Time Lapse Photography, Long Exposure & Other Tricks of Time: From Snapshots to Great Shots, First Edition

2. Exposures Longer Than a Snapshot

Canon T2i • ISO 800 • 10 sec. • f/16 • Canon 24–70 f/2.8L at 24mm (equivalent to 38mm)

Got the Time, Get the Picture

Once upon a time, taking a long exposure was a normal part of photography—much like using a public payphone to make a phone call was normal. Or perhaps it’s more appropriate to say, as normal as loading film into your conventional camera during the modern era of photography.

The performance of film technology improved over the years, but film emulsions (the sensitive part) in the early days of photography were incredibly slow at accumulating enough exposure to make a photograph. Back when ...