Getting streaky in Auckland
On a cool but quiet early-spring evening, I walked down to Princes Wharf to have a look at Auckland’s skyline. Here on the waterfront, a real buzz was all around with a lot of activity from nearby bars and restaurants, the Hilton Auckland, and a number of ferries heading in and out of the central ferry facility. These are my two favourite aspects of urban-living: vigorous night-life, and easy open access to the water.
CBD from Princes Wharf
I made these photos on 16 October 2010. This post is published on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-KJ.
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9 Responses to “Getting streaky in Auckland”
Hi Henry!!
I just love the second photo!! How did you create it?? 🙂 **
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Thanks for receding me to this page! Fotoeins I love this shot! I hole you don’t mind I will be coping you in an attempt to try this effect in my version.
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Hi, Xandre.
I’m glad you liked the second photo – I like it, too!
1. I set the camera on a tripod. 🙂
2. With the Canon EF-S 18-55 zoom kit-lens, I initially set the focus to the ‘wide’ 18mm setting, although I believe I started the exposure with the focus at 27mm for the view seen in the photo. Also, I turned off the autofocus function on the lens.
3. I set each of the two exposures to 10-seconds, and started each exposure using a remote-control to prevent shake or backlash from pressing the shutter button manually. During the 10-second exposure, I changed the focus of the lens : either change the focus continuously throughout the exposure for smoother light-streaks, or change the focus in ‘steps’ to make an exposure similar to the second photo above.
In this example, I initially set the focus to the wide setting, and focus-pushed ‘in’ towards 55mm. You can also vary the focus by setting initially to the ‘narrow’ setting at 55mm, and focus-pulling back ‘out’ to 18mm.
I hope that helps, and thanks again for the compliment!
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What a cool setup!!! I would never have thought of doing something like that!!! Thank you for sharing it with me!! I think it’s time I invest in a decent tripod – – – I’ve only got that little miniature one that came with the camera!! Bummer!! 🙂 **
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Xandre,
You’re welcome!
I read about this technique some time ago in one of Bryan Peterson’s books about photography, and I thought I’d try it out. One of my first attempts (and indeed with the tripod) was an exposure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House : http://bit.ly/nQouu1 🙂
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nice! I also particularly like the second photo – very cool! and what a change in weather! from snowy-fall to early spring. awesome!
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Hi, E-Dub, and thanks! The thing about being able to blog is to “move” around at will from place-to-place and season-to-season. 🙂
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These are really gorgeous! I love the energy of big cities, especially at night.
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Hi, Christy. Thanks for your kind comment! I definitely agree with you about the palpable energy a big city can have after the sun goes down. To many, Auckland can be hit or miss, but I had the great fortune of finding all sorts of interesting things throughout the city; finding and photographing this view was one of them. Thanks again for stopping by my blog!
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