So where do you live? It is a common question. I have spent the last 17 years answering that I was from the city of Charlotte. But as I begin my 18th, I now respond with Nashville. Nashville is now my home for the next four years of my life. And as any Nashvillian knows, one of the best places to be at night is Broadway. During the day, Broadway can look like any other old street, but at night, Broadway is filled with lots of colorful lights, crowds of people and, of course, live music.
As I was driving down Broadway with Laurel and Courtney in the car, we admired the lights all around us. It was hard not to stare as we drove by slowly in the stop and go traffic. The vivid color of the lights grabbed our attention and had our heads turning every which way as we drove down the down the entire street.
Riding with the windows down so we all could hear the live music made this Nashville experience so much more lively. The neon lights in the overhead signs took on a life of their own as we passed them. Since the windows were down, I figured now was a good of a time as ever to take pictures of downtown Nashville. To see more pictures of Broadway I took during my drive, check out my gallery!
Taking pictures, I tried to capture the lights in a way in which they would appear to stream across my picture for a more abstract feel. This can easily be done by any photographer by adjusting your camera’s settings. If you have a simple point-and-shoot (a camera you probably bought at Best Buy that you use to take pictures with friends and can throw in your back pocket), simply follow these steps to achieve the blurred light effect.
1. Adjust your camera mode to program. Most people have their camera setting set on Auto, which allows the camera to decide which mode is best for each shot and Auto automatically adjust the settings. The Program or Manual mode on most point and shoot camera’s is illustrated by a P. This allows you to choose the setting you need since you are trying to apply an abstract look to your photos.
2. Adjust your ISO speed. ISO is the shutter speed. The shutter speed varies directly with light. Slowing down your ISO speed gives your shot a longer exposure. With a longer exposure it takes more time for each shot, and when the time is reduced it gives the light more time to blur. If you are still confused about ISO and how it works, a great site to check out would be Digital Photography School, which helps explain a more in-depth definition about ISO. The important thing to remember is, the slower your ISO speed the blurrier the lights will appear in your shots.
3. Shake it up. Shaking your camera a little after hitting the capture button on your camera will give your image the blur effect. Once you have slowed down the shutter speed, the lights will not be able to be captured clearly. Remember that whichever way you move your camera is the direction the the lights will stream across your photo. The more dramatic move of the camera, the more abstract your photo will turn out.
An example of a shot taken with a moderately moved camera looks like this:
An even more dramatically shifted and blurred image I took looks like this:
To see more of my abstract light photos and other photos I took of Broadway at night, check out my gallery!
Behind the Lens 