Canonian.co.uk

By: Andy Yu

Jul 24 2011

Tags: 7D, Birmingham, Canon, Canonian, cars, light trails, long shutter, Photoshop, post-processing, Queensway, tripod

Category: Uncategorized

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Light trails courtesy of the Queensway tunnels, Birmingham

Long shutter photograhy is not normally something I dabble in, since it requires a tripod and I normally avoid tripod use unless absolutely necessary. I’d driven past a bridge overlooking the Queensway tunnel in Birmingham and thought it would make for a great vantage position for a spot of car light trail photography.

Sadly, I got there a little bit too early and there still too much ambient light around. I’d also neglected to take a jacket with me so I was getting progressively colder and colder until the night sky was just about right. My next problem was a general lack of traffic tonight, being a Saturday, so I took several with each concentrating on a different part of the frame to maximise the traffic flow.

Post-processing simply involved stacking the different exposures together and using the eraser brush to wipe away parts of the frame I didn’t want. For the first time in bloody ages, I have not used a soft light filter because there was no need!

I think it’s come out quite well, with the only in camera method of capturing a similar scene would be to wait until Winter on a weekday at rush hour and use bulb mode and remote.