My first attempt at long exposure night photography. (Large images)

[WhiteRaven22]

This is my first attempt long-exposure nighttime photography. They were taken at the Eau Gallie Causeway in Melbourne, Florida. I did 15s, 30s, 1m, 2m, and 4m exposure times at each scene, then went and wasted the rest of the film on the beach after daybreak beat me to the end of the roll. These are some of the best shots from the roll. C&C is welcome; I'm fairly new to photography and brand new to night/long-exposure photography.

All the night photos were taken with Kodak Ektar 100 at f/16 with either a 28mm or 50mm fixed lens.
The photos that turned out the best (the ones below) were 2 minute exposures.

1

2 This one is my favorite.

3

4 This one was from when I was wasting the rest of the roll after daybreak. I have no idea what the settings were.

 

[anthemsandall]

I absolutely love the first two, (not that they all aren't good) but those two stand out. however just to step up to composition of the second photo I would crop the lights on the far left out completely. try covering it up with your hand and see how less distracting they are as well as how beautiful the main focus is.

 

[manaheim]

Now that you have some mechanics down you need to start thinking more about your subject.

I'd love to offer you some technical advice but I have almost no idea how to handle night photography with film.

 

[WhiteRaven22]

however just to step up to composition of the second photo I would crop the lights on the far left out completely.

I don't do any editting on any of my photos, but I really wish I had obtained and used a lens hood for my 50mm. Several of the shots on the roll turned out like that. Unfortunately, at the moment, the only lens I have with a hood on it is a 300mm prime that wouldn't be all that good for long-exposure work, due to its sensitivity to vibration of any kind.

 

[anthemsandall]

however just to step up to composition of the second photo I would crop the lights on the far left out completely.

I don't do any editting on any of my photos, but I really wish I had obtained and used a lens hood for my 50mm. Several of the shots on the roll turned out like that. Unfortunately, at the moment, the only lens I have with a hood on it is a 300mm prime that wouldn't be all that good for long-exposure work, due to its sensitivity to vibration of any kind.

then my best advice I can give you is work with what you have and focus on your composition. it seems, for the most part you have the exposure and all of that down pretty well. Honestly that to me is the easy part of photography. what really makes a photographer and his pictures imo is composition. I'm not saying that their is a right or wrong way to set up a shot, but I am saying that you have to be fully aware of what is in your shot. the rest is up to you to decide if you like it or not.

 

[kyleblanc]

I don't really know much about film but these all looks super awesome

 

[webestang64]

Number 3 is mesmerizing...............I can't stop looking at it!

 

[Gavjenks]

#4 is really boring.

#1-3 are much better, and pretty interesting, well exposed, etc. I do think that an awful lot of their interest is coming from the sun stars, though, which could be considered a little gimmicky. Or at the very least, it's hard to build a portfolio out of. As mentioned, I think composition is the logical thing to work on most (working more with the fundamental shape and concept of the photo), since they seem technically okay. Try getting a couple books on it - those tend to be the fastest accelerants for me personally.