What is Long exposure photography?

As technical is any photos that has been taken with long shutter speed.

Long shutter speed is your setting on your camera, manual mode, you can put in M (Manual) or TV (Time). you can set about 5 seconds until 30 seconds.

What is the purpose?

Originally this technique is for taking the photo in low light condition, because of the light is not sufficient enough, the camera need more light come into the camera, need more time, when we set the time longer, then camera will get more light come inside, so the photo result will become bright.

Using this technique can make a different approach oh ‘art’ photos. we can use to play with the light (Painting light) and also to capture the slow motion of the water flow or also the people walk. Sometime we can see our photo result like have a ‘ghost’ when we set using AV mode then the light not enough then the result, the people moving like have spirit/shadow (ghost).

For water flow, the image really can became dreamy image like have haze in the water. I really like to use this method for taking water flow photos.

Most of the type of camera will set for 30 seconds max, to set more than that you can use M mode, and set as BULB, you can press the shutter button with you hand, anytime you like, then you release it.

For example I use 1 minutes, so I put as M mode, and press the button, until 1 minute I release the button. But to do this it’s quite risk cause our body is moving, so to avoid this, I using the cable release. I control the pressing use the cable release, some cable release type also have the button that we can set the timing and also we can set to always on until we want to stop. This is very useful if we want to take the star moving in the night, we need more time to do this. I remember when taking the Bromo in the night with my friend, using this technique.

The basic rule is: we need the low light to capture the long shutter speed photo. to make it ‘dark’ we need some filter, Neutral Density Filter, you can use base on the density you like, have some model ND4 ND8 ND9 and also ND400. Depend on the light condition when you want to take the photo. And to make camera steady we need tripod.

Normally for water flow, I put the ND4 or ND8 and using also the CPL filter to make the reflection gone. and we can adjust the aperture -2 -1 0 1 2

We also can use flash to fire some moment, example when taking the Bali Kecak dance, I can set my flash to fire about 3 times during the long exposure shoot. The result like we combine 3 photos of one person movement.

Tips:

• Keep trying with many light condition
• Understand your camera setting
• Use tripod, try the light weight and steady filter if you do a lot of travelling
• Always bring your CPL and ND filter

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Please click the thumbnail of the birds, will bring you to more information about that bird.

Little Heron

Crimson Sunbird

Oriental Magpie Robin

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Richard's Pipit

Pied Fantail

Common Tailorbird

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Black-naped Oriole

White-throated Kingfisher

Yellow-vented bulbul

Javan Myna

Common Flameback

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Little Tern

Olive-backed Sunbird

Pacific Swallow

Scaly-breasted Munia

White-collared Kingfisher

White-crested Laughingthrush

Oriental-pied Hornbill

I start really hunting birds since I have the Canon 400mm F5.6L. This is a good lens for hunting birds, taking the flying birds because the focus is very fast and quite light about 1 kg. so can hand held this lens. I bought this lens May 2008.

Bird hunting is depend on luck, yes luck is the most important. Cause you’ll never know that the bird can come really close to you, or make a hoverfly move just in front of you about 2-3 meters. And sometime also you will never find any birds. Mostly the bird will active in morning 7-9am and during the sunset time during 4-6pm. All depend also the place and the light on that area.

Birds know when we are there, so in this case bird will look at you and pay attention on your move, until they really feel confident that you will not hurt them, they can come closer to you. This happened when I was hunting the White-collared Kingfisher, The best method is to hide when taking this kingfisher. But that time I haven’t got any preparation for that, then that kingfisher just appear on my way, then I try to catch the photos. About 3 hours I try to get closer, they still run away, until I try to tell them ‘Hi, I just want to take your photos, come closer please’ hahahaa seems funny to talk to this bird but sometime it’s really help, maybe they can hear our heart or maybe our language. This kingfisher suddenly stop in front of me, look at me (remember bird will look at you) then I just stare at him, not make any necessary move that make him afraid, until he feel really confident he come closer until about 2-3 meter. That time I was sitting in the grass waiting them. I point my lens to him then take some photos of him. That birds still not go away, maybe he really feel that I will not attach him.

Sometime happened also when using this 400mm lens, the bird come only less then 1 meter, playing near by my hand, this is the white-throated fantail. This time I can not do anything, I let him to go away a bit far from me, because my lens have the minimum distance to shoot is about 3.5 meters, unless I use the extension tube, but that time I did not bring that. With extension tube you can make the object bigger and the minimum distance closer.

So If I try to make the list of this tip and trick.

• Luck, this is the most importan
• passion, willing to explore, walking early morning, pending your lunch, walking far into the forest, getting wet
• patient and keep focus, bird can suddenly appear and also we need to wait for quite long time
• learn more about your camera your lens, try to handle them, know how is the benefit and also the weakness then try to cover the weakness using another tools or your way of taking photo
• searching any moves, keep your eyes open and focus, and also hear any moves and their sing, that’s the good sign that birds is around there, and keep silent try to walk slowly and get closer, try to observe between the leaf and tree.
• Keep on shooting, try many angles, many condition of light, and keep on hunting
• bird composition it’s quit difficult, first time I just focus in the middle, try to get the bird photo, if the birds did not move even their know we are there, try to compose their position into your camera’s view finder, see the light, if using digital camera, we can see the result, to adjust lighting and also ISO.
• Get more information from other photographer, don’t shy to ask and sharing, you can tell other photographer that you got some bird spot and most of the time they also will share to you. And you can also try to get more information about the place from internet, know how to go there, and make sure what you need to bring and also is the place secure or not.
• Talk to the birds, yes this is sound crazy, but I usually do this, like saying come come closer to me, or sometime I hope ‘God, please give me some birds today…’ or ‘birds, come I only will take your photos’.
• make a birds song, this way sometime can make some birds try to reply your voice but also sometime it can make others bird go away, cause afraid of this voice, maybe this kind of birds is usually attach them.
• Don’t do unnecessary things, like you want to make good photographs, then when you see the birds nest you try to get closer and make some adjustment like breaking some tree branch or put some leaf or others. this can make the bird will not come back to their nest. so keep it natural.