Surely you have seen amazing long-exposure photography. We are talking about pictures where car head lights or tail lights become streaks of light. Or there is the same effect with stars as they move across the sky. But what is time-exposure or long-exposure photography? According to the internet, long-exposure photography or time-exposure photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. The paths of moving light sources become clearly visible.
Many people seem to prefer fast shutter speeds to capture images like a baseball at the moment the player hits it or a bat in flight or a dog shaking off water. Sure these are cool and can produce some amazing results but I think I prefer long-exposure photography myself.
Long-exposure photography is easiest to accomplish in low-light conditions, but can also be done in brighter light environments using neutral-density filters or specially designed cameras. This is why so many long-exposure photography images are those of car head lights or stars moving across the sky.
True, you will need some equipment like a tripod and a camera with an adjustable shutter speed but nothing to out of the park. I looked at my iPhone just now and the basic camera it has will not accommodate long-exposure photography but an entry level DSLR camera will for sure. Perhaps there is an app for iPhone that has adjustable shutter speed? If you know of one please tell us in the comments. You may also find a shutter release cable or remote control handy though they are certainly not required. A tripod is super important becase holding the cmera is really just out of the question. One little movement will ruin the shot and the camera needs to be super still. Fortunately tripods are not that expensive and can be found at many different places. You can even pick one up at the thrift store such as Goodwill.
I like long-exposure photography because it gives us a chance to see our world in such a way our naked eye does not allow us to. It also reminds me to slow down and take some time to smell the roses and Grand Pappy used to say.
If you would like to try your hand at long-exposure photography and create some amazing photographs that will make you and your friends smile here is a fantastic tutorial by super talented Matt Kloskowski from 500px.com explaining how to make amazing long-exposure photography as well as one from Nikon USA or this one. make sure to check them out as they are full of useful information and 500px has some amazing images.
If you like long-exposure photography as much as I do, let me know in the comments below. Also, what do you think would make a good subject for this technique? Would love to hear your thoughts.