Long exposure techniques for vehicle brake light trails etc

[Citizen Flier]

THere's an old rural bridge near my home with classic globe street lights. Its a vehicle bridge. I'd like to hover above and get brake light trails passing over the bridge. Should be easy after dark, and I do have ND filters. Planning a very basic shot from above. But I'm concerned about navigation and exposure.

I'm guessing that to get a long exposure, it might not be easy to see the camera view for navigation on my SC. I can easily maintain visual line of sight from the ground.But I would expect one procedure would be to fly to position, snap some normal stills for composition, then re-adjust aperture & shutter speed for the long exposure. I'd like to capture the vehicle lights as a long trail in the frame. I can even get a driver for that. But I have not previously made a similar shot even with a land cam, so wanted to get tips from the pros on settings & navigation. I'm also concerned about balancing the vehicle lights with the streetlights, and allowing the bridge itself to be visible. I'd like to achieve this as a single exposure if possible, but am a Photoshop pro if I need to composite in post. I'm flying M2P. Thanks.

 

[Chris @ TDT]

Here is a good video from Billy Kyle, going over that very topic:

 

[WithTheBirds]

ND filters are probably or no use here.

Try taking multiple exposures (at the camera determined exposure) from your shot framed in the hover and stack, align and blend in post processing.

 

[new2mavic]

ND filters are needed for shooting video at high shutter speed only. That's not needed when shooting still photos especially at night time when you want to get as much light as possible into the camera.

If the place is too dark for composition or visual navigation, you may want to do the composition in day time. Record the waypoint and camera orientation in DJI GO and use the waypoint flight mode to get the drone back to the same location at night time. Pick a time when the wind is low, preferrably none.

 

[new2mavic]

Here is a good video from Billy Kyle, going over that very topic:

I think the recommendations given in the video is good for fixed camera for which motion blur is not a concern. With drones, I will want the shutter speed to be as high as possible to minimize blur so the maximum aperture ( F2.8 for M2P ) should be used and the ISO can be a bit higher for M2P as the camera has got a relatively big sensor so the amount of noise is still acceptable at ISO > 100.

 

[Dave Maine]

To get light trails you need a very slow shutter speed. The length of the trail is totally dependent on how long the shutter is open. 1/2 sec to 5 sec shutter speeds will get you in the ball park. Keep good notes as it is very easy to forget which shot had which shutter speed.

 

[Meta4]

it is very easy to forget which shot had which shutter speed.

If you forget, every image you shoot includes full camera setting data in the Exif info.

 

[DMJPix]

I shoot long exposures often, from M2P it is all about the wind. Compose your image and then don't touch the sticks or gimbal and let it hover while you snap away. If you can fly in calm conditions I have been able to get sharp images up to 4 second shutter speed. Altitude matters as the winds are always stronger the higher you fly. Shoot manual SS and aperture, as automatic shutter speed will not go lower than 1 second. I have had success using the Photoshop technique of "focus stacking" (see google) to blend multiple images together to make the streaks of the car lights longer, but using a shorter SS (1 or 2 seconds). In your described case it would require the driver to make multiple slow passes.

all the best
dmjpix

 

[jeplane]

This is 1.5 seconds at F/2.8, with a 0.6 ND filter.

So far, I have not been able to be much successful with exposures more than 3 seconds...

Also, I would no go after dark. Not only does it becomes questionable with the various regs, but most importantly as a photographer, you now have no details in the sky. Twilight will certainly generate greater results.

 

[BigAl07]

View attachment 90457

This is 1.5 seconds at F/2.8, with a 0.6 ND filter.

So far, I have not been able to be much successful with exposures more than 3 seconds...

Also, I would no go after dark. Not only does it becomes questionable with the various regs, but most importantly as a photographer, you now have no details in the sky. Twilight will certainly generate greater results.

Great pic and suggestions. Twilight is such a fun (and exciting) time to be shooting.

 

[Citizen Flier]

View attachment 90457

This is 1.5 seconds at F/2.8, with a 0.6 ND filter.

So far, I have not been able to be much successful with exposures more than 3 seconds...

Also, I would no go after dark. Not only does it becomes questionable with the various regs, but most importantly as a photographer, you now have no details in the sky. Twilight will certainly generate greater results.

Stunning image- and an inspiration for aerial shooters! My only quibble is that a longer exposure might have enabled the vehicle light trails to fully span the bridge. What issue prevented longer exposures? Especially like the warm color tones. Reminds me of when I first learned about incandescent lights & reciprocity failure. Florida?

 

[SteveCA]

View attachment 90457

This is 1.5 seconds at F/2.8, with a 0.6 ND filter.

So far, I have not been able to be much successful with exposures more than 3 seconds...

Also, I would no go after dark. Not only does it becomes questionable with the various regs, but most importantly as a photographer, you now have no details in the sky. Twilight will certainly generate greater results.

Gorgeous shot dude!

 

[Thomas B]

Great pic! Agree that the golden hour sky adds a lot.

 

[SteveCA]

You can adjust your exposure to 8 seconds at F4.0 and be able to see just fine while flying. Here is an 8 second shot. Not all will be sharp, but shoot enough and you will get some sharp ones.

 

[new2mavic]

View attachment 90457

This is 1.5 seconds at F/2.8, with a 0.6 ND filter.

So far, I have not been able to be much successful with exposures more than 3 seconds...

Also, I would no go after dark. Not only does it becomes questionable with the various regs, but most importantly as a photographer, you now have no details in the sky. Twilight will certainly generate greater results.

Great shot ! May I know the purpose of ND filter in low light ?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Great shot ! May I know the purpose of ND filter in low light ?

When taking photos nd filters keep the shutter open longer by reducing light available.
The offset to this is if the camera moves, you’ll get blurred shots, so still air is good, mist DJI drones if heavier weight are pretty stable with no or little wind.

 

[Toddvg]

I shoot long exposures often, from M2P it is all about the wind. Compose your image and then don't touch the sticks or gimbal and let it hover while you snap away. If you can fly in calm conditions I have been able to get sharp images up to 4 second shutter speed. Altitude matters as the winds are always stronger the higher you fly. Shoot manual SS and aperture, as automatic shutter speed will not go lower than 1 second. I have had success using the Photoshop technique of "focus stacking" (see google) to blend multiple images together to make the streaks of the car lights longer, but using a shorter SS (1 or 2 seconds). In your described case it would require the driver to make multiple slow passes.

all the best
dmjpix

would love to see all your settings on this photo.. did you use ND Filter? and if yes which one?

 

[DMJPix]

would love to see all your settings on this photo.. did you use ND Filter? and if yes which one?

SS= 4 secs, aperature= f2.8, ISO= 100. No ND required, it was shot before sun-up and I was able to hover and obtain good sharp results in calm conditions. The ambient light was such that I could get a proper exposure with aperture and shutter speed.

 

[Toddvg]

SS= 4 secs, aperature= f2.8, ISO= 100. No ND required, it was shot before sun-up and I was able to hover and obtain good sharp results in calm conditions. The ambient light was such that I could get a proper exposure with aperture and shutter speed.

very cool, any chance i can see screen shots of all your Camera/drone settings? Like tripode mode on/off, Front LED on/Off? Histogram? White Balance settings?

Sorry but I am such a Newbee

 

[Derlisz]

Today i started experimenting with both long exposure and stacking and this is what I've managet to get.
Shot with Mini 2