# how to do light movement pictures with film?



## soap266 (Oct 17, 2011)

I've seen ppictures where there is one object that is in focus. Around the picture are cars in which all you see are the head lights moving. I've seen the same basic idea done with the stars. I tried this but they turned out over exposed with no movement. Any suggestions as to how to do this with film?


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## Sw1tchFX (Oct 17, 2011)

Examples? Should be pretty easy regardless if you're shooting film or digital.


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## soap266 (Oct 17, 2011)

Im just sure if there is something more I have to do. Like faster film or something. I was only using 400 iso


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## dots (Oct 17, 2011)

soap266 said:


> I've seen ppictures where there is one object that is in focus. Around the picture are cars in which all you see are the head lights moving. I've seen the same basic idea done with the stars. I tried this but they turned out over exposed with no movement. Any suggestions as to how to do this with film?



You mean the primary subject is fixed/static ..while other picture elements are blurred, as they move about?  This needs a _slow_ shutterspeed (a_ long_ exposure). How slow depends on the light available and/or the speed of movements. Perhaps 1/2 second, 1 second or several seconds.


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## dots (Oct 17, 2011)

soap266 said:


> I tried this but they turned out over exposed with no movement. Any suggestions as to how to do this with film?



ah...in goodlight, you can try a very small aperture (f22..although image quality will suffer due to diffraction) or use an ND filter to limit the amount of light, entering the lens.


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## Sw1tchFX (Oct 17, 2011)

again, examples of what you're trying to accomplish would help....immensely..


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## soap266 (Oct 17, 2011)

Sorry I didn't get what you ment before. Specifically id like to get a shot of the stars moving around a fixed point, the polaris or norther star. Almost like all the stars are shooting stars.


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## ann (Oct 18, 2011)

these are just long exposures, film requires longer times as you have to figure out the reciprocal  failure


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## Sw1tchFX (Oct 18, 2011)

OH! OK. 

Yeah, just make sure you get way outside the city (at least 50 miles), point the camera north, wider angle lenses exaggerate the stars movement more, and expose for at least a few hours. Fuji Acros 100 has EXCELLENT reciprocity failure, and so does Kodak Ektar 100. Both of which will actually be "faster" than most 400 speed films after exposures as short as 20 minutes. 

I suggest Ektar between the two because Color Negative film has really good highlight latitude, so overexposure is no big deal. I'd expose for about 3.5-4.5 hours if you're somewhere where it's REALLY dark and the moon isn't out. 

At least that's what i'm going to do tonight. Supposed to be going up to Mt. Hood in a few minutes with a friend, I've got my 645 with Ektar 100 in one back, an F100 with 400h, the other F100 with TMAX 3200, and my D700. It will be neat to see what happens 

Night photography and film are very tricky to do, I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet, and I know it won't look like digital, but that's why i'm taking 4 different cameras/emulsions with me tonight.


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## Sw1tchFX (Oct 18, 2011)

Oh I also forgot to mention, expect crazy color shifts. Because color film is layered, some layers might not get as much light as others.


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## Sw1tchFX (Oct 18, 2011)

Oh and I also forgot to mention one more thing, focus the lens AT infinity. NOT PAST it. The pictures may be a little soft, don't want super blurry pictures.


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## PhillOS (Jan 26, 2012)

Sw1tchFX said:


> OH! OK.
> 
> Yeah, just make sure you get way outside the city (at least 50 miles), point the camera north, wider angle lenses exaggerate the stars movement more, and expose for at least a few hours. Fuji Acros 100 has EXCELLENT reciprocity failure, and so does Kodak Ektar 100. Both of which will actually be "faster" than most 400 speed films after exposures as short as 20 minutes.
> 
> ...



The guy didn't even understand what we meant when we asked him for "examples of what you mean" let alone you expect him to understand the concepts of reciprocity and types of film.. Good Luck!  

Interesting read none the less, i tried doing some long exposures of the night sky lately, Moon wasn't out, so even with just the bare eye you could see TONS of stars! All my shots came home blurry :/ and i guestimated the stars to be approx. Infinite distance away, and focused accordingly haha.


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