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Most of the shots above were taken with a tripod using rather low-speed slide film (Fuji Velvia) and a cable release.
The third picture (one of the famous three gorges) was shot from a cruise ship using a tripod, in a moment when the ship did not move.
For the “Pharaoh’s head”, I used an improvised “tripod” - a contraption of books and other items placed on a small wall.
Hand-holding such pictures would only be possible with a high-speed film, but then, the results usually look a bit grainy and lack the saturation of the famous Velvia.
A tripod allows you to capture the “blue hour” dark interiors or a night scene.
Even a very small one will help, - you can always put it on a wall or some other object.
One interesting question is: to use a filter or not? When you take a night photo such as the “Pharaoh’s head”, the artificial light will cause a yellowish or orange cast. I quite like this effect. You can, of course, correct this by using a special conversion filter - but make sure that you use the right one - fluorescent tubes for example have a totally different tendency (usually greenish). There also are special films for artificial light, and a flash may be combined with ambient light.
On the other hand - a sunset or the rising sun may also produce quite unreal colors - without having to resort to any filters. Isn’t this one of the main attraction of night photography?
A case in point is the saturated red of a sunrise over the great salt lake (Tunisia) shot with the help of a tripod (but no filters) on Fuji Velvia.
Actually, the light of the sun is at its “purest” at noon, when there’s no color cast:
But as we all know, this is the worst time for a good photo...
Interesting Night Photography / Available Light Photo Sites
Outstanding Night Shots - Photo Blog
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