I continue to answer your most popular questions about night photography. I’ll answer what you’ve asked most recently. This time? Filters, ghosts, and light painting.
Do bear in mind that I am answering these questions from the perspective of a night photographer who largely photographs on or near a full moon. While I do high-ISO Milky Way photography, it’s not my primary form of night photography.
I answered some of your night photography questions previously here.
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Asking if I’ve seen a ghost is one of the most common questions I am asked about my night photography. I think that people who photograph abandoned locations are probably asked about this more often than someone who only does deep sky or nightscapes.
No, I have never seen a ghost. I might be interested in photographing one if I can avoid the ectoplasmic goo (just kidding). It would be interesting to see whether it would register in my photos.
I have done night photography in some very creepy, unsettling locations. In these locations, I have felt uneasy. But actually seeing a ghost? No.
Why do use a handheld light instead of stands to light your subjects?
Handheld lights are extremely flexible. I have complete control over where I want to shine the light. I also have control over the color and duration. But perhaps the greatest reason is that I can be very flexible in what angles I light paint, moving the light around subtly to achieve the exact look that I want. I can also block part of the light with my arm or with light modifiers swiftly and easily.
Handheld lights are also nice and small. They fit in my pocket, taking up very little space.
They are considerably faster to use. I can light paint a subject in a fraction of the time it takes someone to set up stands with mounted LED panels. I can also use one light for numerous angles instead of having to set up a stand for each angle.
Do you use filters for night photography?
I have been asked this question numerous times. Most of the time, the person asking does not specify what kind of filters.
Regardless, the answer is that I use no filters for night photography.
UV filters
UV filters were popular when most people photographed with 35mm film. In bright sunlight, photographs sometimes had a slightly blue cast or were washed out. This is no longer an issue with digital cameras.
However, some people like to use UV filters for protection. This is often the topic of hot debate. Do UV filters actually offer much protection? If they shatter, they could scratch the glass. I’d like to think that they do offer some level of protection. Regardless, I don’t like that they introduce another chance for lens flares.
If I were to use a UV filter, I would get the highest quality filter possible. After all, why purchase a beautiful, sharp lens costing hundreds of dollars and then stuff a cheap UV filter in the front?
Light pollution filters
Irix, Haida, Hoya, NiSi, and other lens filter manufacturers make light pollution filters. I don’t use these, although I do have a mild curiosity about them. Under the right circumstances, they can produce stunning results.
However, I’ve never tried one.
There are several reasons for this. Many, if not most, light pollution filters are made for astrophotography, or deep sky photography, as some people call it. They don’t fare so well with ultra wide-angle lenses, which is what I frequently use. They can cause distortion (deformity) in the shapes of the stars.
Another reason is that many light pollution filters are created to combat the orange light from sodium vapor lights. With many places adopting LED lights, this is no longer so much of an issue. This results in you blocking some of the light of the Milky Way without the advantage of blocking light pollution nearly as much. I also do a lot of light painting, and I don’t really want the color of my light painting to be altered.
And finally, as you might guess, light pollution filters are reducing the amount of light entering your lens.
There are some good reasons for using light pollution filters. They’re just not something that interests me much.
Neutral density filters
Interestingly, people ask if I use a neutral density filter most often.
A neutral density filter is sort of like sunglasses for your lens. They reduce the amount of light coming into the lens.
And just like you are unlikely to wear sunglasses at night, I suppose the reason for not using one is similar. If I want to reduce the amount of light entering the lens, I could either reduce the length of the exposure or use a smaller aperture.
I do use neutral density filters occasionally during the day. However, I usually do this for a certain kind of effect, such as getting whooshing clouds or making water movement from the ocean or waterfalls more dreamy and silky. But even for this purpose, I am often likely to reach for a circular polarizing filter instead, as I have the bonus of having control over reflections as well as reducing the amount of incoming light.
