has become increasingly popular. Images in which the water seems to turn ethereal, the clouds turn into long, wispy streaks, or the lights from cars turn into long lines have an otherworldly quality that can be incredibly appealing. Since I've had a few people ask me how I go about shooting my long exposure images, I decided to write a guide.

These Light Painting Photos Were Shot by Splashing in Water

Light-painting photographer Denis Smith is perhaps best known for creating giant spheres of light in photos. For his latest series, titled "Liquid Light," Smith brought his light tools into waist-deep water for beautiful photos of light bursting forth from the surface.

Photos of Night Skies Full of Airplane Light Trails

Airports is an ongoing project by photographer Pete Mauney, who spends hours shooting long exposure photos near airports. He then combines the photos to create mesmerizing composites in which the night sky is filled with airplane light trails.

Shoot In-Camera Zoom-Effect Double-Exposure Light-Painting Photos

Several years ago I developed a technique that I use for light painting in which I take a king size bed sheet and light paint through it to create my images. I recently created this 10-minute video tutorial explaining in detail how to achieve this creative effect.

This Photo Shows an Ice Cave Being Lit by a Flare

Here's a beautiful and mind-bending photo captured by photographer Daniel Kordan. While at first glance it might look like some kind of Photoshopped composite showing a river under a sunset with unusual clouds, it's actually a photo of an ice cave being illuminated by a flare.

Shoot Light-Painting Photos During the Day Using an ND Filter

Light-painting photography is generally done in the dark since you need long exposure times to capture moving light sources as streaks. But use can also shoot long-exposure photos in bright sunlight using a neutral density filter. Photographer Eric Paré recently did just that, experimenting with doing light-painting in afternoon daylight.

This Waterfall Photo Was Lit by Headlamps

Photographer Carley Nelson was backpacking at the Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon last weekend when she asked her friends to point their headlamps at the falls while she captured a long-exposure photo. This is what resulted.

How to Shoot Defocused Firework Photos

I'm photographer David Johnson, and in this tutorial I'll be sharing how I shoot long-exposure photos of defocused fireworks.

How to Use Long Exposures to Up Your Photography Game

If you've been itching to try your hand at daytime long exposure photography but aren't sure how to jump in, here's a great simple and straightforward 12-minute tutorial on the subject by photographer Adam Karnacz of First Man Photography.

This is a ’60-Second’ Handheld Photo of the Milky Way

Photographer Jonathan Usher of Wellington, New Zealand, recently created this photo of the Milky Way rising from the horizon near his city. But get this: he wasn't using a tripod or any other stabilization -- not even a rock. It's a "60-second exposure" shot handheld.

Photographer Captures Halos Above Rock Pinnacles Using Drones

Photographer Reuben Wu is a pioneer of using LEDs mounted to drones to light landscapes at night, and his project Lux Noctis is filled with gorgeous and unusual photos created using this technique. More recently, Wu has added yet another creative touch: he adds halos above the rock pinnacles on dramatic landscapes by flying the drones in circles during long-exposure photos.

How to Get STF-Style Bokeh Without a $1,000+ STF Lens

Smooth Trans Focus (STF) was invented by Minolta in the 1980s and became available in the Minolta 135mm f/2.8 STF in 1999. The special design of the lens with an Apodization (APD) filter allows for the smoothing of out-of-focus areas, or bokeh. The APD filter reduces the light transmitted through a lens, but the strength is gradually decreased toward the center of the filter.

How to Create Long Exposure Light Trails in Video with After Effects

In this tutorial, I'll break down how I create light trails from video and how you can create a video panning shot. A panning shot is where a camera pans horizontally to track a subject in a frame, keeping the subject sharp, while blurring the background.

How to Use a Tube Light as an Invisible Softbox

Want to try out product photography but can't afford a softbox? They can be expensive pieces of kit, but invisible ones cost a lot less. In this 6-minute video by Leo Rosas, learn how to use a cheap tube light as a makeshift softbox.

Sony Mirrorless Cameras Still Eat Stars

Sony recently released firmware v.4.0 for its a7S II and a7R II mirrorless cameras. The announcement that this firmware version “Improves image quality when Long Exposure NR setting is off” raised hopes for many photographers that Sony had at last addressed the issues caused by their automatic smoothing of all exposures of 4 seconds or longer, sometimes referred to as the "Star Eater" effect because of the way that it removes stars in astrophotography images.