Yearning for my city

Yearning for my city

Posted by Caem on May 13, 2009

As promised in the last post “Tokyo Essay” (#7), let’s go over tips on how to take good night pictures. AND a little aspiration to share the breath-taking night view that my house commands. :) Honestly, night photography is tricky for beginners like Ca’em. Surfing the web, studying the professional photos made me feel as if I was also part of the professional circle, at least for a moment. However, the world of photos isn’t that easy. The result was as harsh as the dry wind from the river. :(  

- 1st Trial -
 WB500[HZ10W] 1/3s l F3.3 l ISO200  –1.00EV Program

WB500[HZ10W] 1/2s l F3.7 l ISO200  –0.30EV Program

After every shot, I monitored the LCD screen to check the quality. The night photo time seemed to be a success. B.U.T. The moment I downloaded the pictures onto the computer… The sense of betrayal! :-< My fleeting illusion of having become a professional must have heightened my expectations. Ca’em, you fool!

Yet another instance that brings home the importance of using tripod! The following pictures were taken using a tripod and release. I used manual and program mode to fully capture the fascinating night scene of the city.

- 2nd Trial -

Night scenery of the city with time -

Before Sunset 06:47 PM                            WB500[HZ10W] 1/60s l F7.5 l ISO 100 Manual AE

WB1000[TL320] 1/350s l F2.8 l ISO 80 Shutter speed priority AE

Evening Glow  07:43 PM                               WB500[HZ10W] 0.7s l F3.9 l ISO 100 Manual AE

Night view  08:03 PM                                   WB500[HZ10W] 1.5s l F4.2 l ISO 100 Manual AE

Now, the detailed tips on how to take successful night photos.

For WB500, which Ca’em owns, set shooting mode to M, and F value at 3.0~6.0. Now, try various shutter speeds of 0.5s, 0.7s, 1s, 1.5s, 2s and so on. You will see that the different shutter speed results in different outcomes. Based on the results, you simply need to choose the right shutter speed. Ca’em mostly used 1.5s in manual mode with ISO 100 and center weight. Longer shutter speed means that much more light goes into the camera, resulting in a brighter picture. The lower the F value, the lower the ISO value and the longer the shutter speed, the brighter the picture. Night photos often use longer shutter speed to adjust the exposure.

WB500[HZ10W] 1.0s l F4.5 l ISO 100 l EV –1 Program AE 

WB500[HZ10W] 1.5s l F4.5 l ISO 100 Manual   Soft Effect

Night photography often relies on long exposure. And long exposure helps to give a way softer touch to the rough waves of the river. However, be extremely careful not to shake the camera while the shutter is open. It’s a short cut to ruining your picture! So.. those with no tripod.. Use the bench.. ;-) But nothing is better than tripod because you can freely adjust the angle as you wish.

The values indicated below the pictures are what Ca’em used during the shots, but does not mean it always works. Depending on the condition of the subject and amount of light, the set value is subject to change. After all, you need to try various pictures and find the optimal setting for your own camera.

Users of general compact cameras set the camera at auto mode for picture taking. Of course, full auto setting is much more convenient, but if you want to take nice pictures while you are at it, I recommend trying manual mode. With the WB500, you can manually adjust the shutter speed, so you can readily take quite nice pictures. I firmly believe that you can all do better than Ca’em, right? In the next posting, I will go over how to capture the trace of light using my old buddy WB500 and new buddy, WB1000 embedded with A/S/M full manual mode! See you then!

WB500[HZ10W] 4s l F 10.1 l ISO 100 Manual