When I’m traveling in places near water, I wish I have a heavy cloud above my head in order to capture beautiful long-exposure waterscapes. At the beginning of my photographic journey, I was longing for bright sun and full sunshine. It was the guarantee for sharp vibrant photos as my first compact cameras had limited abilities. But, then my first DSLR came to make me love photo-shooting with cloudy weather.
In simple words, long-exposure photography is when the shutter of our camera is open for a relatively longer time than the usual instant capture. That would mean more than one second or more. Shutter speed should be less than 1/4 of a second, ISO should stay lower than 200 and the aperture should be more than f5. As the number of the f-stop increases, it gives more clarity on the captured movements. This time exposure results in a silky continuity of the moving elements but also leaves the stationary things sharp and clear.
Due to the nature of this technique, over-exposed scenes would look totally white and ‘burnt’. That’s why long exposure is usually accomplished in low light conditions, like night, low light hours of dawn and sunset, cloudy and rainy weather, etc. In the daytime, long exposure is succeeded with the usage of neutral density filters. Also, a tripod is recommended to minimize noise, as the long exposure increases sensitivity by capturing even the tiniest shakiness.
Despite the headache that this technical play with the light may cause to the beginners, it is definitely worth trying it. It can create so beautiful and imaginative sceneries; misty-like flows in waterfalls, silky streams, smeared skies and milky seas. Once you do it, you will always want to see your scenery and in this way. The clear reality will never be enough again behind your lens …
“A snapshot steals life that it cannot return. Long-exposure creates forms that never existed“.
photographer Dieter Appelt