WDW - Night Shots

[dpic]

I don't want to speak for Jeff because I'm not pooooositive of this, however I don't believe he used a star filter. This picture alone has been my inspiration to hit AK on our trip in December for evening EMH (which I always avoid like plague) and because of that, I think he said he used the Sigma 30 1.4 for this shot on a tripod doing a longish exposure. I found out when taking shots of my Christmas tree this year that the longer the exposure, the better my stars were.

Thanks for the input. It's a very cool effect, and I would interested to hear from Jeff on this, too. I love night photography and am always interested in learning new methods. Thanks

 

[annnewjerz]

Thanks for the input. It's a very cool effect, and I would interested to hear from Jeff on this, too. I love night photography and am always interested in learning new methods. Thanks

I remember that I subbed to that thread. Here is the quote from Jeff when someone told him he had a "nice use of the star filter."

Thanks for the comment. Did not use a starlight filter- the flare came naturally with the small aperature (8 Blades = 8 Points ) .

My new tripod is a Bogen/Manfrotto 190XDB with 486C2 Ballhead.

Here is the link to the whole thread, it's only a few pages but dedicated to AK at night.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1791010

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I believe he did use a star filter because if I recall, that AK shot was what inspired me to get one myself!

ETA, hmm, well I definitely heard about it somewhere as I didn't even know what one was!

 

[annnewjerz]

I believe he did use a star filter because if I recall, that AK shot was what inspired me to get one myself!

ETA, hmm, well I definitely heard about it somewhere as I didn't even know what one was!

See above, I bet you were typing while I was posting

ETA: this isn't a Disney shot, but it does demonstrate the stars on the lights without using a filter. I used f/16 for this shot of my Christmas tree and a 5 second exposure. You can definitely see some stars. I would imagine in AK since the bulbs over the walkway are much larger than those on a Christmas tree, you'd have the same effect, just larger like with Jeff's image.

Jeff seems to have used f/11 and a 10 second exposure for his AK shot.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

See above, I bet you were typing while I was posting

I did, that was my edit.

 

[iggbees]

here are a few of mine. they don't stack up to any of the ones on this thread by any means, but i'll add them for fun.

exif (this info is totally wrong, but feel free to look anyway. i think it has to do with my old 125mm manual focus lens.)

exif (this info is totally wrong too, same lens used.)

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

Wow- there is like a whole debate going on here.

Just to clarify- no star filter was used in any of the shots- I don't even have one. Pretty much any lens will flare like that when stopped down with a bright light source in the frame like that.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Ok, then - who was it that had the star filter that inspired me?

That's going to bug me now.

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

I think Groucho uses one sometimes.

 

[zackiedawg]

Wow..didn't ever see this thread pop up, and it already has 4 pages! I love love love night shots, and have, I don't know...millions? But of those I've uploaded and from Disney at least reduces the numbers a bit. Here are some of my faves from WDW (all exif should be intact...if there are any you want, just let me know):

Sony A300

(handheld...no tripod):

Sony H5:

Sony 717:

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Quick question for all of you fantastic photograhers!! Do you always use a tripod for your night shoots?

I'm just now getting into photography and have an obsession with beautiful night pictures!

I have a Canon PowerShot SX10IS that I bought a few months ago and I love it! I took a few good night shots in automatic handheld last month in WDW. Just wondering for the future!!

Thanks!

 

[JimbobJimbo]

 

[zackiedawg]

Quick question for all of you fantastic photograhers!! Do you always use a tripod for your night shoots?

I'm just now getting into photography and have an obsession with beautiful night pictures!

I have a Canon PowerShot SX10IS that I bought a few months ago and I love it! I took a few good night shots in automatic handheld last month in WDW. Just wondering for the future!!

Thanks!

Usually I do...

In the first two of my shots above, I didn't have my tripod with me, but used a garbage can top and a bench to lay the camera on for the shots. In the third of my shots, it was handheld with a slightly higher ISO.

In general, the best night shots will be obtained with the lowest ISO (regardless of camera), a tripod, and either a cable or remote release, or using the self-timer to take the shot. Manual settings are usually best, in that you can tailor the aperture for just the right depth or light saturation, and the shutter for the precise length of exposure - but Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority both work well too - and for those not at all comfortable with settings, Auto or P mode in a pinch will do.

If you don't have a cable or remote release, best to set the self timer to snap the pic for you - even the tiny amount of vibration your hand causes in pressing and releasing the button can show up in the shot. And if you don't have a tripod, any level surface will do in a pinch - a garbage can, fence, wall, ledge, bench, etc.

When all else fails, you can get by with handheld shots - if you've got something to lean on you can help steady yourself for longer exposures, and cameras with image stabilization can help a little too.

A totally different look is shooting high ISO night shots - these are a little grainier, usually darker, not as saturated in color, but can deliver an interesting look and capture the feel of 'night'. These can often be done handheld, as long as the shutter speeds are 1/2 second or faster. The firehouse photo I took handheld is ISO400. This shot I used ISO800 well after sunset, handheld:

You can see the shadows are darker, with less detail, and there is a bit more graininess in the shadows and darker areas. It doesn't have that laser-sharp look that long exposure night shots do, nor as much color or saturation. But at the same time, it's a different style of photo and some folks enjoy this type of photography too.

 

[tebookie]

 

[Villainess]

ISO 100, 23mm, f/6.3, 4sec

ISO 100, 35mm, f/4, sec

 

[Todd_H]

Awesome shots everyone! I love night shots, but I haven't had much practice with them. I'm hoping to get some good ones when we go back in September. Here's a shot from Wishes last year:

 

[dpic]

I remember that I subbed to that thread. Here is the quote from Jeff when someone told him he had a "nice use of the star filter."



Here is the link to the whole thread, it's only a few pages but dedicated to AK at night.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1791010

Thanks, Ann. That was a good thread, and I liked looking through the photos on his site. I like your site, too. Keep up the good work!

 

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