night fountain

dehuis · 11th May 2003

hi.. need some help here
above pic taken on 200 film with shutter speed 10s at f 5.6.
i metered off the bright areas using center weighter metering with aperture priority and while the lights all came out, i think that its over exposed and the details are lost on the clock face
can anyone tell me how to catch the lights and all the details and where i should have metered on?
take night always the cam tell me 10s and 15s. is it always necessary for that long coz pple tell me no need, 1-2s enuff yet i use the cam always tell me so long?
is it something to do with my metering area or wat? advice needed.. thks

yeocolin · 11th May 2003

Hi Dehui,
U are right to say even at night photography, you don't need more than 3-4s of exposure time, even at iso 100 or 200. Why not try using matrix instead of center metering?

Center metering uses smaller % of picture's light as measurement of exposure.

Anyway, if your metering was accurate, over or under-exposure shouldn't be too much of a problem, since the camera's AI should be smart enough to calculate it. But you are correct to meter the brighter parts (since this are the parts you want to be detailed and are to be your subjects).

Keep me updated if you managed to find the solution to it or the various attempts of trying to get it right, even if they were unsuccessful. Cos even if attempts were unsuccessful, they are still food for thought to try other ways of rectifying it.

espn · 11th May 2003

Night shots depends also on the amount of light available, for my case, I focused on the clock tower and did a spot-af metering, based on one of my previous shot - here.

I used 4 seconds and found that the lights nearer to me are overexposed whilst I gained the details behind at the hotel side.

So this time I aimed at the clock tower part and metered and using a faster shutter like 0.5seconds to capture the important details. You can say it's experience learnt especially when the landscape has a lot of lightings around that you don't need very long exposure.

Just MHO, I think if it was earlier about 7.20-7.30pm and you tried to snap at the same position/composition it would definitely help of course. I found the lighting to be better and much more evenly spread (but alas I was in a rush to the musical fountain so I didn't take any).

I used external flash as well, I don't know if that helped or not, anybody can advice?

just my 0.02cents

dehuis · 12th May 2003

thks for all the replies, i have noted them and would try. haha me using canon so its the evaluative system.. cannot compare with the nikon matrix i hear so much abt. =) should try evaluative next time. just curious, how come teh cam set such a long exposure time, so does that mean to set say 3s, i have to use manual mode instead of one of those aperture priority?

yeocolin · 12th May 2003

Its nothing to do with Canon or Nikon evaluative system. I'm using Minolta Dynax 404si, an entry-level SLR, and I'm still able to capture night scenes, although I've only taken a few night scenes (coincidentally, I'll be trying several night shots this week).

Using manual or priority doesn't make a difference. In fact, when using manual, it means u have to be aware of the camera telling u the picture is under/over-exposed, thus risking a disastrous picture. In priority mode, this is less of a concern, since camera is unlikely to let u shoot if under/over-exposed unless u compensate it.

dehuis · 13th May 2003

hi colin
yah i totally agree with wat u say but as i menetioned, the problm is that in priority mode (aperture), the camera constantly give me 10+ s so i have to manually override the whole thing. maybe thats coz i use center weighted. maybe i try evaluative with aperture i can get it to give me 3-4 s

eh espn
considering the range, i dun think that external flash helps right?
unless u got BIG BIG flash light like the merlion sized!=)

leewt214 · 13th May 2003

Flash can help! trying closing down on the aperture and set the shuttle speed on bulb. Then you can play with "painting with Flash"

Man, i saw some of the photos taken using this technique, they are beautiful! Alternative, you can use your flash to light up your foreground to make the composition more interesting.

yeocolin · 13th May 2003

Hi Dehui,
When I said matrix metering, I meant using a larger area of viewfinder to calculate exposure, since center metering uses a smaller area. In Nikon, its call matrix. In Minolta, its call honeycomb. I not sure what Canon calls it, but I think you get my idea. (if Canon's is indeed call evaluative)

11th May 2003	#1
dehuis Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: everton park Posts: 264	night fountain hi.. need some help here above pic taken on 200 film with shutter speed 10s at f 5.6. i metered off the bright areas using center weighter metering with aperture priority and while the lights all came out, i think that its over exposed and the details are lost on the clock face can anyone tell me how to catch the lights and all the details and where i should have metered on? take night always the cam tell me 10s and 15s. is it always necessary for that long coz pple tell me no need, 1-2s enuff yet i use the cam always tell me so long? is it something to do with my metering area or wat? advice needed.. thks

11th May 2003	#2
yeocolin Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 812	Hi Dehui, U are right to say even at night photography, you don't need more than 3-4s of exposure time, even at iso 100 or 200. Why not try using matrix instead of center metering? Center metering uses smaller % of picture's light as measurement of exposure. Anyway, if your metering was accurate, over or under-exposure shouldn't be too much of a problem, since the camera's AI should be smart enough to calculate it. But you are correct to meter the brighter parts (since this are the parts you want to be detailed and are to be your subjects). Keep me updated if you managed to find the solution to it or the various attempts of trying to get it right, even if they were unsuccessful. Cos even if attempts were unsuccessful, they are still food for thought to try other ways of rectifying it.

11th May 2003	#3
espn Deregistered Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Planet Nikon Posts: 22,045	Night shots depends also on the amount of light available, for my case, I focused on the clock tower and did a spot-af metering, based on one of my previous shot - here. I used 4 seconds and found that the lights nearer to me are overexposed whilst I gained the details behind at the hotel side. So this time I aimed at the clock tower part and metered and using a faster shutter like 0.5seconds to capture the important details. You can say it's experience learnt especially when the landscape has a lot of lightings around that you don't need very long exposure. Just MHO, I think if it was earlier about 7.20-7.30pm and you tried to snap at the same position/composition it would definitely help of course. I found the lighting to be better and much more evenly spread (but alas I was in a rush to the musical fountain so I didn't take any). I used external flash as well, I don't know if that helped or not, anybody can advice? just my 0.02cents

12th May 2003	#4
dehuis Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: everton park Posts: 264	thks for all the replies, i have noted them and would try. haha me using canon so its the evaluative system.. cannot compare with the nikon matrix i hear so much abt. =) should try evaluative next time. just curious, how come teh cam set such a long exposure time, so does that mean to set say 3s, i have to use manual mode instead of one of those aperture priority?

13th May 2003	#6
dehuis Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: everton park Posts: 264	hi colin yah i totally agree with wat u say but as i menetioned, the problm is that in priority mode (aperture), the camera constantly give me 10+ s so i have to manually override the whole thing. maybe thats coz i use center weighted. maybe i try evaluative with aperture i can get it to give me 3-4 s eh espn considering the range, i dun think that external flash helps right? unless u got BIG BIG flash light like the merlion sized!=)

13th May 2003	#7
leewt214 Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 170	Flash can help! trying closing down on the aperture and set the shuttle speed on bulb. Then you can play with "painting with Flash" Man, i saw some of the photos taken using this technique, they are beautiful! Alternative, you can use your flash to light up your foreground to make the composition more interesting.