Night Shoot

[redmax]

Had a walk along the South Bank last Sunday evening and took some night shots.

A decent tripod is a must and the ability to politely but firmly fend of inquisitive drunken people

I bracketed each shot four times as -1, 0 +1 & +2 to check effects.
I also experimented with high iso's for fast exposures and low iso's for the longer exposures.

The Eye with a bit of layer masking and selective clour

London-night270906-1.jpg



Home of our democracy
London-night270906_6.jpg


Cable supports for the Eye
London-night270906_9.jpg


Eye again
London-night270906_12.jpg


River view
London-night270906_14.jpg


Along the North bank
London-night270906_15.jpg



Hungerford Bridge
London-night270906_16.jpg

Don't know waht drivers would make of these lights
London-night270906_17.jpg


To the underworld
London-night270906_19.jpg

Hope you like them but would like to hear any constructive criticisms

[Liquid101]

Really like the first one, just a couple of things that bother me though. It would have been nice to include the whole wheel in the shot, you seem to have missed the top slightly, maybe it's on your originmal capture?

The other thing is the selective colour. I like the way you have singled out the wheel, but if you're going to do this, you need to think about all the little gaps. Some parts of the building behind can be seen in full colour through the wheel. It's a tiny thing, but it's noticable.

Personally, I would always stick to low ISO on night shots. Shadow detail is the first thing to suffer on higher ISO settings.

BTW I love this part of London at night - here is one I took while there a few weeks ago.

[redmax]

Hi Liquid
Thanks for your comments.
I agree about the colour but tbh I was only messing and didn't take to much time over it.
I have done another with only the colour reflecting in the water.
I agree about losing the top of the wheel. Yes it is also missing from my original shot.

What I noticed and liked with the low iso is that you can get rid of any ripplies in the river shots and because of the slow shutter speeds you can get a glass like colourful water.

I live near Southend so I am gonna attempt some seafront night shoots there.

It is said that low-light/night photography is about showing whats not there.
It has really caught my imagination at the moment so will pursue further experimentation.
I have some ideas about shooting the "underbelly" of city life at night.
This would involve having someone to watrch my back (and gear) and try getting into some the -lets say-less desirable parts of London.

I know its not an original idea but I find it interesting to get the nocturnal aspect on camera.

[PaulBoy]

Some great shots - Did you take a big dog with you to fend off the local intellectuals
Paul

[redmax]

Paulboy
Thanks
Given it was a Sunday night I was surprised how many drunks were around.
Most were under 30 but on the whole good natured. You always get the odd a*****le anywhere though.

[Liquid101]

Originally Posted by redmax

It is said that low-light/night photography is about showing whats not there.
It has really caught my imagination at the moment so will pursue further experimentation.
I have some ideas about shooting the "underbelly" of city life at night.
This would involve having someone to watrch my back (and gear) and try getting into some the -lets say-less desirable parts of London.

I know its not an original idea but I find it interesting to get the nocturnal aspect on camera.

I like your idea. It would be interesting to try and capture some more movement as well.

Perhaps one idea to avoid attracting to much attention from the locals is to invest in a mini tripod.. one of those desktop style things you can get for a few quid that you could use on a wall or get ultra low level shots etc. That way you could set up and leave pretty quickly without cumbersome equipment.

I don't think that original ideas exist anymore, so it's up to any photographer to try and approach things from a slightly different angle.

Look forward to seeing your results