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Panasonic has announced new firmware for the Panasonic S5II (buy here) and Panasonic S5IIX (buy here). The new firmware adds a handful of new features, but probably the biggest is that long exposures have been enabled for High Resolution Mode.
An AF-Point Scope mode has also been added, which magnifies the focus point during autofocus. You’re also now able to zoom in up to 20x with manual focus lenses to really ensure you’ve nailed focus.
With many things in life, simpler is usually better. Not over-complicating a thing can usually return an increased sense of enjoyment. This includes photography.
For many photographers, myself included, collecting cameras and different lenses, or just fondling photo gear is all part of the fun. I get it. But before you camera bag packers start fist-pounding about simplifying, just hear me out- all I’m saying is that sometimes it’s not necessary to bring 5 cameras and 27 different prime lenses with you on a trip. Even if you plan to shoot long exposures.
Long-exposure photography has been around as long as photography itself, but it’s had a tentative relationship with its audience over the years.
20+ years ago when I was shooting analogue film, long exposure was fairly common, even though it was pretty risky to do without the instant feedback of seeing the resulting image. Then digital came along and with it, a brand new world of creative options opened up in the form of Photoshop, consequently, some of the more traditional creative skills fell by the wayside.
Long exposures, particularly of water, are something that almost all of us either have tried at some point or will try and some point in the future. Sometimes we might get lucky and nail it on our very first attempt but often we’ll find ourselves struggling to get the image we see in our head. The image we’d like to create. This is because it’s not usually as simple as just sticking an ND over your lens and increasing your shutter speed. There’s a little more to it than that.
In this video, photographer Andy Mumford walks us through the elements of creating long exposure waterscapes to add dynamism to our scene. He gives us the reasoning behind the decisions made when shooting one so that when you face potential problems in your shots or aren’t happy with what you’re getting, you’ve got some idea of what you can change and how they’ll affect your photography.
Sometimes it can be great to flex your skills and show off your lighting prowess, but we can often run into the danger of the image being more about the lighting technique rather than the look of the final image itself. This is something I always try and hammer home when I’m teaching new techniques.
Is there anybody here old enough to remember the horrendous HDR portraits of the early 2000s? The images were all about showing off the latest HDR technique rather than the subjects themselves and the results were nothing short of terrifying. Too young and have no idea what I’m talking about? Just Google HDR portraits and you’ll see what I mean.
One of the things I was a bit confused by when I first started out in photography was the subject of filters. What, when and how to be precise. When should I choose a polarising filter over a neutral density filter? What grade of neutral density filter do I need? Circular or square? And don’t even get me started on those gradient neutral density filters. It all seemed so confusing! Luckily I had the sense to enrol in a landscape photography workshop when I was travelling around New Zealand and all became clear. It really isn’t so complicated after all.
One of the things I enjoy about using filters is the ability to get it right in camera. There are some effects and techniques that you simply cannot do in post, and long exposure photography is one of those. In this video, Mike from Perea Photography takes you through his process of creating beautifully smooth long exposure landscapes using a 10-stop ND filter.
Solarcan is back with a new product, the solarcan.co.uk/PUCK. It’s a solar camera that comes in a very tiny tin package to let you shoot the sun’s path through the sky over many weeks or months. It’s much smaller than their original 16oz version, which you can see in action here when Matthew Vandeputte used one to create a 10 million second exposure (just under 4 months).
The new Solarcan Puck is also a pinhole camera and produces up to three total exposures. Each exposure is protected from light by a cover until you’re ready to shoot it. You also get a sticky mount and a couple of cable ties for attaching it to where you want to shoot from. An overview video has been posted by the company showing how it’s made up and what you get inside.
Sometimes you’re scrolling on social media and an image just makes you stop and go back to have another look. You scratch your head, trying to figure out how they shot it. Must be Photoshop magic you think. You read the caption “taken in one exposure” and think ‘wait, what?’ That’s exactly what happened when we saw this incredible image titled WAKE UP by a group of light painting photographers who call themselves Sketchlight.
I remember the first time I saw an image captured using the long exposure photography technique. It blew me away. The skies were stretched across the sky and the water as soft as silk. How was it even possible?
Little did I know that this technique would become a game changer for me. Not only did learning this technique help me understand the fundamental camera settings, it helped develop my creative vision.
A decade later I’m still fascinated with long exposure photography. My approach has changed during the years but it’s still part of who I am.
It’s fair to say that there’s been many ups and downs during these years. From learning the very basics to tackling more complex and creative approaches. Many lessons are learned the hard way and that’s part of what I want to help you avoid.
So, read on and I’ll tell you the secrets of great long exposure photography.
Matthew Vandeputte is generally better known for his timelapse and hyperlapse work than his regular single image photography. But in this project, he decided to kind of merge the two, shooting what is essentially a timelapse in a single exposure that lasted for four months.
Of course, he didn’t use the digital cameras he typically shoots with to create this photo. Instead, Matthew used a process called solargraphy. It uses a pinhole camera and captures the movement of the sun and exposes the scene over a long period of time (4 months in this case) so that you can see how the sun moves through the sky each day, slowly building up the final result.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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