Night Shift
A night time look at a local paper mill in Brunswick, Georgia. It shines like a new penny.
A night time look at a local paper mill in Brunswick, Georgia. It shines like a new penny.
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Oct, 2015Views
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Awards
People's Choice in Light Painting and Night Long Exposure Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from a bridge on the Turtle River in Brunswick, Georgia in the very wee hours of the morning.Time
This photo was taken at about 4 am in the morning. It caught the night shift of the paper mill at work. One of the important things about the time is that it coincided with high tide. High tide and a clear winter night gave marvelous reflections from the lighting.Lighting
The lighting was basically the ambient lighting supplied by the mill. The mill operates around the clock so the lights provided by the mill are necessary for normal operations.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 1D MK II camera with a Canon 75-300mm zoom lens zoomed to 240mm. The tripod used was a Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod with ball joint head. I used a wireless remote to trigger the shutter and set the exposure time to around 30 seconds and aperture to F16.Inspiration
Primarily a love for night photography and making many trips past this mill at night. Observations from many trips prompted me to check for tidal times and cloud cover. Both of these conditions helped bring out the shimmer of light off the water.Editing
Post processing was really quite minimal. I will usually run most any photo through Photoshop Elements for light processing and color adjustments. I also remove sensor blemishes since my 1D has some age on it thus has minor sensor blemishes that I have not been able to correct or clean. Removing the blemishes with Photoshop Clone Stamp usually corrects the problem flawlessly.In my camera bag
I never leave home without a photographers vest on with essential tools and accessories. At night it goes with out saying that flashlights and plenty of batteries are a must. I always keep a wireless remote trigger and a wired version that features a bulb exposure setting for really long exposures. I always have a microfiber cleaning cloth to clean condensation and debris from the lens. Acclimating the lens to the operating temperature is a way to reduce condensation but the lens still will need cleaning periodically during the night.Feedback
I think the best advice is to get in a familiar environment (such as at your home) and start to experiment with long exposure settings in Manual mode at night. The subject matter is not really that important. The focus should be on technique learning to use long exposure settings with little to no light around. Experimenting with aperture settings, ISO and exposure time will be of use when going out to shoot at an unfamiliar location. It will shorten the time on location and relieve some of the frustration of trying to capture such a shot in the middle of the night. Getting yourself familiar with the camera settings in a familiar environment can not be over emphasized. It enhances you chances of being successful and boosts the confidence level before arriving on location.
