Long Exposure to the Rescue!

Hey what's up homies! Today I'm gonna be talking about photography! Usually I'll switch off weeks between hockey and photography, so I decided the first week should be about photog! So I have a friend by the name of Bennett Barbosa and he's a great videographer and photographer! Go check out Barbosa Media Co. on Facebook to learn more. Barbosa Media Co. and I have teamed up together to become Next Level Media, a company that makes videos and also takes photos!

So this post is mainly about troubleshooting and experiences with long exposure shots. So far I have used long exposure twice. Both times using this technique has been with Bennett. The first time using long exposure was over the summer late at night. At first, our challenge was to get some star pictures (in the sky, not of me). We were using an LED light to light up an aspen tree to attract more light to get a better picture, and then we realized something. We could use the LED light to draw things while the camera was taking the picture! I know this sounds quite confusing, but a picture will explain it. While the long exposure was taking place, one of us would run and make a shape of some sort with the LED light. When the full picture was taken, we'd run back to the camera to check out the pic. A few of the pictures were wayyy sweet, while others looked like they were super photoshopped. The settings for this long exposure shot were: 6400 ISO, an aperture of around 2-3, and you also must focus on the spot where you will be creating the shape. Also, with long exposure shots, it's necessary to use a tripod, or else the photo will come out very blurry due to the fact that the camera takes a picture for seconds at a time. If the picture was taken properly, you may end up with a picture as great as this photo below. Before you start commenting mean things about how weird my face is, let's just focus on the background okay?

Taken with a Canon T3i

Another shot from the same night:

Also taken with a Canon T3i

Both of these were taken with the same camera with the same settings.

The second time I used long exposure was truly for night sky purposes (with one exception). The same settings were used except we shot the photos at an earlier time. 

Canon T3

Here's one of my favorite shots from the last shoot I did with Barbosa Media Co..

Canon T3 near the Jewish Temple

Another way long exposure is cool is by using it with highways and moving vehicles. When the photo is taken for a longer period of time, lights start to blur. So when car lights drive by, it creates sort of a streak of yellow and red light. The one that I have taken isn't the greatest, but it shows how you could get started with those types of shots.

Long Exposure with Canon T3 near the White Barn

So with all of these different ways that I've taught you to take long exposure shots, there's no reason I shouldn't be seeing multiple Instagram/Facebook/Twitter posts with exposure shots like these.