I have taken some Photos in the last days - please tell me if you like them:

VfL Wolfsburg Trikots

Night photography has always fascinated photographers by the awe-inspiring results it can offer. Fireworks, sceneries, multicolored lights, movement and long exposures are some of the subjects covered by night photography. But, unlike daylight when taking photos can be relatively easy, the dark brings with it some limitations and problems. Along with the usual photographic process of choosing your subject, finding an interesting point of view and tweaking your composition, you will have to think of the gear you need, depending on the situation. You will also have to take in consideration issues of white balance, shutter speed, ISO setting and aperture. Cameras are usually set to take photos in daylight and artificial lighting and dark subjects can sometimes be tricky to measure.

Gear:

In order to get the best results at night, you will need some equipment and accessories.

A Camera:

Most compact cameras have night modes that will enable you to pull out some pretty interesting photos. But these cameras are limited, as you can’t control your exposure time and aperture. In night photography you will find yourself in situations where you need to be in full control over you shot in order to get correct exposures. Thus, digital SLR cameras are more suited to night photography. They allow you to set everything manually, they accept different kinds of lenses and they can be triggered through a remote release.

A Tripod:

You will need to set your camera on a tripod to avoid camera shake in long exposures. Opt for a sturdy tripod, as it can be windy sometimes which can affect your photos. Some tripods offer center posts with a hook where you can hang an additional weight to make the tripod more stable. Make sure that it can handle the weight of your camera and your heaviest lens, though. You don’t want to break thousands of dollars worth of equipment because of a cheap weak tripod.

A Remote Release:

A remote release will allow you to take your photos without having to touch your camera which may cause it to shake and produce a blurry image. You can also use the camera’s self timer to avoid touching the camera at the moment of the taking of the photograph. But, a remote release is crucial in cases of very long exposures using the Bulb mode.

A Flashlight:

As you will be shooting in the dark, you will need a flashlight to light your way and easily move around. The flashlight can also be used to light you subject or to do some light painting. For the latter option, bring some gels with you. You can place them on your flashlight to get different colors from the same source.
Don’t Forget Safety:
It won’t be fun if it isn’t safe. Think of your safety before everything else. Scout the area you intend to photograph during the day to get to know it better and to avoid any dangers that may occur at night.

The Technical Bit:

When dealing with night photography, you will have to take control of what the camera handles well in daylight situations. The main four issues you have to handle are focus, white balance, shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

Focusing:

Most cameras encounter autofocus problems in low light situations. If you intend to use autofocus anyway, try to find a lit up point or an area where there is a clear contrast between two elements to focus on. Otherwise, you will have to set your focus manually which can be more accurate in night photography.

White Balance:

Usually, at night, there are different light sources lighting a scene which produces a variety of colors. You can get satisfying results if you leave your camera on auto white balance. But if there is a light source that is more dominant in a scene, it is more appropriate to adjust your white balance in accordance with that light source.

Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO:

These are the elements that control whether you get a proper exposure or not.

If you are taking night shots with a hand held camera you will need fast shutter speeds to avoid camera shake and vibration. But to get properly exposed shots with a fast shutter speed at night, you need to use the widest aperture you can get from your lens and set the ISO high enough (up to 3200 or more with some cameras). For slow shutter speeds, use a tripod or put your camera on a surface that can keep it steady during the exposure.

Aperture controls the depth of field. Thus using a wide aperture will result in a shallow and limited depth of field. In night photography and especially in night sceneries, it’s better to opt for smaller apertures (between F8 and F11) to get a good focus range.

The Aesthetic Bit:

As with any other form of photography, night photography conforms to the norms and rules of composition, balance, colors, etc.

Go to the place you are shooting during daytime and try to find interesting spots and compositions. When composing your photo try to find patterns and lines leading to a lit up subject. Water reflections can give you magnificent results when shot at night. Street lights, neon lights and windows will reflect their diversified colors on the water , producing a beautiful sights which you can turn into beautiful pictures.

One of the best moments to take night shots is at dusk. The lights in cities are usually on and you can see some color in the sky. This combination will create a sense of balance in the image and will make the photos more vivid.

Don’t hesitate to use long exposures. It is the only way you can capture photos of fireworks, lightening, light trails, etc. But, always use a tripod and preferably a remote release to make sure you succeed in getting the long exposures right. You don’t want to wait all that time only to find that all you got was a blurry photo.

Night photography requires a lot of practice, patience and time. But, the results are totally worth it.

Some Examples of Night Photography:

Photo By Yassine Hakimi

Photo By Yassine Hakimi

Photo By Yassine Hakimi

Photo By Yassine Hakimi

Photo By Yassine Hakimi

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166 Sunrises and Sunsets

For this week's Shooting Challenge, you captured one of the quintessential photographs: the sunrise/sunset. And you did it extremely well.

Perfect Circle

Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, AE Mode, Aperture f/2.8, Shutter hit 1/4000
Just a lake down the street from me, one that I ride by on my bike pretty much daily. When I heard about the challenge this week I rode over there and waited for something decent, and I think I got probably the best sunset of the week (at least in my location.) That's not to say I didn't try every night for the rest of the week, but nothing else was really poppin'.
[Ed note: Excellent color, great use of depth of field.]
-Joshua Winkelmann

A Picture About Taking Pictures

Leica X1, f/16 at 1/30 ISO 320.
I was out walking when i saw a group of people standing on top of a hill taking pictures of the sunset, and it made me think of the shooting challenge for this week. Maybe they were taking pictures for this challenge too? I will certainly look for the same sky among the submissions!
[Ed note: Love how the photographers in the shot are like a mini Easter Egg.]
-Loui Nydelius

SUN!!!!

Nikon D200, Vivitar 100-500mm manual focus @ 500mm, f11, iso 100, shutter 1/8000.
I just moved into an apartment in Jersey City and finally have a view of the sunset. This was taken from my window. This challenge reminded me that I have an old 500mm lens that I rarely use, so I decided to bust it out. And thats a sun spot in the upper left of the sun, not dust.
[Ed note: That's where a 500mm lens can get you...close enough to melt.]
-Adam Kopelman

Sun, Water, Tree, Fence

Canon EOS 7D, Tamaron 10-20mm f/4.0, Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec, Aperture: f/7.1, ISO: 100
Took this picture on a little photo trip to Abalone Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes (Los Angeles County). When I planned the trip, I wanted to get a photo of the sun on the water, but when I got there I realized that the geography was such that the sun would be setting behind the land, which left me disappointed. There was a thick marine layer off in the distance though, so I thought I'd try to use that as my new “horizon,” and I ended up with this.
[Ed note: It's clearly a sunset, but instead of a rich orange you just get a touch of general warmth.]
-Viet Nguyen (Jon)

Tatooine

Nikon D90, Nikkor 70 - 300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR, Exposure: 1/180, ISO: 100, Aperture: f/9.5, Focal Length: 300mm
Location: Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada
With one last available sunset prior to the shooting challenge deadline, I decided to take the plunge.
My wife and I are visiting relatives in BC's Interior (where there are currently more than a few forest fires)
Once I set up for the shot from my in-laws balcony I realized that the sunset would light the smoke from the nearby fires (those aren't clouds unfortunately). I took many shots as the sun was setting behind a mountain to the west, and thought I'd pick the best one out of them and sent it out. It was as I was looking over them, that I decided to fuse a couple of the exposures together to indicate the partial progression of the suns path that night. (Also it's my attempt at a tribute to the two suns of Tatooine — granted these two are much closer but I thought I'd go for it anyway)
-Richard Morrison

Pond

This was shot with my Canon 7D and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens this morning, actually. I was driving down the highway and noticed a large pond facing the direction of the sunrise, so did a u-turn and soon as I could, turned around again and jumped out of my truck and snapped this.
-Eric Hines

Blast Off

My boyfriend and I had some friends visiting from out of town so we took them to the top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, NV for their last night in town. My boyfriend thought this would be a great opportunity to take some pictures for this contest. I just ordered a DSLR camera so I wanted to get some practice before it was shipped to me. I grabbed his camera and took some practice shots but apparently I had better luck with my shots and was able to get a great one!
Camera/Picture Info: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, 55mm lens, 100ISO f/5.6
[Ed note: The semi-complementing lights on the ride make it for me.]
-Ashley Richardson

Lady Liberty

Shot this with my T2I with the Canon EF 28-135 mm IS lens at 135 mm, f13, 1/500, iso 200. This picture was taken on the Staten Island ferry headed towards Staten Island at about 7:45 pm on Saturday 07/31. The ferry gives you one of the best and cheapest (its free) views of the Statue of Liberty. Minor color correction adjustments were made in Lightroom to try and even out the lighting.
-Timothy Schubert

Sunset Preset

Nikon D5000 55-200mm VR lense F8 iso 200 1/3200s. This is right from my door at my apartment complex in okc. They have some awesome skies here! Tried a couple different setting but ended up going with the sunset setting. I did have to ps the power lines out… I can't get away from them.
[Ed note: If this is the result, I have no qualms with using presets!]
-Sam Katz

On the Water

Went out to eastern Long Island and looking for a good area to capture a full sunset. Just before we came upon Wildwood State Park up on the north shore. With minutes to spare I was able to get this one. Out of all the pictures I was able to get I liked this one the most. Shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i, EF0S 55-250mm f/ 4-5.6 IS lens focal length of 96mm. Shot using aperture mode at f16, shutter speed 1/500 sec at 100 ISO. Exposure bracketed at -2.
-John McNamara

Unintentional Flag Burning

Sunrise, 5:03 a.m. Lake Koshkonong, Edgerton, WI. I woke early to a
calm morning at our lake house. While setting up the tripod for the
sunrise shot and looking at the best angle, the flag just happened to
get between me and the sun - happy accident!
Canon 50D, ISO 100, f18, 1/40 sec, EF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS @80 mm
-Paul Konopacki

Paradise

This photo was taken with a Rebel XTi with kit lens (18-55) on our 10th anniversary trip to St. Lucia last week. I shot this in Manual mode using the “Faithful” setting in the menu. I had to size up the larger photo to meet your minimum requirement as I took this photo before I knew there was a contest this week. I was on vacation after all and reading my usual tech stuff was restricted.
-Willie Sanchez

Surfin' USA

Camera : Canon EOS 7D
Lens : Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Settings: f/32 1/160 secs 100ISO @ 135mm, Daylight white balance
Location: Crystal Cove State Park, Huntington Beach, CA
Photographer's Note:
It was my friend's birthday so I took him out for dinner in Huntington Beach. Later, we stopped by at Crystal Cove State Park to watch a sunset. Another photographer came in later and setup a tripod right in front of me. People interrupted me to take their pictures for them. Joggers cut right in front constantly. I didn't think it was going to happen so I decided to work with it and included two joggers and the other photographer. Meanwhile, the birthday guy was on his cell phone yapping away, missing the sunset entirely.
-Bundid Niyomtham

The Sailboat Shot

This is the photo taken at the Sisters bay WI,
Nikon D5000
Nikor 55-200 AFS
ISO-200
Exposure 1/1600 and f/10
[Ed note: I'm a sucker for a sailboat in the sun shot.]
-Sathish Kumar

Point & Shoot Pefection

I love reading Gizmodo quite a bit and saw this contest for the sunset, and figured since I'm on vacation and had such beautiful shots as the one in the picture, I'd snap it and try submitting. Alas, being a dummy forgot my better camera at home, and it doesn't seem you take non digital camera entries, might be odd to submit a roll of film. No special lenses, filters or anything, just a crappy Sony Cybershot that belonged to a friend. Took the picture after some weather came through, was glad for the pictures. Information for the Sunset Contest:
1. This is a picture I took on vacation
2. Taken 7/29/2010
3. Crappy Sony Cybershot camera, decided it was a beautiful scene from the beach where we were sitting. Wasn't able to change too many settings for the camera itself
so let it do an auto setup and shot the picture, set the camera on the beach chair I was on so it wouldn't shake. Learned that after the third or fourth attempt.
4. This is to the contest and not the Mark Wilson man, though I bet it'd be fun to mail stuff to him…
5. The image included is the only image I have, as that was the maximum resolution on the camera.. kinda forgot the nice camera at home and this was the cybershot's highest setting
6. It's my only submission, though be rough and I could submit?
[Ed note: Great use of available tools...but you're weirding us out just a bit.]
-Patrick Liss

WINNER - Mt. Fuji Sunrise

Shooting Info: Sony A550, Sigma 10-20mm lens @ 15mm, ISO200, f/5.6, EV -1.7, 1/640 sec.
I smiled at the coincidence of the latest Shooting Challenge subject because I had long before planned a nighttime hike up Mt. Fuji this Saturday (July 31) to catch the sunrise. Pictured are fellow climbers in silhouette as they take in a halo-sporting sunrise from high above the clouds just below the 9th stage of Mt. Fuji.
[Ed note: An epic moment. And of course, it makes a great wallpaper.]
-Ben Torode

Harder than ever to choose a winner—I must have changed my mind ten times! So many beautiful sunrises and sunsets are almost too much of a good thing. Maybe that's why nature only gives us each once a day.

Find full size photos (aka wallpapers) over at Flickr.

Gallery 1 (one page)

from: Teirans Blog