If u ever visit my small photo gallery on yahoo(http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/viju007_chat/my_photos), in night photography u will find a picturesque nyc sky or there is great mumbai queen's necklace.
This great shot, an example of long-exposure photography, uses a slow shutter speed in order to capture things in low/night light, purposely blur motion. ( I have one of a stream which i will upload soon)
Lets look at some tips here, this is a simple technique that can fill city streets with streaks of light, fill the sky with skinny circles or make tumbling waterfalls look silky smooth.
Many new cameras will come with built-in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds or longer, which is enough for most long-exposure photography. Other cameras will have a B (bulb) setting that will keep the shutter open as long as you keep your finger on the shutter release button or a T (time) exposure setting that will keep the shutter open until you press the shutter release button a second time. Cameras with bulb settings can also be fitted with a locking cable release so that it isn't necessary to keep your finger on the shutter for long exposures.
A tripod, or something to rest your camera on, is essential because the camera must be completely still during the time that the shutter is open.
If you want to make a fast-moving car blur as it speeds by you, a relatively fast shutter speed of 1/20 of a second may give you the results you are after, however, if you want to make stars in the nighttime sky look like glowing rings as the earth rotates, your exposure may last all night. For more tips on nighttime photography, check out next month's Digital Imaging News feature.
The light meter on your camera may not be able to accurately judge the best aperture setting for longer shutter speeds, especially in low-light situations, so your best bet is probably to "bracket." This means taking up to six pictures of the same subject, but doubling the shutter speed each time. This will give you a variety of effects and exposures and allow you to choose the best shot. In general, slow shutter speeds will allow a lot of light into the camera, which means that you will want to use a small aperture (ie. f/22) to avoid over-exposing the film. In bright daylight it may even be necessary to use a 50 ISO film or a neutral density filter to cut the light down. On the other hand, the low light of the above photo allowed the photographer to use a wide aperture of f/2.
Some great effects and shutter speeds to try are:
Moving stars: several hours
Moving cars at night: 10 seconds
Waterfalls: 4 seconds +
Amusement park rides: 1 second
Then nJoy shooting them & then framing & hanging on wall.
Ohh come on thats why people like shutterbugs even after shooting them :)
