I parked on what I thought would be a deserted road and took out the tripod setup. If you have the camera shutter open long enough, you can turn this...
...into this...
I think it's the dream-like, almost eerie cast that low light pictures take on that I like. And the peacefulness of being out at night...For a short while it was just me, the vehicle, the sliver moon and the stars in the dark sky...
Every few minutes a car would come down the main road, and invariably turn right down the narrow street I was on. They would all turn on the high beams on for a second as they whipped by, briefly illuminating the strange sight of someone taking pictures in the pitch blackness...
Only one person actually stopped, and apparently thinking I was broken down, asked if I needed help. I told him thanks, just taking pictures. I couldn't see his face but I could see him nod, and he rolled off without saying anything else...
A few more pictures, and I was ready to pack up and go...
I don't know if it was that last guy, but one of those passerbyes apparently took a keen interest in what I was doing, and before I was a quarter mile away, I saw a cruiser whip by, quickly u-turn behind me, and sure enough...blue light special. Again.
They said they had a report of someone taking pictures in the dark, and while the police didn't run my name or plates or anything, they did think it was a suspicious enough call to pull me over and ask what I was doing. I explained my hobby/near-obsession, and even volunteered to show him the pics. The officer thought they were cool, and let me go about my business without further ado. I almost mentioned that this makes the third or fourth time the police have taken an interest in what I was doing, but thought better of it. It's probably best to keep police encounters short and sweet...
5 comments:
Those pictures are awesome, Tony! The street light glow and the star trails in the shot with the jeep are terrific. Reminds me of one of my shots.
I agree, these pics are sooo atmospheric. How long do you keep the shutter open about and is there some way of telling what the photo is going to look like?
Hi jpo, good shot, it looks like a semi-desert environment, the sky must be crystal clear in the dry air...
Mary, it was *really* dark out this time, so they were from one to two minutes, and I kept the ISO as low as it will go (200 on my camera) to keep the shot noise-free...I just experimented with different times and f-stops until I got shots I liked...
Great photos. I have never had a run in with the police yet. I cant imagine who would think they are doing a public service by calling the police and saying; there is a man making photographs in a field. Just seems a little ridiculous to me.
Thanks, Jeffrey. I took a few more pics again on Thursday night that I'll be posting soon, and sure enough got questioned yet again, this time by a passing Longmeadow officer.
So far, they've all been really cool about it, and were just curious as to what I was doing.
Only the Holyoke PD has actually run my name and plates, but that was because I was in a high crime area of town late at night...I'm ok with it; the police are doing their jobs...
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