Experimenting with Long Exposures

With these pictures i have set the Shutter speed to "bulb" which means the shutter will remain open until i direct it to close. This setting can make nighttime almost seem like daytime. Let me show you what i mean.

Let there be light!

Taken on 2nd Street just outside Freddies, this shot was about a 15 second exposure.

Any light visible to the lens during the exposure will almost be magnified due to the length of time the lens sees the light. 

You may also have seen pictures of cars on the highway that look like all of the headlights and taillights are blurred together to create just one line. This, again, is done with a long exposure.

This was taken on Bryant just North of OU Medical Center on 2nd street. There are less street lights on this part of the road which makes it easier to avoid what i call "Light Pollution" when unwanted light finds its way into the lens therefore spoiling any hope to keep the surrounding area dark.

Notice the fountain. (Not the best fountain to show off long exposure photography)

Im actually not a fan of this picture but my roommate liked it therefore i will show it.

Now, not all long exposures are used to show light blur. Sometimes its used to simply let more light in and make the picture brighter. Its tough though because there can't be any movement in the shot or it will blur. 

Here's an example.

This picture take in Edmonds First Baptist church. It is too dark and needs to be better lit. Well, when you set it to a longer exposure the following is what you'll get.

The lights didn't change. Just the exposure time. I apologize for the slight blur (I forgot my tripod) ;)

I hope you find time to get out there and try some longer exposures! Its one of my favorite things to do!