[Leica] A Noctilux and Velvia ...

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

> 
> However, when there is essentially no light on the scene, whatever you 
> shoot
> with you generally get a flat, dirty image. So f1 or no f1 - what's the
> point unless you absolutely must get that shot of Ahmed Chalabi passing
> documents to Dick Chaney? If it's dim and dark to your eyes, the final
> result is going to be dim and dark - Nocitulx or no Noctilux. Again, it
> seems to me the real advantage of the Noctilux is its allowing you to shoot
> at one shutter speed faster than you might otherwise shoot - which can be
> the difference between getting and not getting a useable image.
> 
> B. D.
> 
> 
To a street light you might be standing close where you might be quite
bright, not so close. Real not close.
And you are still a guy standing there; With a chain saw in your hands or
whatever. That needs to be photographed as a guy with a chain saw in
downtown at night is news. They don't know which telephone pole your going
to cut down or car you are going to convert into a convertible. And they'd
like to get you red handed doing it. Regardless how close you end up being
to a street light at the time. And if they have some artsy editor who
doesn't not want you to "flash em and blast em" then you've left to your
resources. Which doesn't always include three grand for glass. But is nice
if it did.
Shooting at night is a gold mine because its amazing now really few people
really do it at all. The output is really slim. Some don't because they
actually think of it as a clich?. But they don't check the actual output.
The results are often unexpected and unexpectedly satisfying.
There's the hand held or tripod approaches. Even flash maybe with very slow
shutter speeds for "happy trails".
But we learn by burning film. And making prints.
I did so much tripod stuff at night at one point that I really could pre
guess my exposures from what my meter would say. Shooting everything at f16
I'd see "that's a 3 minutes shadows" "That's a five minute shadow". Things
are more consistent at night. More a chance of a reshot the next day. It's
like you are "on the set". If it rains the streets are shiny which makes it
ten times better. If its overcast nobody notices. But if you're really in
luck.
Fog.


Mark Rabiner
Photography
Portland Oregon
http://rabinergroup.com/