(really) Long exposure photo

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Downloadm3

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Hello,if i keep posting in this forum i will be noticed by my crazy stypid idees and my english spelling mistakes.Probably i ve already done some here.

Ok so the question is how can i shot lets say umm.. a 2 days exposure photo.
i know that with a digital DSLR is not possible so i can finnaly use my fathers old minolta (is pretty good actually).Probably i will need some ND filters andd...i am not sure what else do i need to take a long exposure like that without tourning into an overexposured image.
f/22 shuter speed ~48/hours film ISO 50? (no idea aboout films)
and lets say 4 ND filters.
I have no idea if it is going to work.Probably neether you people.
I ve already done a little resarch on google but i didnt find any help.Not so many people have try it.
So the final question is what kind of film and how many and what kind of
ND filters should i use.Also if there is another way.And most important if it is possible?
 
a 2 day exposure would be practically impossible i'd image- unless you has a timer that went off frequently and you layed images, but that would be a mega long winded exercise..... you would need to shoot raw on a dslr for that though and have picture processing software (some available free of charge on internet)....

i know long exposures are possible if the light is minimal, say for example shooting stars etc, but as soon as daylight hits i think thats when the problems will arise.... stacking nd filters will get you more stops on the camera, but no where near what you'd need, and there pretty expensive each so you'd spend a fortune!
 
For a 48 hour exposure you will be well into the realms of Reciprocity failure (Long exposures desensitise the film meaning you have to adjust the exposure accordingly)

One problem i can see is that during your 48 hour exposure, a fair bit of it will be at night, if you base the exposure values on daytime light you will end up with a very underexposed image, so I imagine you would have to take your exposure reading for a value in between and hope it comes out alright

You will need a very sturdy tripod or surface you can leave the camera on
I'm not sure about the battery life of the camera and how well it will last with the shutter being open for 2 days

You will also need 24.5 stops of ND assuming your shutter speed is 1/60th at f22 to begin with

But the burning question is why 2 days? What are you hoping to achieve?
 
The photographer Michael Wesley has done some exposures going in to months or years. Here's an article on him : http://itchyi.squarespace.com/thelatest/2010/7/20/the-longest-photographic-exposures-in-history.html

I have also seen images taken with home made pinhole cameras projecting on to photographic paper that go in to months.

Hope this gives you something to go on.

(I have an exposure I'm making now which is now in day 3. I think I'll give it 7 in total. I'll let you know of the result)
 
Oh, and you should also look in to using welding glass as a cheap source of neutral density filters. They go up to about 14 or 15 stops if I recall.
 
I've seen some pin holes which use photo paper for mega long exposure not sure they're in the 48 range though.
 
tezmed said:
a 2 day exposure would be practically impossible i'd image- unless you has a timer that went off frequently and you layed images, but that would be a mega long winded exercise..... you would need to shoot raw on a dslr for that though and have picture processing software (some available free of charge on internet)....

i know long exposures are possible if the light is minimal, say for example shooting stars etc, but as soon as daylight hits i think thats when the problems will arise.... stacking nd filters will get you more stops on the camera, but no where near what you'd need, and there pretty expensive each so you'd spend a fortune!
Click to expand...




Theoretically speaking if you can decrease the amount of light with the smallest f, the minimum iso film (around 25) and some dark ND filters.then if the amount of light is little enough...i believe is possible.
And ND filters arent that expensive.A ok filter cost around 5e.
But they are pretty must,so it isnt hard to convince some of my friends to buy one of these filters for they self.
 
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The Matt said:
The photographer Michael Wesley has done some exposures going in to months or years. Here's an article on him : http://itchyi.squarespace.com/thelatest/2010/7/20/the-longest-photographic-exposures-in-history.html

I have also seen images taken with home made pinhole cameras projecting on to photographic paper that go in to months.

Hope this gives you something to go on.

(I have an exposure I'm making now which is now in day 3. I think I'll give it 7 in total. I'll let you know of the result)
Click to expand...

Good luck with you photo.
I hope it is possible with a normall film camera too.
 
robhooley167 said:
For a 48 hour exposure you will be well into the realms of Reciprocity failure (Long exposures desensitise the film meaning you have to adjust the exposure accordingly)

One problem i can see is that during your 48 hour exposure, a fair bit of it will be at night, if you base the exposure values on daytime light you will end up with a very underexposed image, so I imagine you would have to take your exposure reading for a value in between and hope it comes out alright

You will need a very sturdy tripod or surface you can leave the camera on
I'm not sure about the battery life of the camera and how well it will last with the shutter being open for 2 days

You will also need 24.5 stops of ND assuming your shutter speed is 1/60th at f22 to begin with

But the burning question is why 2 days? What are you hoping to achieve?
Click to expand...

About the battery@ Is a film camera,the only think that makes is too open the shutter.And if want to be sure i can always plug it with a AC adapter.

At the night probably nothink will change the result of the picture.
Maybe only some light in the streets from the cars.

What i want to archieve? i dont know exacty,but for sure somethin unique.
 
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Downloadm3 said:
About the battery@ Is a film camera,the only think that makes is too open the shutter.And if want to be sure i can always plug it with a AC adapter.

At the night probably nothing will change the result of the picture.
Maybe only some light in the streets from the cars.

What i want to archive? i don't know exactly,but for sure something unique.
Click to expand...

On more electronic cameras the battery holds the shutter open with an electromagnet, so battery life is affected quite heavily with long exposures.

If you aren't sure what you want to achieve, try some shorter exposures, up to a couple of hours to see if it is what you want? 2 days is an awfully long time to wait to find out if the photo is what you want.
 
robhooley167 said:
On more electronic cameras the battery holds the shutter open with an electromagnet, so battery life is affected quite heavily with long exposures.

If you aren't sure what you want to achieve, try some shorter exposures, up to a couple of hours to see if it is what you want? 2 days is an awfully long time to wait to find out if the photo is what you want.
Click to expand...

I just want to experiement.I dont usualy use this camera anyways.So i dont know why i should not even try it...it isnt expensive or somethink.
i ve already done many long exposures (more than 1 hour) before with me digital DSLR.
Look at one post in this thread with some examples,and see how interesting and ordinary they are. I wish one day i could do somethink close to that.
 
Experimenting is fantastic but failure can bring you down, especially when your waiting that long for results.
What i will ask is, what will an exposure running into days give you other than the obvious sun path and perhaps shadow less images.
Just boshing on some filters and sticking in some slow film is party To so many variables.
I would recommend that you do a little homework first. Just going through this in my head i checked the reciprocity failure for some iso100 4x5 sheet film i have and a 1.6 minute exposure becomes a 26 minute one.
Photographic paper weighs is at around iso 3 to 10 depending on make, this may be more suitable for your needs?
I recently made my own silver gelatin emulsion for making film and paper negatives and my maths told me it was around iso 0.5 lol not suitable for my needs but has some obvious applications.
My advice would be to ditch the 48 hour thing and aim a bit lower.
 
Simon photo said:
Experimenting is fantastic but failure can bring you down, especially when your waiting that long for results.
What i will ask is, what will an exposure running into days give you other than the obvious sun path and perhaps shadow less images.
Just boshing on some filters and sticking in some slow film is party To so many variables.
I would recommend that you do a little homework first. Just going through this in my head i checked the reciprocity failure for some iso100 4x5 sheet film i have and a 1.6 minute exposure becomes a 26 minute one.
Photographic paper weighs is at around iso 3 to 10 depending on make, this may be more suitable for your needs?
I recently made my own silver gelatin emulsion for making film and paper negatives and my maths told me it was around iso 0.5 lol not suitable for my needs but has some obvious applications.
My advice would be to ditch the 48 hour thing and aim a bit lower.
Click to expand...

I really dont see a reason to not try it.Probably the result will be crap,i dont expect somethink great anyways.If i finnaly decide to make it real then i would leave the camera shooting the view of my house(is pretty amazing) and keep on with my normal life.Then i can take like 3 or 4 difrent long exposure photos with less or more ND filters and difrend settings. (with the same film)
About the film i canot imagin myself make one.Is not so hard to find a cheap ISO 25 B&W film.


(sorry for my english)
 
There was an article about a guy who did a year long exposure on film, just an ordinary camera IIRC. The negative cannot be developed and is scanned directly, the digital image is the only permanent record as the negative is destroyed in the process. I've got some HP5 on the windowsill that will show an image on the film within a couple of days, so it is totally possible, but getting the image off the film will be a struggle!
 
I don't see why you can't do it. I'd love to see your results.
What you'll have to think about is filter strength, reciprocity failure and light changes.If you're shooting outside you probably need a couple of very strong (10 stop or more) filters to get you started. Each stop doubles your exposure time once. Say you're using an iso of 50 and an aperture or f22. On a good sunny day you'd probably shoot at 1/50th of a second. with one 10 stop filter, that gives you a 20 second exposure. Add another one on and you're at 5.6 hours. With the reciprocity failure of the film added, maybe that'd be a couple of days. But then of course you have to work out how much light you lose with the changing of light throughout the day and night and add yet more time and calculate further reciprocity failure...

Sounds complex. Good luck!
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
There was an article about a guy who did a year long exposure on film, just an ordinary camera IIRC. The negative cannot be developed and is scanned directly, the digital image is the only permanent record as the negative is destroyed in the process. I've got some HP5 on the windowsill that will show an image on the film within a couple of days, so it is totally possible, but getting the image off the film will be a struggle!
Click to expand...

I actually i have no idea or equipment to do this by myself.
I would planing to give the film in some "professionals".
What should i say to them? should i tell them only to make the film negative?
or does the film need another method or treatment?
I have a pretty good scanner,and if the film is negative it isnt to hard to make it using photoshop. (really sorry for my english,i have not time to check for mistakes)

But i would really like to see a example of your photos.
And thank you for the reply,i have more questions for later
 
The Matt said:
I don't see why you can't do it. I'd love to see your results.
What you'll have to think about is filter strength, reciprocity failure and light changes.If you're shooting outside you probably need a couple of very strong (10 stop or more) filters to get you started. Each stop doubles your exposure time once. Say you're using an iso of 50 and an aperture or f22. On a good sunny day you'd probably shoot at 1/50th of a second. with one 10 stop filter, that gives you a 20 second exposure. Add another one on and you're at 5.6 hours. With the reciprocity failure of the film added, maybe that'd be a couple of days. But then of course you have to work out how much light you lose with the changing of light throughout the day and night and add yet more time and calculate further reciprocity failure...

Sounds complex. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah sounds pretty complex...but i am working on it.
I would like first to calculate all the elements.(i would like..i am not saying that i am able to really calculate all the f,film,ND filters etc)
I believe now is a good change for me to learn some things about light.*
if i finally move from words to action,i would keep you updated.



extra@ If anybody knows a good site about physics of light,and camera (like how many lumens(?) do they pass from f10 if outside is x loumens) or how many light absores a ISO 100 film.With some types and laws related to all this.
I already go to private lessons (for my last year in school) and the next chapter is about light(in physic).So maybe my private teacher can translate it for me.
 
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erm can't see what the fuss is about:- If you want to take a shot of a dead black cat in a coal cellar just borrow a manual only camera and set it on "B", lock the shutter button down with a cable thingy, then use any slow film and leave it for 2 days. Then try it for one day, 12 hours etc and just see what results you get.......in the time taken for talking you could have done the experiments and informed us of your experience.
 
excalibur2 said:
erm can't see what the fuss is about:- If you want to take a shot of a dead black cat in a coal cellar just borrow a manual only camera and set it on "B", lock the shutter button down with a cable thingy, then use any slow film and leave it for 2 days. Then try it for one day, 12 hours etc and just see what results you get.......in the time taken for talking you could have done the experiments and informed us of your experience.
Click to expand...
Actually your idea with the cat is pretty cool,i have never seen anythink like it.I have many cats so i can just kill one. :bonk:
And i ve already order a ISO 25 B&W film and 4 (8DN) filters.(Total is about 30e).The last think that i am not sure if i need,is a AC charger.
 
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