“we’re reaching for death
on the end of a candle
we’re trying for something
that’s already found us”
― jim morrison
My second response to “Tech of the month: Long Exposure” hosted by the peerless perelincolors and lucile de godoy.
I set out with high hopes for this shoot.
However, I never was a Boy Scout, and so, sadly, I was not as well prepared as I should have been.
I took the metro from Weststation to Centraal. Lugging my camera bag and my tripod, full of expectation.
I fought through the crowds of tourists, flower fanciers and all those musical hipsters, to reach the Grote Markt, set up my tripod, hoping not to be moved on by the Politie fearing I was assembling a weapon of presumed mass destruction.
I found a suitable spot, fiddled with my settings, and found a rhythm.
And then, my battery expired.
So, I share these photos as a humble experiment, in anticipation of another opportunity.
*shot with nikon d700, nikkor 16-35mm f/4 lens, lightcraft workshop nd500 filter, manual setting, exposed at ‘bulb’ with Nikon MC-36 remote, should have ordered a new battery charger…*
(also submitted to lucile’s photo 101 rehab)
belgianstreets 
Oh no, your battery expired! I can’t believe this happened! I had once the same situation but had forgotten to insert a a card in the camera. So, what a frustration! Look at the bright side. Go out again because night shots are awesome too. Read Nalinki’s post on zooming with available lights in the Photo rehab and go there shooting. You will love it!
And I loved these shots too.
Cheer up!
🙂
Thank you Lucile, all cheered up now! My Nikon charger has died, so I was using the grip with 8 AA batteries inside, before I left I checked the display and it told me all was good….it wasn’t – need to buy a new charger… 🙂 Will check out Nalinki’s post, and I will definitely try this again, it was fun!
It’s such a disappointment when things like that happen. Anyways, you’re hoff to go and I’m looking forward to seeing what you will come up with.
Will do my best, perhaps this weekend…
‘all those musical hipsters’–I love that phrase. If you hadn’t told me, I would still have said to you, “Andy, I don’t know how you did it, but these are amazing.”
Thank you Lois, it was a blast trying this one and I got a lot of people acting the fool in front of the camera, little did they know they would simply become ghosts… 😉
These are pretty cool photos! Especially so since you apparently took them with no battery…
Thank you Mara, apparently ghosts come with batteries not included 😉
The shots that you did get were still worth the trip. Also, you learned a valuable lesson, that we all learn at one time, about checking the equipment before heading out 😀
Thank you Norm, the galling thing on this occasion was that I thought I had checked – see my reply to Lucile… hey ho 🙂
I hate when that happens! I always carry a second battery but I still sometimes fail to keep that one charged. I like the unusual view of the square!
Thank you, I will return for another go with as many batteries as I can pack in my bag! 😉
nice!
memories of
chocolate waffle 🙂
The best kind! Thank you 🙂
We’ve all been there. I’ve also forgotten to put the memory card back in after downloading. Now I carry spares of both and try to remember to keep the second battery charged!
Regardless, the images are so very cool. Love the ghostly appearance of the people and the tone of the images is lovely.
Thank you Desley (see other comments about the b***** batteries) can’t wait to give it another shot!
LOL
aww, but these photos are brilliant… it’s good you still took them before your battery ran out 🙂 and it’s still better than forgetting the battery on the charger at home, which I do all the time 🙂
what is the bulb mode for, Andy? in all honesty, I’ve never used it nor have tried to educate myself about it (blush)
Oh wow thank you Alex, bulb is just the setting you use when you want to leave the shutter open for a time you select and control, no idea why the word bulb is used…
If you hadn’t have mentioned the camera incident, I would’ve said that this day was a complete success! I like this series of images!
Thanks Marina, it was a lot of fun!
I’ve always loved the American Prayer.