My first attempt at Street Photos at night

[Jeff A]

I’ve been asked, “What kind of photos do you like to shoot?” I frankly don’t know how to answer that question, but I have wanted to do some street photography for some time, but I have concerns in this day and age as well as concerns over my age. I’m looking at 80 in the Spring. Aside from the fact that we don’t have the ability to travel nearly as much as we would like, we here in the U.S. are seeing far too many problems with crime and walking around with expensive camera gear could prove to be a dangerous proposition.

Throwing caution to the wind, last night I asked my wife to drive me around Sacramento and Old Town Sacramento to see what I might be able to shoot. I thought I could jump out of the car and shoot a shot or two and then jump back into the vehicle.

There were a lot of firsts in doing this for me. A dedicated Street Shoot, and at night as well. I found out that it was a lot of fun for me. I also got a good dose of Photographic education, of which is if you are going to shoot hand-held at night, you better have a good noise reduction software program for Post Processing. I have Topaz DeNoise as well as DxO Labs PureRAW 2. It took me awhile to figure it out but if you shoot under these conditions you will have to de noise every shot. I used De Noise AI, then I would try the DxO product. Ultimately I found that they are both good products so I just settled on Topaz De Noise because it seemed to be a little easier to interface with my Workflow.

I posted an Album to Flickr if you would like to see last nights photos. Here is the Flickr Link: Street photos at night The photos in the Album show photos before and after Post Processing.

For those of you who care not to see the whole Album, I will attach a couple of photos here.

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 20mm F1.8 G
• 20.0 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 1250

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 20mm F1.8 G
• 20.0 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 2500

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 20mm F1.8 G
• 20.0 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 125

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 20mm F1.8 G
• 20.0 mm
• ƒ/2
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 3200

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 20mm F1.8 G
• 20.0 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 320

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Jeff, I would think with that camera you could definitely have leaned into higher ISOs?
kudos to you for venturing out and giving the camera some work.

 

[Jeff A]

Jeff, I would think with that camera you could definitely have leaned into higher ISOs?
kudos to you for venturing out and giving the camera some work.

My cameras are set to Auto ISO, minimum shutter speed. The camera chooses the ISO and also the shutter speed, which in this case was set to a minimum of 1/60. On one of the photos the ISO was 25,000. The higher the ISO, the more the noise. I did learn on this shoot if your shooting under the conditions I had, you will have noise at pretty much all of the ISO settings, which is the reason I have two popular programs to get rid of noise. Thanks for your reply Chris.

 

[Brownie]

My cameras are set to Auto ISO, minimum shutter speed. The camera chooses the ISO and also the shutter speed, which in this case was set to a minimum of 1/60. On one of the photos the ISO was 25,000. The higher the ISO, the more the noise. I did learn on this shoot if your shooting under the conditions I had, you will have noise at pretty much all of the ISO settings, which is the reason I have two popular programs to get rid of noise. Thanks for your reply Chris.

There's more to it than letting the camera run. You can reduce noise by slightly overexposing, or expose to the right (ETTR) Then in post you pull it back which actually reduces the amount of visible noise.

With a 20mm lens you should be able to shoot at 1/20 easily, and counting on IBIS 1/10 or even 1/5 without a problem. Shooting 1/15 would've gained you two stops. The longer shutter speed lets you reduce ISO and ETTR, resulting in less noise. Since all of your shots are of static subjects, longer shutter speeds are fine.

Nice shots, I especially like the capitol.

 

[Clide]

Jeff, very nice work. I hear you about venturing out at night for a shoot. No matter what time of day I find myself surveying the area I am in before I get out of the car. Tim, thanks for your comments about ETTR. I just started to study that concept.

 

[spudhead]

There's more to it than letting the camera run. You can reduce noise by slightly overexposing, or expose to the right (ETTR) Then in post you pull it back which actually reduces the amount of visible noise.

With a 20mm lens you should be able to shoot at 1/20 easily, and counting on IBIS 1/10 or even 1/5 without a problem. Shooting 1/15 would've gained you two stops. The longer shutter speed lets you reduce ISO and ETTR, resulting in less noise. Since all of your shots are of static subjects, longer shutter speeds are fine.

Nice shots, I especially like the capitol.

Good comments Tim, it's not that difficult kill the noise if the camera is in full manual

 

[-ST-]

I’ve been asked, “What kind of photos do you like to shoot?” I frankly don’t know how to answer that question, but I have wanted to do some street photography for some time, but I have concerns in this day and age as well as concerns over my age. I’m looking at 80 in the Spring. Aside from the fact that we don’t have the ability to travel nearly as much as we would like, we here in the U.S. are seeing far too many problems with crime and walking around with expensive camera gear could prove to be a dangerous proposition.

Throwing caution to the wind, last night I asked my wife to drive me around Sacramento and Old Town Sacramento to see what I might be able to shoot. I thought I could jump out of the car and shoot a shot or two and then jump back into the vehicle.

There were a lot of firsts in doing this for me. A dedicated Street Shoot, and at night as well. I found out that it was a lot of fun for me. I also got a good dose of Photographic education, of which is if you are going to shoot hand-held at night, you better have a good noise reduction software program for Post Processing. I have Topaz DeNoise as well as DxO Labs PureRAW 2. It took me awhile to figure it out but if you shoot under these conditions you will have to de noise every shot. I used De Noise AI, then I would try the DxO product. Ultimately I found that they are both good products so I just settled on Topaz De Noise because it seemed to be a little easier to interface with my Workflow.

I posted an Album to Flickr if you would like to see last nights photos. Here is the Flickr Link: Street photos at night The photos in the Album show photos before and after Post Processing.

For those of you who care not to see the whole Album, I will attach a couple of photos here.
View attachment 28135View attachment 28136View attachment 28137View attachment 28138View attachment 28139

Hi, Jeff.
I just found your thread and enjoyed these images.
Good for you - getting out there to capture these shots.

My cameras are set to Auto ISO, minimum shutter speed. The camera chooses the ISO and also the shutter speed, which in this case was set to a minimum of 1/60. On one of the photos the ISO was 25,000. The higher the ISO, the more the noise. I did learn on this shoot if your shooting under the conditions I had, you will have noise at pretty much all of the ISO settings, which is the reason I have two popular programs to get rid of noise. Thanks for your reply Chris.

Check out this video about ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed. You can do this with your A7IV, and it should let you shoot at slower shutter speeds without having to go full manual.

ISO Auto Min. SS - Sony's Best Custom Setting

See why I think the ISO AUTO Minimum Shutter Speed or 'ISO Auto Min. SS' is Sony Alpha's most useful custom setting. I discuss why shooting in Aperture prior...

youtu.be

 

[Jeff A]

Hi, Jeff.
I just found your thread and enjoyed these images.
Good for you - getting out there to capture these shots.


Check out this video about ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed. You can do this with your A7IV, and it should let you shoot at slower shutter speeds without having to go full manual.

ISO Auto Min. SS - Sony's Best Custom Setting

See why I think the ISO AUTO Minimum Shutter Speed or 'ISO Auto Min. SS' is Sony Alpha's most useful custom setting. I discuss why shooting in Aperture prior...

youtu.be

ST, I follow the recommendations of Mark Galer nearly all of the time, and have for some time. In as much as this was my first such outing, I used 1/60 because of MY PERSONAL STABILITY OR LACK THERE OF. I didn't want to go for a low number and not have sharp photos. I can use De Noise, but I'm pretty sure they don't have a program called De Shake. Since I shot that series, through testing I have determined that my own personal minimum is 1/30. When you're pushing age 80, you have to make adjustments, but my most important factor is to have very sharp photos. On top of everything else, I'm pretty much a new shooter. Thanks for looking and for your recommendations.

 

[-ST-]

ST, I follow the recommendations of Mark Galer nearly all of the time, and have for some time. In as much as this was my first such outing, I used 1/60 because of MY PERSONAL STABILITY OR LACK THERE OF. I didn't want to go for a low number and not have sharp photos. I can use De Noise, but I'm pretty sure they don't have a program called De Shake. Since I shot that series, through testing I have determined that my own personal minimum is 1/30. When you're pushing age 80, you have to make adjustments, but my most important factor is to have very sharp photos. On top of everything else, I'm pretty much a new shooter. Thanks for looking and for your recommendations.

I'm still new to all of this. I appreciate what you've said about personal stability.

Last fall, when I got my A7IV and 24-105 f4 my routine was to start my walks on the beach with it at around 4:30 am (at least 2-2.5 hours before sunrise). This happens to be my favourite time to walk. And it gives me plenty of time to wander in relative peace. Anyway, it's pretty dark, and I've done a lot of experimenting with landscapes in the dark and wildlife caught in the light of my headlamp. I found out a lot about (my) shake and minimum shutter speed. I also found out more than I wanted to know about tripping and falling down with a camera. Fortunately, neither the camera nor lens ever made contact with the ground. But I've got some lovely reminders of what I did to protect them.

The 24-105 is a great walking-around lens, and even with its OSS, it's hard to hand-hold at slow speeds. I bet your FE 20mm F1.8 G is a lot easier to manage. It looks like a wonderful lens.

I'll look forward to more of your photos.

 

[Jeff A]

I'm still new to all of this. I appreciate what you've said about personal stability.
When I got my A7IV and 24-105 f4, I started my walks with it around 4:30 am (at least 2-2.5 hours before sunrise). This happens to be my favourite time to walk. And it gives me plenty of time to wander in relative peace. Anyway, it's pretty dark, and I've done a lot of experimenting with landscapes in the dark and wildlife caught in the light of my headlamp. I found out a lot about (my) shake and minimum shutter speed. I also found out more than I wanted to know about tripping and falling down with a camera. Fortunately, neither the camera nor lens ever made contact with the ground. But I've got some lovely reminders of what I did to protect them.

The 24-105 is a great walking-around lens, and even with its OSS, it's hard to hand-hold at slow speeds. I bet your FE 20mm F1.8 G is a lot easier to manage. It looks like a wonderful lens.

I'll look forward to more of your photos.

Thank you. I look forward to more photos as well. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) everything is going to slow down a bit for me because I'm doing a Total Hip Replacement next Wednesday. Because of the Pandemic and a host of other things, a high shutter count is something I'm not concerned with.

 

[-ST-]

Thank you. I look forward to more photos as well. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) everything is going to slow down a bit for me because I'm doing a Total Hip Replacement next Wednesday. Because of the Pandemic and a host of other things, a high shutter count is something I'm not concerned with.

Best wishes for success with the surgery and a speedy recovery. Nice to get to know you a bit.

 

[Jeff A]

Best wishes for success with the surgery and a speedy recovery. Nice to get to know you a bit.

Nice to know you as well. Also, the 24-105 is my self designated "Walk Around" lens as well. I have settled in to be a Prime lens guy as you can see by my equipment list in my signature. The 24-105 earned it's spot when I had a day trip to the San Juan Islands with the family. You can see my results from San Juan Island here. BTW ST, where in Canada are you?

 

[-ST-]

Nice to know you as well. Also, the 24-105 is my self designated "Walk Around" lens as well. I have settled in to be a Prime lens guy as you can see by my equipment list in my signature. The 24-105 earned it's spot when I had a day trip to the San Juan Islands with the family. You can see my results from San Juan Island here. BTW ST, where in Canada are you?

Thanks for the link to your San Juan album. I'll check that out.
I'm right on the West Coast, barely north of the border.

When you cross the border from Washington state, the I5 becomes Highway 99 - and that's only a 10-minute drive from here.

 

[Jeff A]

Thanks for the link to your San Juan album. I'll check that out.
I'm right on the West Coast, barely north of the border.

When you cross the border from Washington state, the I5 becomes Highway 99 - and that's only a 10-minute drive from here.

I have flown into Abbotsford a few times. Anywhere near there?

 

[-ST-]

I have flown into Abbotsford a few times. Anywhere near there?

About 25 miles east of here. Don't get there very often.

 

[evacguy]

I’ve been asked, “What kind of photos do you like to shoot?” I frankly don’t know how to answer that question, but I have wanted to do some street photography for some time, but I have concerns in this day and age as well as concerns over my age. I’m looking at 80 in the Spring. Aside from the fact that we don’t have the ability to travel nearly as much as we would like, we here in the U.S. are seeing far too many problems with crime and walking around with expensive camera gear could prove to be a dangerous proposition.

Throwing caution to the wind, last night I asked my wife to drive me around Sacramento and Old Town Sacramento to see what I might be able to shoot. I thought I could jump out of the car and shoot a shot or two and then jump back into the vehicle.

There were a lot of firsts in doing this for me. A dedicated Street Shoot, and at night as well. I found out that it was a lot of fun for me. I also got a good dose of Photographic education, of which is if you are going to shoot hand-held at night, you better have a good noise reduction software program for Post Processing. I have Topaz DeNoise as well as DxO Labs PureRAW 2. It took me awhile to figure it out but if you shoot under these conditions you will have to de noise every shot. I used De Noise AI, then I would try the DxO product. Ultimately I found that they are both good products so I just settled on Topaz De Noise because it seemed to be a little easier to interface with my Workflow.

I posted an Album to Flickr if you would like to see last nights photos. Here is the Flickr Link: Street photos at night The photos in the Album show photos before and after Post Processing.

For those of you who care not to see the whole Album, I will attach a couple of photos here.
View attachment 28135View attachment 28136View attachment 28137View attachment 28138View attachment 28139

Hey Jeff, I really like your night shots, well done mate. Must have been pretty late as there seems to be no one about? Do you know what the cherry pickers were doing outside the Capitol Building?

I was very interested to see what your de noise software does. I went to see your pics on Flickr, but they seem to be before any post and after post. I'm new to all of this, so not quite sure of the process. What is the work flow you use? Do you post process as best you can in something like LR/PS and then use the de noise software to reduce the noise, or does the de noise software replace the need to do any post in LR/PS? I'd be interested in seeing, for example your Capitol Building, 'best out of LR/PS' Vs 'best out of LR/PS' + 'best out of de noise' OR if that is not the work flow, 'best out of LR/PS' Vs 'best out of de noise'. Hope all goes well with the hip replacement. Keep shooting.

 

[Jeff A]

Hey Jeff, I really like your night shots, well done mate. Must have been pretty late as there seems to be no one about? Do you know what the cherry pickers were doing outside the Capitol Building?

I was very interested to see what your de noise software does. I went to see your pics on Flickr, but they seem to be before any post and after post. I'm new to all of this, so not quite sure of the process. What is the work flow you use? Do you post process as best you can in something like LR/PS and then use the de noise software to reduce the noise, or does the de noise software replace the need to do any post in LR/PS? I'd be interested in seeing, for example your Capitol Building, 'best out of LR/PS' Vs 'best out of LR/PS' + 'best out of de noise' OR if that is not the work flow, 'best out of LR/PS' Vs 'best out of de noise'. Hope all goes well with the hip replacement. Keep shooting.

The Cherry Pickers were setting up Christmas displays.