Is it possible to.......

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tophalf

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John
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Ok, I am really new to photography and I have little knowledge with regards to the technicals so please forgive me if I am asking a daft question.

On my journey to work I drive past a wind farm. I have noticed that on a morning when the sun is rising half of each turbine is coloured an orange/pinkish shade. What I was wanting to do was to take a shot of the turbines (obviously when the blades are turned towards me) but with a slow enough shutter speed so that the blades appear as a solid disc. What I dont know (I have literally just bought my first SLR) is if such a long exposure shot can be done during the day or if they can only be done on a night.

Any advice appreciated :)

(Dont know if it helps but I have a D90)
 
What you need is a neutral density filter, that will reduce the amount of light coming in the lens. Togethr with a small aperture setting this will allow you to use a slower shutter speed.
 
Can be done, the easiest way would be with ND Filters, these will darken what the lens sees, so the camera will use a slower shutter speed.

Edit need to type faster.
 
For long exposure shots during the day you will need an ND filter (Neutral density) or a welding glass search the forums for welding glass you should get some hits

Cheers

Ron
 
Excellent replies, thanks, it appears that something I thought may not be possible is.
Sounds daft but I have been looking at those turbines for a couple of years and thinking about that particular shot.
 
The shutter wouldn't be open that long. It doesnt take ages for it to move 1/4 of a full spin. As there's 4 wings that all your need. Use lowest ISO you can which should be 100. Use a low F stop and try different shutter speeds. Maybe 1-3 second would be enough. You can always use photoshop to help you. A ND filter would help but it can be done without one.
 
I am at work at the moment so I am going to time the rotation on my way home, these turbines have 3 blades and are fairly big so the rotation isnt that quick.

I do have my camera with me though so I might pull over and just set the camera on top of the car and give it a go!
 
tophalf said:
I am at work at the moment so I am going to time the rotation on my way home, these turbines have 3 blades and are fairly big so the rotation isnt that quick.

I do have my camera with me though so I might pull over and just set the camera on top of the car and give it a go!
Click to expand...

Stupid me thinking they have 4 :bonk:

Still the same though what I said :)
 
I would take a series of shots at all different shutter speeds, F11 if its night F22 in the day, from fast to sloooooow, find which you look best/ works for you :thumbs: takes time but you learn, what you want :thumbs: then youll have your answer
 
I think I will try that also, seems like I may be spending some time by the side of the road after my nightshift, unless I am verrrrrrry tired of course :|
 
Sorry bud, but I don't think you can do what you want, ie "so that the blades appear as a solid disc."

It's easy to get a long shutter speed, but the blades are too narrow and move too slow. What you will likely get is the opposite of a disc - the blades will virtually disappear. If there is a bright reflection off the blades, you might be lucky and that will record as a rather faint circle.
 
HoppyUK said:
Sorry bud, but I don't think you can do what you want, ie "so that the blades appear as a solid disc."

It's easy to get a long shutter speed, but the blades are too narrow and move too slow. What you will likely get is the opposite of a disc - the blades will virtually disappear. If there is a bright reflection off the blades, you might be lucky and that will record as a rather faint circle.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Your best chance is to take many photos at slightly slowish speed using cable and combine them all in photoshop using special blending modes.
 
Try having a look on flickr - search for windmill. If you find one with the look you're aiming for there should be a link at the bottom right under all the tags that says "more properties" click that and it'll give you the EXIF data - shutter speed, aperture etc. :)
 
HoppyUK said:
Sorry bud, but I don't think you can do what you want, ie "so that the blades appear as a solid disc."

It's easy to get a long shutter speed, but the blades are too narrow and move too slow. What you will likely get is the opposite of a disc - the blades will virtually disappear. If there is a bright reflection off the blades, you might be lucky and that will record as a rather faint circle.
Click to expand...

I managed to slow it down to about 1 sec with apert as small as possible, anything slower and it overexposed (but I may try again as I am a newbie and may have had something set wrong). The shot I got did indeed nearly have "invisible" blades. That was without a ND filter though so I do have more options, this was just a "give it a go" scenario on the way home from work. I was thinking that with a ND filter I may be able to slow the shutter speed right down so that the rotors do a couple of revolutions before the shutter closes, I was hoping that this would be enough to make the blades re-appear.
I am not giving up there, will have a look at photoshop methods etc and if I eventually get what I want I will post the result. To be honest I would like to try and get it with a shot rather than manipulation but sometimes needs must!
 
tophalf said:
I managed to slow it down to about 1 sec with apert as small as possible, anything slower and it overexposed (but I may try again as I am a newbie and may have had something set wrong). The shot I got did indeed nearly have "invisible" blades. That was without a ND filter though so I do have more options, this was just a "give it a go" scenario on the way home from work. I was thinking that with a ND filter I may be able to slow the shutter speed right down so that the rotors do a couple of revolutions before the shutter closes, I was hoping that this would be enough to make the blades re-appear.
I am not giving up there, will have a look at photoshop methods etc and if I eventually get what I want I will post the result. To be honest I would like to try and get it with a shot rather than manipulation but sometimes needs must!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to say that an ND filter will make no difference. If you get a couple more rotations with a longer shutter speed, you will also have increased the rest of the exposure by a corresponding amount and the blades will still wash out against the sky.

What you need to do is increase the brightness of the blades relative to the sky. The only way to do that is at night with some bright lights, as per the link previously quoted.

Sniffing1987 said:
you'll probably end up with something like this.
Click to expand...

It won't look anything like that; that's a multiple exposure - a sequence of separate still images together.
 
HoppyUK said:
Sorry bud, but I don't think you can do what you want, ie "so that the blades appear as a solid disc."

It's easy to get a long shutter speed, but the blades are too narrow and move too slow. What you will likely get is the opposite of a disc - the blades will virtually disappear. If there is a bright reflection off the blades, you might be lucky and that will record as a rather faint circle.
Click to expand...

I have to argree with Hoppy, you are more lightly to get a ghost image rather than what your after.
 
agree with what has been said already but.. you could always go out and have a play and see if you can get something you like
 
I would say just go and experiment with an ND filter. Can't hurt really. Sounds like a good opportunity. Post back the results :)
 
It has to be at night.
You could still do it with a daylight look, you need the turbine lit with moonlight but the sky must not be black, if there is still a bit of colour in the sky a long enough exposure would make it appear the shot was taken in daylight, kinda tricky to judge though.
I'm having to wait till winter to shoot a similar shot with star trails.
Possible problems involve light pollution and the digital handicap...good luck all the same..:)
 
Lots to think about from the above. I must admit that taking a shot in moonlight sounds like a way to get a very interesting shot. I have seen these turbines in moonlight but it hadnt really crossed my mind before.
Now I have to wait for a moonlit night but I am also going to try some shots with a ND filter and if I have to use photoshop then so be it!

This photography lark certainly isnt simple :D
 
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