^Joe said:
if you have any questions please ask and I'll be happy to help and there is still some colour in the sky which is a big plus 
but as I'm sure you can appreciate sometimes miss threads 
These are some light trails i took whilst out camping (the tent kind) at the weekend....really not very good but boy i enjoyed it haha
Now they are really rubbish.....and whats all the weird little dots on them?
what were your settings? and what was your set up, i.e. tripod, trigger etc? I'm happy to help where I can
byebyegti said:used the settings last night you suggested matt
worked a treat, all i need to do now is find a decent stretch of road busy enough with out too many or any street lights.
if you check the first post there is a link to the light trails map there maybe a location close to you
awesome matt. found some routes local to me using the map
also got an evening planned along the a14 one night next week with a fellow tog
we both had a good laugh at that
I had a go at light trails when I first started this was one of my attempts i was pretty impress with the result but i really need to get back and shoot more
what I would say it is looks to need a little bit of CW rotation as it looks to be leaning a little to the left 
Great, I hope that you have a good time, remember to stay safe on the bridges, avoid parking where you could be considered a hazard, I often end up speaking to the police when doing trails so don't be surprised if the police take an interest, but I have never had any issues with the police, I just that with them and offer to show them the photo's they're normally responding as someones phoned you in :shrug: one traffic copper said to me once that they had received a call about a suspected jumper
Matt
MWHCVT
...vibration..?
Yardbent said:hi
the weather has been crap since Friday - continuous drizzle - Scotland :shrug:
but it's clear now...found a quiet overpass on the M74 - winding road looks good
if dry ...I'll have a go tonight
''Exposure time, as I recommend using a remote trigger when you are shooting a light trail I would recommend you select the Bulb Mode (Canon and Nikon) when in Bulb mode the exposure time will basically be as long as you choose ....''....while the shutter button is held down...
would it be better to use ''Time'' [Nikon D5000] as the shutter opens on first press of remote and closes on 2nd.
if you do try and get to the location and be ready to start just after sunset the should get you some nice colours in the sky.. as long as it will let you run to a couple of minutes if required
Yardbent said:thanks
here's my pre-flight check-list
18-55mm lens
f16 or higher
WB = incandescent
Long Exposure Noise Reduction = OFF
exposure 60-90 secs ...check histogram
ISO locked at 200
ISO auto = OFF
Shutter Release to ''remote - instant''...[max time = 30mins]
tripod so VR = OFF
manual focus to infinity DOF should be infin at f16 anyway.?
Active D lighting = OFF
john
will shoot RAW to correct WB if required
a plan......
be careful with ISO200 un the longer exposures but other than that it all sounds about right
Sounds good to me
OFF, I've never had a need for it
too late
Yardbent said:
i did notice it took a long time to write to the card - maybe that's the NR working.?
just got back...only managed 7 shots between showers.....
will edit and post in Transport after dinner
as it will make the perfect home for light trails
you've done a good job with these you may want to consider off centre composition when I first started I used to head straight to the centre pf the bridge but now my favourite location is over the leaving traffic (red lights) as this will ensure that the head lights are not directed straight at the camera and thus don't blow out so much, do you get crisper more defined trails from both the head and tail lights
Impressive Guide Matt................A bitadvance for me yet
and if you want to head out at anytime your welcome to join me on an outing and I'll give you a practical lesson in light trails 
and I look forward to seeing your results 
Bit late responding but I'm pleased that you've found the guide useful
Matt
it would be a lot nicer to have some good colours in the in sky and it looks like it could make a good addition to our light trails map so if you don't mind giving me the location details I'll ensure that it get's added onto the map
Were you in auto focus or manual focus, the only thing that I can think at the moment as a possible issues causing you not to be able to take a photo is that the camera was trying to AF and because of the darkness not able to focus
I see from flickr that you've done some on a very high ISO, this is to be avoided at all costs, as all you will end up with is a blob of over exposure where the headlights should be, these would be improved by getting on location earlier
If you can get there just after the sun has set you will get some great colours I generally find that you cannot get a decent light trail image until about 15 minutes after the sun has gone below the horizon as there is still just a little too much ambient light, but that 15-30 minutes after sunset on a long exposure you'll pick up some great colours in the sky
Try and stick to ISO100 with time and experience you will know when to push it to the max ISO that I would use and thats 200, I've never felt it wise to go above that headlights are just too bright :shrug:
I like your composition
Matt
