This article is written by Andrew Gibson, author of this new eBook: Slow – The Magic of Long Exposure Photography

The purchase of a nine stop neutral density filter two years ago changed my approach to landscape photography. It allowed me to take photos using shutter speeds of one minute or longer and gave me a new way of photographing the sea (I live on the coast at the bottom of New Zealand’s North Island).

17mm, 30 seconds @ f11, ISO 800

Long exposure photography is very enjoyable and rewarding, and if you haven’t tried it yet then what are you waiting for? Here are some reasons you should:

1. Long exposure photography is easy. It’s a very simple and pure genre of photography. It’s just you, the camera, a wide-angle lens and a tripod. The success of the shoot comes down to the drama of the landscape and your eye for light and composition. If you shoot at dusk, a neutral density filter isn’t required as the low light will let you use shutter speeds of 30 seconds or longer.

40mm, 201 seconds @ f13, ISO 200

2. Longer exposures help you appreciate the beauty of the landscape. One of the things I like about it is the natural slowness of the process. It gives me time to slow down and enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the light.

3. No reciprocity failure. Long exposure photography has become popular since the rise of digital cameras. The instant feedback of the LCD screen, plus the lack of reciprocity failure take the guess work out of exposure, leaving the photographer to concentrate on light and composition.

17mm, 6 seconds @ f5.6, ISO 400

4. If you have a nine or ten stop neutral density filter, you can take photos during the middle of the day during overcast conditions that traditionally are not considered suitable for landscape photography. Neutral density filters give you a new way of taking landscape photos, and extend the time in which you can create beautiful images way beyond the golden hour.

23mm, 30 seconds @ f14.5, ISO 400

5. Long exposure photography appeals to photographers who work in black or white or see themselves as fine art photographers. The simple style and composition of the best long exposure photos lends itself to the fine art approach.

6. Long exposure photos are a new way of looking at the landscape. When a non-photographer sees a long exposure photo, they know that they can’t get the same result themselves on their compact cameras or smart phones.

40mm, 1.5 seconds @ f11, ISO 400

The photos in this article are all taken from Slow, which explores multiple ways of using slow shutter speeds creatively; including panning, slow-sync flash, intentional camera movement and long exposure photography.

How to Get a Discounted Copy:

Only a few days left in the launch sale, if you use the promotional code SLOW4 at checkout, you can have Slow for just $4 OR another option is using the code SLOW20 to get 20% off five or more eBooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm Nov 18, 2012.

It can be found here: Slow – The Magic of Long Exposure Photography
Go to full article: Six Reasons to Try Long Exposure Photography

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips