First time long exposure shot...

[TexPhotog]

Ok... So this was my first attempt at long exposure... I wasn't actually trying to shoot this... it was just there at an event I was invited to and thought I'd give it a try...
http://www.pmaphotovideo.com/photos/460040819_QNXiY-M.jpg
Again, since I was unprepared (for this type of shot), I didn't have a tripod, so I used a pillar and proped my lens higher with the camera strap, which is why the shot is not leveled...

What did I do wrong???
What did I do right???
What else can I do to improve this type of shooting???

Shot with a Nikon D50, 18mm, F22 @ 30 Secs

Thanks for your help and advice...

[angevin1]

Right off hand I'd say thirty seconds is a dang long time for this kind of shot: no tripod especially.

ISO:?

What do YOU like about the photo?

And what would you like it to look like?

I think this shot/area made for the perfect opportunity to shoot about ten or more shots to see what I wanted or had gotten, adjusting and re-shooting.

cheers, tom

[Candid Arts]

It looks quite a bit over exposed to me. At f/22 and 30s, what ISO were you at and what did your exposure meter say? 0, +2, +1 stops? What were you metering off of? I like the idea of the shot, although I would have timed it a little differently. Where as in this you can see the line of the ride going full circle and them some, I would have liked to see it go about 3/4 circle. So time how long it takes to make one full rotation, and do a shot that is 75% of that. Maybe with a flash at the beginning or end as well to "freeze" either end.

Composition is pretty centered and like you said the angle (but that's because of no tripod vs technique.) Do you need to show the entire ride? Couple things to think about.

[pathfinder]

D50, 18mm lens, f22, 30 secs.

This image is over exposed by 1 -2 full stops


You could have shot at f8 with an 18mm lens, saving yourself three full stops of exposure, and your shutterspeed would have shortened from 30sesc -> 15 sec -> 7.5 sec -> 3.5 secs. Subtract two more stops for the over exposure and you go 3.5 sec -> 1.75 sec -> ~ 1 second. That would have been a lot easier without a tripod too, wouldn't it?

Or you could have raised your ISO up also, but you did not mention the ISO you were shooting with.

Your in camera light meter will frequently mislead you when shooting neon at night. I usually use - ( minus ) EC of 1 - 2 stops when shooting neon and tungsten signs at night.

[TexPhotog]

Sorry to all that have replied...

ISO was 200, which is the lowest the D50 goes.

Also... just to clear something... since I didn't have a tripod, what I did was place the camera on a pillar nearby, set the timer to 2 seconds and pressed the shutter, that way my "so-called" framing of the shot would not get to messed up if I made a full shutter click...

[TexPhotog]

http://pmaphotovideo.smugmug.com/photos/462758774_VJbgR-M.jpg

Ok, so I am such not a PS person... in fact, I use Corel's Paint Shop Pro XI...

I changed the level a bit to make this newer photo...

[TexPhotog]

Right off hand I'd say thirty seconds is a dang long time for this kind of shot: no tripod especially.

ISO:?

What do YOU like about the photo?

And what would you like it to look like?

I think this shot/area made for the perfect opportunity to shoot about ten or more shots to see what I wanted or had gotten, adjusting and re-shooting.

cheers, tom

I like the photo... or at least the idea of what the photo should've been... again... we don't usually have those here in Vegas... so it was, if it had worked, a pretty cool shot...

Like some of those really cool shots of some pier amusement park type locations...

I really didn't have too much time at this particular location... although I would've loved to have stayed longer and shoot more at this location

[TexPhotog]

Composition is pretty centered and like you said the angle (but that's because of no tripod vs technique.) Do you need to show the entire ride? Couple things to think about.

You mean I should've cropped it???

If so, how so???

[TexPhotog]

Your in camera light meter will frequently mislead you when shooting neon at night. I usually use - ( minus ) EC of 1 - 2 stops when shooting neon and tungsten signs at night.

To be honest, I really didn't even think about metering...

I think at the time, I was more concerned with trying to get the "lighting" effect than anything else...

[Candid Arts]

http://pmaphotovideo.smugmug.com/photos/462758774_VJbgR-M.jpg

Ok, so I am such not a PS person... in fact, I use Corel's Paint Shop Pro XI...

I changed the level a bit to make this newer photo...

This looks WAY better, as far as the color and exposure is concerned. Good editing job!

You mean I should've cropped it???

If so, how so???

No. I mean framed it differently for actually taking the shot. Put the ride in a different part of the frame than in the center. Maybe off to the left, off to the right, only showing half of it... Something like that. Just actually moving the camera a little one way or the other to put the ride not in the center.

And then like you said the angle, because of the lack of tripod, and having to balance it on whatever you balanced it on, would make it hard to get it level.

[TexPhotog]

This looks WAY better, as far as the color and exposure is concerned. Good editing job!

Thank you... I'll try to see if my next update of this photo works...