Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/12/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]What I heard several years ago was that he shoots at night. >From a 1997 Photo Techniques magazine interview...... " You did a lot of nighttime shooting with long exposures. Why such long exposures? Basically because it's dark at night so it takes longer to expose the film. Initially I started night photography because of it's inherent unpredictability. I don't consider previsualisation to be something particularly worth striving for. In fact I really liked something I read by Ray Metzker who equated it with constipation! However, if anybody does enough serious photography previsualisation is an inevitable destination. Night photography for me was one way of escaping. Exposures are quite subjective and usually long - anywhere from one or two seconds to seven or eight hours. Miscellaneous movement and changes of atmosphere during those long exposures makes for unexpected happenings. Light comes from multiple directions. Contrast is usually increased. Structures often appear as two dimensional cut outs. Dramatic black shadows add to the mystery and drama. "Perhaps most intriguing of all is that it is possible to photograph what is impossible for the human eye to see - cumulative time." Do you use any filtration when you shoot? I sometimes use a neutral density filter with slow speed films, (e.g. Agfa 25asa), for longer exposures during the day. Occasionally I also use a red filter. How long are some of those daytime exposures? Up to 30 minutes depending on the light conditions. And at night? They can go up to eight hours or as long as the night is dark. The majority of the exposures are 10 to 30 minutes but If I am working in a relatively safe environment I may put the camera out with the lens open for a couple of hours and have dinner or read a book during the exposure." Frank Filippone Red735i at verizon.net Tangentially related, I know Michael Kenna shoots with a Hassy and may be others too, but how does he achieve his super long exposures? I heard that they can be up to 7+ hours? Multiple 10 stoppers and stopping the lens way down?!