On Apr 19, 2013, at 12:44 PM, Charles Robinson wrote: > On Apr 19, 2013, at 11:11 , eactiv...@aol.com wrote: > >> Never really done that much night shooting. >> >> I am, again, think it's been 5 years, taking a photo class that ends in a >> little show (mat & frame & hang pics & invite family & friends). You pick a >> theme to shoot around. I am, again, choosing an environmental one. >> >> There is an oil refinery nearby that is lit up like a fairy castle at >> night. They don't like you taking pictures (if they see you on or near >> their >> property), but there is a spot across the freeway where I think I could get >> a >> good night shot. >> >> Only don't know how to begin. High ISO? Long exposure? Never done HDR, >> would that be better? (Definitely plan on using the old tripod, and I do >> have >> a remote.) I can try different approaches and shoot it again on return >> trips. >> > > 1. Tripod > > 2. 2-second release (also ideally with a remote release) so that the mirror > is flipped up and everything has settled down a bit before the shutter opens. > > 3. Shoot RAW - most of the speckles and noise (hot pixels) you get from > overheating the sensor are automatically removed by the Adobe Raw converter > when you import into (whatever you use) and it'll save you a ton of time > "cleaning up". > > 4. Shoot as low an ISO as you are patient enough to use. That will come back > to you in sharpness. If you like, you can start with a high ISO to figure > out approximately the exposure range you want to use, and then crank down the > ISO (and crank up the exposure time to match). > > 5. Along with low ISO, stop down to f5.6/8/11 to help with your > depth-of-field. Especially when it's pitch dark out (I don't know how > well-lit your subject is) it can be tricky to get the focus spot-on. > > 6. Don't be afraid to start with an automatically-calculated exposure. You > can then dial the exposure-compensation up or down "to taste". > > > -Charles > 7. Turn off any "instant-review" on the LCD on the back of the camera. Manually check the first few images while you are getting set up, but don't trust the jpeg on the LCD - instead look at the RGB histograms for exposure feedback. The LCD JPEG will lie about the lighting and will just help keep your night vision from developing.
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