Long night-time exposures

[Josh66]

You dont need filters to create starbursts, they are made using a small aperture, the number of light "fingers" is dependent on the number of aperture blades in the lens, the diffraction occurrs where 2 blades overlap.
An even number of blades say 6, will give 6 fingers, an odd number gives twice as many, I don't know why that is....I'm too stupid, I just know its true.

Make a straight line from the intersection of the two blades across the center of the lens (with the line extending beyond the edges on both ends), that will be the 'finger' coming off of the light. With an even number of blades the fingers opposite of each other line up, making it look like one, with an odd number none of them line up.

That's my theory anyway, I'm pretty sure it's right, but I wouldn't know how to prove it.

Does that make sense? It would be a lot easier to explain if I could draw a picture of what I'm talking about and post it here...

 

[jon_k]

I think what's hurting you the most is that there's nothing to look at in your's.

Yes.

With the example of the artist you are trying learn from.... he has several compositional elements that 'work'

1) Light post on left. Seems to be an interesting element, it places you in the 'scene'
2) Pattern of street lights, in a row down the street. Star effect achieved by stopping aperture down as far as it will go. (or star filter)
3) An interesting street perspective that wouldn't look bad in daylight either.
4) Add the glow of passing cars.
5) Profit?!

In your pictures you seem to be including the car trails, but that's it. I don't see any other major compositional elements that generate interest. Good luck. I want to try night photography but rarely get the chance.

 

[jstuedle]

You dont need filters to create starbursts, they are made using a small aperture, the number of light "fingers" is dependent on the number of aperture blades in the lens, the diffraction occurrs where 2 blades overlap.
An even number of blades say 6, will give 6 fingers, an odd number gives twice as many, I don't know why that is....I'm too stupid, I just know its true.

The starburst filter has a different, sharper look to the effect. It also lets you use a wider range of aperture settings and gives you more control of the effect. Smaller, dimmer points of light can give you the same effect. A 4 point starburst filter will always give you 4 points no matter the number of aperture blades. They can be had in many configurations. This includes reflections off small shiny objects, like Christmas ornaments and small bulbs. Just a thought.

 

[NateOntario]

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone. I'll put these to good use tomorrow night, hopefully.

One last question

Can anyone recommend a good, free software to process .raw files?

Yes.

With the example of the artist you are trying learn from.... he has several compositional elements that 'work'

1) Light post on left. Seems to be an interesting element, it places you in the 'scene'
2) Pattern of street lights, in a row down the street. Star effect achieved by stopping aperture down as far as it will go. (or star filter)
3) An interesting street perspective that wouldn't look bad in daylight either.
4) Add the glow of passing cars.
5) Profit?!

In your pictures you seem to be including the car trails, but that's it. I don't see any other major compositional elements that generate interest. Good luck. I want to try night photography but rarely get the chance.

Haha

Yep, I'm going to be working more on composition tomorrow night. I was just messing around, although maybe I should be serious about photography whenever I get time to go out

 

[Joxby]

The starburst filter has a different, sharper look to the effect. It also lets you use a wider range of aperture settings and gives you more control of the effect. Smaller, dimmer points of light can give you the same effect. A 4 point starburst filter will always give you 4 points no matter the number of aperture blades. They can be had in many configurations. This includes reflections off small shiny objects, like Christmas ornaments and small bulbs. Just a thought.

I read up a bit, it is more likely to be a 6 point starburst filter in that first shot, because generally 6 blade diaphrams are much rarer than 7.
Not impossible, but I go with you, more likely to be a filter.:thumbsup:

 

[JerryPH]

I found a way to recover a lot of detail due to underexposed pics in CS3... I may test it out on another picture just to find out how effective this is. I'll try it out and post results later on, could be helpful.

As for the star burst... I'd still love to find out how to do this effect in CS3.

 

[jon_k]

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone. I'll put these to good use tomorrow night, hopefully.

Yeah.

Just try to find a composition that would look good in broad daylight.

If it looks good during daylight, when night time comes with interesting street lighting, you'll be sure to have a winner.