One weekend, one prime lens

So last weekend I took a trip to London to catch up with some friends and take in a show. I was trying to travel light so decided to take just one lens, my recently acquired Nikon 35mm 1.8 prime lens.

I have been reading lots about how great prime lens with plenty of people saying how the lens never leave their cameras etc. I must admit that since I bought the lens I haven't given it that much use, opting rather to shoot with my 18-55mm kit lens or my 55-200mm. I guess I just liked being able to zoom.

So, off I went and packed my Nikon D3000 with the 35mm lens in my one bag that ryanair allows on the plane. We arrived late on Friday evening and spent the evening in the pub catching up and I forgot about my camera as the ale flowed. My first chance to test out the lens and especially the low light capability was sitting in the Adelphi theatre waiting for the start of Love Never Dies, the amazing sequel to Phantom of the Opera.

 

Adelphi Theatre, London

I had to open the lens right up to f1.8 and turn the ISO on my camera to 1600 to get the shot. Unfortunately the D3000 doesn't perform too well at high ISO so there was a lot of noise in the image. I couldn't take out my gorilla tripod and shoot again without being told off for using my camera.

After the show we went to find a pub to watch the Ireland v All Blacks but I managed to catch a few handheld shots of Trafalgar Sq on my way past. This was really where the lens came into its on. Using any other lens I could never have captured these photos without using a tripod and remote shutter.

Trafalgar Square, London

Trafalgar Square Fountain, London

After seeing some these photos, I finally realised the potential of this little beauty. I loved the fact that I could walk around on holidays and not be lugging a load of gear with me and be able to capture shots that normally I'd set up on a tripod for. During the day this lens is great, as sharp as anything I've experienced with my other lenses.

Goose, London

The one thing about traveling with the one lens was that I missed the longer zoom when we went to St. James Park beside Buckingham Palace and all the animals that live there were rather photogenic. The 35mm meant I had to get quite close to the animals to photograph them and as friendly as they were, they weren't that friendly. On my final night I got a chance to test the lens with my little Joby Gorilla tripod and some night shots. Being able to shoot at ISO 100 greatly reduced the noise in my shots and allowed me to get some great photos. 

London Eye

The weekend away with just the prime lens, really opened my eyes to the potential of this little beauty and also the benefits of traveling light. Having just the D3000, a light camera anyway, and the prime lens felt like carrying nothing at all while wandering around the big city. This weekend I'll be taking it and it alone to a friends dinner party to shoot the food and guests.

I have more photos of the trip up on Smugmug

Now, back to thesis writing....

D

Shooting Light Trails

So for my first blog post I decided to talk about one of my favourite things to shoot.....light trails.

Light trails are seen at night when you let a light source move across the frame while the shutter is open for more than a few seconds. One of the most common and pleasing sources of these light trails is traffic!

Custom House, Dublin. 

The first thing you need to produce a light trail shot is of course a source of the light trail. Usually an area where the traffic is frequent is best so any city street corner will do. In terms of equipment, the most important thing you will need is a tripod. And a steady one at that.

When setting the camera up I always shoot light trails in Aperture Priority mode and set the aperture between f11 and f14. You need to have the aperture set as such to give a shutter speed of about 8 - 15 seconds while keeping the exposure correct for the background. Firing off a test shot to ensure the background is correctly exposed is always a good idea. The camera should also be set to a low ISO to prevent too much noise in the long exposure. 

Ulster Bank, Dublin.

When your set and composed and have fired off your test shot, you are ready to go. Ideally you will use a remote shutter release to fire the camera but if this is not possible you can use the timer on your camera, this will prevent camera shake. Once the traffic is about to move across your frame, fire the camera and watch as the traffic passes and leaves wonderful light trails across the scene. The traffic will be moving at sufficient speed that you will never see cars or buses in your picture. For added interest look at trying to capture emergency vehicles to add blue lights to the traditional red and white colours. 

N11 motorway, Wicklow.

The most important thing when attempting to capture light trails is to have patience. It will take many shots to get the composition just right, the traffic perfect and the exposure exactly as you want it. But all that patience will deliver results you will be truly happy with. 

All the best,

Damian

Getting Started...

Hi all,

My name is Damian Synnott and I'm a postgraduate student in the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. Recently I have gotten into photography and from attending photowalks and talking to other photograhers I realise that I really enjoying sharing what I have learnt about photography so this blog is a way for me to pass on tips and techniques as I learn them.

I hope someone will find these useful.

Mainly my work consists of landscapes, urban cityscapes and flowers.

You can find me on;
Twitter @damiansynnott
Smugmug
Flickr