Long Exposure Pier

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nevets2001uk

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Name
Steve Gordon
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Taken back in December this is a long exposure shot taken about 35 minutes before sunrise. I used a bit of trial an error to find the best exposure time for this shot and ended up at 1m 47 seconds as F/11 ISO 50. I should have tried for a bit longer by closing the aperture further and perhaps using one of my ND filters but I was still pleased to get one star trail and some movement in the clouds and water. I used a tripod, cable release and mirror lockup to prevent any movement from the camera and manual focused on the pier since AF was struggling in the very low light.

The light on the beach is light pollution from the street lamps along the promonade. I boosted the exposure by +0.67 in Lightroom to get the balance correct. That's the beauty of using RAW!

Cheers,
Steve

PSG0812A0-0004F.jpg
 
Lovely shot. I agree with -Rob- about cloning out the star.
 
yep very nice
off for sunrise myself tomorrow
but noth as spectacular as the pier in your shot
 
Thanks for the comments. I can see the point about the star trail and I guess cloning it for print may make sense. I will try a couple of proofs and see how it comes out.
 
Ditto on the start trail, but a cracking shot.

Nicely done.
 
Lovely colours in the sky and I really like the sea.

Would have preferred more pier rather than being just 'cut off' like it is.

Still I do like it and would be pleased if I had taken it.

Steve
 
Stunning! No need for any more pier, I like it as it is :)

I agree, if you could get an even longer exposure to try and get a little more movement in the clouds, I think it would benefit the image even more.

(y)
 
This definately has the "WOW" factor.
 
Well exposed and processed. Love the effect of the long exposure on the sea.
Great stuff! :)
 
Let's be clear about this. I would love to prodouce an image as great as this. That said it works better for me with the top third cropped out.

All the best

Brian
 
lovely shot, and it would seem your peers agree ;)
 
I really do like this alot, although i agree with the ideas of cloning out the star trail!
 
lovely shot, love the sky, nice
 
Stunning colours and reflections. I agree about cloning the star trail out though, I think you need more of them to make it a feature.

The light "pollution" on the sand is good too.
 
-Rob- said:
I like this very much, such a lovely scene.

I know you mentioned how you were pleased to get the 1 star trail however I'd be tempted to clone it out as it just seems like a white scratch in the sky. Other than that though, very well done.
Click to expand...

Agreed :clap:
 
Thanks everyone. I'm very pleased with the response this shot has gotten. I did a proof print of it recently and must agree the star trail needs to go. Thanks for all of the comments.
 
Beautiful image, not much to add to what has already been said above! :clap:
 
ive always wanted to do images like this but i just cant seen to figure out the aperture and shutter speeds ect and it just comes out white,
 
andiphoto said:
ive always wanted to do images like this but i just cant seen to figure out the aperture and shutter speeds ect and it just comes out white,
Click to expand...
You're over exposing the shot. This was taken in near pitch blackness so I could use the long shutter get this effect without over exposing. Here is what the view looked like at 40 seconds exposure. It shows just how dark it actually was that morning. Remember this is well before sunrise.

PSG0812A0-0001F.jpg


If you're shooting when the sun is up you will usually need a ND filter to get the effect. This will block the light entering the lens, allowing a longer exposure to occur. Always set your ISO as low as possible and use a small aperture. I use aperture priority so that the shutter speed is worked out for me. If it requires more than 30 seconds I use bulb mode and estimate until I find the right exposure. Use the historgram to review how accurate your exposure is.

A tripod, remote release cable and mirror lockup are more or less essential for this to work.
 
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