Bumble Bee
long exposure
long exposure
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Jul, 2010Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Statesboro, Georgia Kiwanis fairTime
Around 8 pm probably. It was dark. It was a little before the fair closed for the night.Lighting
I didn't want to be hindered by carrying too much equipment. Besides, I have always appreciated using natural light or the lighting that is already provided by the environment I am photographing. So I did not use any additional lighting, only what was provided from the lights of the fair rides and food stands.Equipment
I shot this photo with a Nikon D70 I believe. It was a while back, and I shoot with a D80 a lot now. I used a sturdy tripod and a Nikon Nikkor VR zoom lens 18-200mm f/3.5 DXInspiration
This photo was taken when I was in college at Georgia Southern University. It was a small town with very little going on. You had to go out and seek your subjects. It wasn't like fast-paced city where something different is happening at all times all around you. I used to go for long drives not knowing where the dirt roads would take me. I came across communities that I didn't even know existed there. There were a lot of old run down, dilapidated homes with heaps of old metal scraps and machinery. Clotheslines with the days laundry blowing in the wind and five or six dirty-kneed children running amuck at once. They were families that didn't come to town often. So I photographed what I'd see on those roads. When the fair came to town, I saw that as a big opportunity for something vibrant and different. I had learned about long exposure photography in class and thought this would be a great time to test it all out. It was so exciting to put my dial setting on "bulb" and wait anxiously to see what image would appear on my screen. I get excited thinking about that anticipation right now. It motivates me to try some more long exposures. The possibilities are endless. But making the most out of what you have available is what ultimately inspired this photo and the others I shot in that town.Editing
I did post process a little. I was still learning so much about digital manipulation, that I think early on you feel almost like nothing you do is complete until you have manipulated it in some way. I definitely don't believe that now, and now I shoot in that moment of clicking the shutter to achieve my vision as closely as possible, so as to do little or no post manipulation. It just depends on what you are going for though. This post-processing method I chose was selective desaturation. The colors turned out so vibrant and beautiful in-camera, but I think I just wanted to see what it would look like if I put more focus on one thing and made the bumblebee sort of my main subject. The selective desaturation helped to hone in the viewer's eye to my subject.In my camera bag
I have standard 35-50mm lenses, a fisheye lens, a macro extender tube set, external flashes and diffusers, extra batteries, a portable battery charger, and lots of memory cards!! I do shoot a lot of film today, even dabbling in medium format cameras such as holgas or instant cameras, but still shoot my digital and it's great having options!Feedback
There are not really specific settings for a shot like this because it depends on the lighting, how much and how fast your subject is moving. You will definitely need a tripod; it is a must! A wireless remote would be helpful but isn't necessary. Set your tripod up and get it fixed on the subject (framed, focused, etc.). You can start on "bulb" setting and hold the shutter down for a few seconds and release just to get an idea of which way to go as far as time that the shutter is open and aperture etc. Be careful if you don't have a remote that when pressing and releasing the shutter that you do it very lightly as to not move the tripod or shake the camera. Mess around with your settings until you get what you are going for. If there is a lot of light, you may want a smaller aperture, (22, 16) so that you can allow the shutter to be open longer to catch the motion and so that you won't have a white image when you release the shutter. See how that goes and maybe open the aperture up more if you need more light. Interchangeably, you can adjust both shutter speed and aperture to eventually capture the scene like you want it. Then you can use those settings as a basis for other scenes with similar lighting. All a long exposure is, is holding open the opening through which light comes into your camera. The longer it is open, the more motion blur you can capture. But with the right aperture, you can have crisp, sharp light. Try going on your porch and capturing the stars, or cars. Catching the lights on a car can be fun. When you get it a certain way, it's often sharp red, blue, and yellow or white streams of light. They do not have to appear crisp. They can appear how you want them to. It's all about experimenting! What may work for one image aesthetically and compositionally, may not work for another.
