streaks of light in the lens
Regardless of the season, the streets of all cities dance with lights at night, which is great for shooting.
You don't have to worry about the late night - in winter the sun sets quite early and after work, school or university you can go for a walk with your camera. What should you be looking for? Highly lit places, preferably places where these lights travel. The street is ideal for this - the more difficult the traffic intersection and, of course, the good viewpoint, the better results can be achieved.
Try to create original shots, experiment!
Also remember that you don't have to limit yourself to just car headlights, you can have fun at home using various flashlights, LED bulbs and run in front of the lens for long periods of time coloring your scene. You can find a hint about technique in the subject line on page 50, but here we want to encourage you to explore and diversify.
If you like abstractions, you can play it a little differently. Walking down a street full of neon lights and streetlights, with your camera set to a slow shutter speed, you can create patterns that can't be reproduced. Approaching lights, the rhythm of footsteps, the way you walk and hold your camera can affect the final photo. Don't wait, get a camera
away!
Start today...
Streaks of light are nothing new: Gjon Mills (far right)'s famous photographs of Picasso paintings appeared in Life magazine over 60 years ago. In the past, before digital photography, photographing light was something of an accident, thanks to the immediacy of digital cameras, you can try with impunity until you succeed.
- A stable tripod is not essential, but if you want a sharp photo and a well-defined light path, it will certainly come in handy.
- A remote shutter release can help determine shutter speed, because keeping the button pressed in bulb exposure mode for a few to a few minutes will be problematic.
- Until you decide to use an abstract photo, set your exposure to available light first, because the light from passing cars won't affect it much.
Try at least one of these ideas:
A great place to take photos is inside the car, which allows you to take very dynamic pictures. Experiment with shutter speed (photo: Marcus Hawkins)
Stripes of light can create abstract compositions that are often far more interesting than the subject or area you are photographing in (photo by Mark Pierce)
Cars are not the only objects that can be photographed. Gjon Mills immortalized Picasso by painting his paintings with a flashlight (photo: Gjon Mili/Getty)
