Winchester at Night: Shooting in low light

Introduction

On the last day of my holiday, I decided to have a go at shooting some night shots. Ideally, this would be around sunset (e.g. the 'golden hour'), but having a toddler around means by the time he's played with, fed, bathed and put to bed, it's getting dark! That can be a summer project; in the meantime, it's pure daytime or nighttime shots for me.

Living not far from Winchester, this is an ideal candidate for night shots. The gothic design of Winchester Cathedral gives it an eerie feeling at night, plus the traffic mixed with old architecture often gives the opportunity for interesting light trails. As it happens, this time around I didn't get any light trails I was happy with, but I still managed to capture a couple of photos of the city in general.

I like shooting later in the day, because things tend to be quieter. This allows you to find a spot you're happy with, get setup and take it without having to contend with crowds etc. The need for a long shutter speed also means you tend to blur out people or cars that cross your photo, giving you clear shots of areas you may not have been able to take during the day.

Low light tips

Low light doesn't usually mean night

It's a mistake I've made numerous times in the past, but the best time to shoot low light photos is not actually at night. Instead, it is around the golden hour periods, such as around sunrise or sunset. This is because the sun's first/last rays of the day result in interesting colours, as well as contrasting with artificial lights just starting to switch on. If you're going to shoot in the golden hour, make sure you are in place in advance of it; it will disappear rapidly and you won't have time to start scouting around for new locations!

Tripod and Remote Release are musts

Needless to say, the low light means your shutter speed will be too slow to hand hold. Therefore, you're going to have to invest in a tripod. Prices for tripods vary greatly, and whilst it is worth investing in a decent one, you'll most likely need to make a tradeoff around things like weight and sturdiness. 

A remote release is another must, because even the click of the shutter button will result in shake. If you don't have a release, you can reduce the chance of this through using the timer, but if you're trying to get something like light trails that may mean missing a shot. A wired remote release will not set you back much, and means you can focus and shoot without being pressed to the camera (allowing you to use live view).

Another benefit of a remote release is when it comes to bulb mode. Bulb mode allows you to shoot for longer than the maximum shutter speed of other modes (30 seconds), but requires you to hold down the shutter button. With a remote, you can lock it in place, leaving you free to let go, walk around, whatever.

Get used to calculating long exposures

If light is so low that you need to go into bulb mode, you're going to need to work out a way to time the exposure accurately. Apps such as LongTime for your phone can help with this, but I find using ISOs is a simple and quick method. The way it works is as follows:

• You should be using ISO 100 for your night shots, so in Aperture Priority mode, set this to the desired aperture.
• If this is less than 30 seconds, then you've nothing to worry about, just fire away
• If it is more than 30 seconds, put the ISO up to 200 and see what the shutter speed now is. Let's say for arguments sake it is exactly 30 seconds.
• Every time you increase the ISO by a full stop (e.g. double it), you halve the shutter speed needed for a given aperture. Therefore, 30 seconds at ISO 200 = 1 minute at ISO 100
• Noting your aperture value, set your camera to bulb, set the aperture to the value from before and the ISO back to 100, and then open the shutter for 1 minute (timing however you like)
• If at ISO 200 you still weren't able to get the shutter speed under 30 seconds, try at ISO 400. If you manage at that, then you'd need to double the time then double it again (e.g. 2 minutes at ISO 100). If needs be, keep doubling the ISO, just remember that also means doubling the time further at ISO 100!

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest in the UK, and the gothic front is a great candidate for low light! Whilst usually the barrel effect of wide angle is seen as detrimental, I think it adds to the eerie nature of the Cathedral in this case, as it helps to emphasis how imposing it really is. One of the benefits of the long exposure is also evident; there's no people in the shot, despite various people walking in front of me at the time!

I'd like to return and shoot at the golden hour to try and get some life in the sky behind. Whilst the black is imposing, I think detail from clouds would really make the Cathedral stand out. As I said earlier, one for next time!

The River Itchen

This was my favourite shot of the night, of the river Itchen flowing from Winchester Mill. Again, the benefits of low light photography come into play:

1. There's no people in the shot (despite being next to the popular pub, the Bishop on the Bridge)
2. There's no cars in the shot (though some light trails remain)
3. The water has been rendered smooth, rather than choppy

This is a shot that could have been taken earlier in the day, but I don't think would have been as atmospheric. The shutter speed would have been faster (unless I used ND filters), meaning the water would have had more movement and therefore been more distracting. Instead, I've gotten a shot which offers a relatively different perspective to what people would see during the day!

Summary

Low light/night photography offers a chance to take a step back and slow down your photography, something that gets overlooked in the digital age by many (due to the instant feedback provided). Instead of being able to shoot in burst and end up with hundreds of shots, you're time is spent setting up, waiting for a long exposure to complete and then seeing if it worked. I'm not saying that burst mode means you shouldn't do all the setting up, just that it is a step we often forget to do these days!

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