I have always been passionate about low light photography. There's something magical about the capturing the faint light that's available when the world is dark.
Cities take on a particularly alluring visual quality at night. Their complex beauty is enhanced by a multitude of colors of light from street lamps, shops and restaurants, and moving vehicles.
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| Steamy Night - Manhattan (2021) |
I try to capture the highest-quality images that I can. In low light conditions, that usually means working with the camera on a tripod. In dim light, typically we need long shutter speeds in order to gather enough light to make a proper exposure. Our bodies can't hold the camera still long enough to do this without creating blurry photos.
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| Shops On A Corner - New York (2021) |
I enjoy working on a tripod, but there are times when I like the freedom handheld shooting. I can grab photos in a crowd or even dash out into the traffic lanes momentarily.
Fortunately, advances in camera technology have made handheld night photography a reality. Mobile phones achieve good results by taking a burst of photos and using computational algorithms to clean up noise an other imperfections.
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| Juice Bar Neon - New York (2021) |
With a modern digital cameras, noise is well-controlled. We can use fast shutter speeds in dark conditions, because the camera doesn't need a lot of light to create an image. Couple this light-collecting efficiency with fast lenses and in-body image stabilization, and handheld shooting at night has become practical and effective.
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| Comedy Club - New York City (2021) - Handheld HDR |
I still use a tripod when I can and when I need to squeeze every last bit of quality out of an image, but I'm able to take photos now handheld that rival that quality and give me a whole lot more freedom to grab night shots in a fast-paced city.
Cameras: Sony a7R III and a7R IV
Lenses: Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA and 85mm f/1.8
Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.
Copyright © 2021 Daniel R. South
http://www.dansouthphoto.com
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