How to create Long Exposures using the traditional way and using Olympus Live Time

Long Exposure Photography is the art of taking reality and twisting it. A definition I once saw and it is very much true. We use long exposures to flatten water creating tranquility, or emphasise rushing clouds creating movement and drama. It presents scenes in a way we just cannot see and therefore does twist reality.

This section explores how long exposures are created, first using the traditional method, then using Live Time and also using the in-camera Live ND.

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUE

Shooting Long Exposures is surprising easy once you know the technique, with some simple gear and a few filters. Judging the effect is somewhat harder and comes from experience. Using ND filters which reduce the amount of light entering the camera, we expose for longer, thus creating the effect of blurred motion. Long Exposures are different from slow shutter exposures although there is no specific definition. To me using anything under 5 seconds or so is a slow shutter, more and it starts to enter the realms of ‘long-exposures’

Avoid clouds moving horizontally across the frame and look for clouds moving diagonally or straight towards to create lead-ins. Sometimes clouds appear to have little movement, fix your eye on a part of the sky and count to judge how many seconds it will take to get any movement. The image below had a motionless sky but a very long exposure did produce some great movement.

Water depends on the conditions at the time, a very rough sea will be harder to flatten than a calm sea obviously. For a top down view like this from a cliff look for streaks in the water, or a bottom up image standing on a beach look for rocks with waves coming around them, a long exposure will make the rocks look like they are standing in mist.

8-25mm Pro @ 8mm f7.1 ISO200 Exp 4m30s 10 Stop ND

The traditional technique is surprising easy, but Live Time gives us the ability to see the image ‘develop’ live and make judgement. The technique is simply using an ND filter, working out the exposure with a chart or an app, putting the camera in Bulb Mode and then exposing the image for the time calculated.

GEAR (see ‘Gear’ Section)

First you need a good steady tripod and a shutter release cable or a wireless one. I prefer wired because I am not reliant on batteries.

You’ll need ND filters to create the long exposure, I use NiSi and the most popular are ND8, ND64 and ND1000. ND’s reduce the amount of light entering the lens and thus create a longer exposure. Different densities give options for different scenes and light. I would always say start with a 10 Stop. A 6 stop is still useful because it can be combined with the in camera Live ND. I usually use a graduated filter for the sky too because that is the first to over-expose.

Conventions used can be confusing. The ND factor refers to how much light is reduced to calculate the exposure:

ND8 3 Stop (equiv to closing aperture 3 stops) 8x less light than without.

ND64 6 Stop (equiv. to closing aperture 6 stops) 64x less light than without.

ND1000 10 Stop (equip. to closing aperture 10 stops) 1000x less light!

Filters are available as circular screw in or as square slot in systems. Personally I prefer the 100mm slot in system, it allows the flexibility to add graduated filters too and a polariser and they are easier to remove if I need to adjust focus. There is more information about the Nisi System on my website here: Nisi 100mm System.

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

Thankfully the days of having to work out exposure manually or with a chart are long gone, there are apps to do it for you. Photopills has a long exposure calculator and there are plenty of others too. Lee produce one limited to 3, 6 or 10 stops. I prefer the NiSi app because it’s so simple and clear and it has a timer too.

Notice there are no settings for aperture or ISO, they are irrelevant, all we need is the shutter speed. Take a note of your shutter speed WITHOUT the ND. If you have a polariser fitted take the reading with it on.

Now change the mode to BULB. Before you fit the ND set your focus either in Manual Focus or in Autofocus and then lock the focus (if you followed the setting up guide you mapped MF to a button). Not disabling AF means it will try to focus again when you fit the filter and it will hunt for focus.

Enter the shutter speed you noted, select the ND Factor and that’s it.

Here with a shutter speed of 1/20th with a 10 stop ND we get an exposure of 51 seconds.

Using your cable release press the shutter button and lock it, tap GO on the App if you don’t have an on screen camera timer and stop it when the time reaches 0. See how easy it is?

→ TIP Light can easily change over a long exposure so don’t be too surprised if the image looks a little under or over exposed. Remember to check the Histogram when you preview the image and take another shot adjusting to suit. And remember to try and get the exposure over to the right a little without blowing the highlights. The more light you can give the exposure the better the end result will be.

OLYMPUS LIVE TIME

Luckily for us we have an even easier way to shoot Long Exposure images using Live Time which produces a ‘preview’ of the image during the exposure on the screen or EVF, allowing you to see exactly how it is progressing. The huge advantage of this is obviously you have the ability to stop the exposure when you feel it is right, you are not waiting until the end as in the traditional method. You also have a Histogram to use as a guide, and all that is needed is setting a few parameters.

EXAMPLE 1

8-25mm @8mm f6.3 ISO200 Exp 170s 10 Stop ND

Playing with composition waiting for the light to soften.

Blackchurch Rock in North Devon on a bright sunny day. Getting there early is always a good idea to explore the location and investigate compositions. After checking the sunset position I already knew the rock would be in shadow at sunset as it sets behind the cliff , so I gathered a few images whilst light illuminated it which worked out great (see them on my Facebook page or Instagram). A long exposure on the water was my goal with a composition further back to accent the lead-in lines. The tide was incoming so I had to choose my position and work quickly.

The final image was taken with the 8-25mm with an aperture of f6.3. The Hyperfocal given for this is 0.68m using Photopills, and because it is 8mm I already know setting focus close is fine, it has such wide DoF. I switch to Live Time (Top Mode Dial>Bulb> Rotate Front Dial to Live Time) set the composition and set focus making sure I’m in Back Button Focus Mode with the Lever in position 2. With the tripod locked firmly and the cable release fitted all I have to do now is set Live Time parameters.

EXAMPLE 2

8-25mm @10mm f7.1 ISO200 Exp 49s 10 Stop ND

Waiting for the sunlight at Spurn Point

Spurn Point on the East Coast of Yorkshire, a wonderfully quiet loctaion. It’s a very good place for shooting long exposure minimal images using the wooden groynes. Empty skies are not usually what we desire but when the tones are right they can work very well. Focus was on the rear of the left rock giving me plenty of DoF. The only foreground I needed to considers was the rocks themselves. A 10 stop ND was used to lengthen the shutter and a 3 stop Medium Graduated ND to hold back the sky. Despite being only 49 seconds I used Live Time set on 4 seconds to make sure I have enough ‘headroom’.

USING LIVE TIME

Using Live Time makes Long Exposure images even easier. The advantage is you are not set to a fixed exposure length and you can stop it when you feel it is correct. With the traditional method if it isn’t correct adjustments are needed and the image retaken. Set the top Mode Dial to Bulb (B) and turn the front dial to Live Time. There are two other settings, Live Composite which is entirely different and allows images to be taken which add new light such as for car trails or star trails, and Live Bulb. Live Bulb is the same as Live Time but requires the shutter to be pressed (via a cable obviously) and held for the duration of the shot, where in Live Time the shutter is pressed to start and pressed to stop.

A couple of things to check first in Menu (Gear) Custom Settings>E2>Bulb/Time Monitor> (in Live Time get to this quickly by pressing Menu twice). Bulb/Time Monitor is set to -7 brightness by default to save battery consumption but it is too dark, change it to 0.

Back in Live Time frame your composition, set and lock focus and set aperture, in fact everything as you would normally. Then press Menu to access the main Live Time Screen. This is where we set the time that will help the length of the exposure and it is simple to understand.

Some simple multiplication is needed, and the camera shows a chart as a guide:

→ TIP You may have noticed in the Menu (Custom Settings>E2>) Live Bulb and I said leave Off. Live Bulb is similar to Live Time but differs in one way, Live Bulb requires a shutter cable release to be pressed and held for the duration of the exposure, Live Time is a press to start, and press to stop. Live Time is better so we can ignore Live Bulb. Bulb is used for full manual exposures over 60 seconds.

UNDERSTANDING THE SCREEN

ISO L80 up to 400 24 Times. This means the camera will show up to 24 previews of the exposure at the interval we set at the top. Therefore 2×24=48. Set it to 4 seconds and 4×24=96 and so on. It can be set from 0.5s up to 60s. The number of previews depends on the ISO. As ISO increases the sensor is working harder and producing previews is additional strain causing heat. Heat produces noise so the preview availability is reduced. Olympus have sensibly reduced the number of previews at higher ISO because of sensor heat and the noise that is generated. At ISO 1600 we only get 9 previews because of Noise.

WE NEED A CEILING

The settings you choose are NOT the full exposure, it is simply the number of previews that will be available over the duration of time given by the calculation. The exposure carries on until you press the shutter to end it. If it was set at 4 seconds we have x24 previews that will be presented over 96 seconds every 4 seconds (4×24=96). After 96 seconds the camera is still exposing and will until you stop it, but you no longer see previews; you have no idea how the image will look. Therefore this is the ‘ceiling’ as I refer to it. All we have to do is make sure we set a ‘ceiling’ over the length of the exposure we need to give us some ‘headroom’. In other words we want to see the progress previews without running out, or we will be guessing.

How do you find the ceiling?

You can use the Exposure Calculator App. In Aperture Priority (or M but make sure the exposure is correct) with no ND fitted note the meter reading and work it out. In the App just set the shutter speed you noted, set the ND factor and it will tell you the exposure length.

Or guess. It isn’t as hard as it sounds. In Aperture Priority take a reading with the filter fitted. If the shutter flashes ’60’ as a warning it is out of the exposure range (Olympus max shutter is 60s) and you therefore know it is over 60s. If you get a reading of say 40 seconds and your’e using ISO 200 you will have 24 previews available. 2×24=48s is a little close to 40, so set 4 (x24=96s). This gives plenty of head-room, or a high enough ceiling not to run out of previews.

If the meter reading was over 60s, how much more will it be? Guess or use the App. Setting 8×24=192 which may or may not be enough. Running Live Time for around half the exposure will soon tell you if it seems about right, although working it out with the App will obviously be more accurate. It sounds complicated but you will soon be able to make educated guesses.

There is also a Histogram to show the exposure of the image, a timer, and a frame counter, 1 of 24, 2 of 24 etc. At 24/24 previews will stop and the exposure continues unless you stop it.

→ TIP If you have guessed the settings and know it will be quite a long exposure, maybe a few minutes, you do not have to wait for all 24 previews. Watch the histogram, as the image builds on screen at 50% does it still look like you seriously underestimated it? Quit it and adjust settings. Similarly you’ve ran an exposure for a period of time, have only a few previews left and think it could have needed just a little more, 10, 20 seconds more, let it run and then stop it. Experience will help after a few attempts.

The point of Live Time is being able to see the exposure and stop it when it suits you, making it more accurate than the traditional way. With the traditional way using Bulb Mode if you’re wrong you’re wrong and you have to start over. However if an exposure is only a few seconds there is little point using Live Time. If the camera can meter through the filter your’e using and exposure is way under 60s you probably don’t need to use Live Time. Also, do not set the seconds too low, you will run out of previews, and do not set them too high. If your exposure is around 60s and you set preview to 30s your’e hardly making benefit of the previews.

LIVE TIME IN ACTION

Once your image is set up and Live Time settings are set, press the shutter remote button. In Live Time you do not need to lock it, press to start and press to end the exposure. In Live Bulb you would need to lock the shutter release button. The rear screen or the EVF depending what you use (you cannot swap between them during the exposure) will show the image gradually building up, along with an elapsed timer and the number of previews elapsed. All you have to do it end the exposure when it is properly exposed. A Histogram will also help to make a judgement.

LIVE ND

Exactly as the name suggests the EM1-MK3 has Live ND’s built in which is a fantastic feature, which are from 1 to 5 stops. These are one of the Computational Modes and the camera produces a number of images based on the ND factor chosen and blends them together to produce a final RAW and/or Jpeg depending on your settings. Live ND is only available in Shutter Priority or Manual Modes and cannot be used in conjunction with other computational modes such as Live Time or High Res.

If you followed the Set Up Sections you may have mapped Live ND to a button and even saved a Custom Mode for it. Alternatively save it in My Menu. Mapping to a button makes it much more accessible which is why I have a Custom Mode set for M with Live ND mapped to AEL. In Manual we do not need AEL at all. Press the button and turn the front dial to change the ND factor, or access it from the menu. In the menu makes sure LV Simulation is On to see the effect of the ND.

Menu Shooting Menu 2>Live ND>On>LV Simulation On

From the Menu select Live ND Shooting and select the ND Factor required and ensure LV Simulation is on. One the screen shot showing how to select the ND using a button we can see how much easier it is, it’s faster and more convenient to see the Live screen.

Selecting ND from button, press/hold button and turn front dial

Ensure LV Simulation is On. When mapping to a button, press/hold and turn the front dial to select the desired ND. The equivalent number of ‘stops’ difference is show in brackets. When LV Simulation is active the screen updates to show the effect.

Live ND Off

With no ND active the shutter speed is 1 second. I can pretty much ignore the histogram, because it shows mostly darks which is obvious from the scene. Notice here the camera mode is C3 which is a Custom Mode I use for Manual and also for Live ND mapped to a button.

Live ND On

With ND8 (3 Stops) the shutter speed is now 8s and water motion is completely blurred. The background is very dark and I would take another image over exposing a little for the shadows if I feel opening them in post processing will introduce too much noise.

When LV Simulation is active it turns the live view into almost slow motion to emulate the final image which is very useful. The downside is changing composition because the screen lags so much. With Live ND applied to a button just switch it off, recompose and switch it on again.

Live ND does work very well, it has an advantage of not needing external ND filters which you can even ‘stack’ to extend the available range, but there are a few constraints and things to note, see below.

EM1-MK3, 12-100mm @30mm, ND4 @ 4 Seconds, f7.1 (polariser also used).

The processed image from Lightroom. The ‘keeper’ image was using ND4 to reduce the length of the exposure and bring back a little more detail. Altering the aperture will also impact the shutter speed, in this image the depth of field is very narrow and I could have easily used a wider aperture, but I was happy with the result. Experiment with the shutter speed, sometimes just a polariser is enough, other times you may want really soft water for artistic effect, it is all personal preference. Shadows in the background opened nicely without needing the additional image I took. Water can be challenging especially on a sunny day when highlights are impossible to control, I tend to favour overcast days for images like this, and I have a preference for excluding skies, if there is one, to make a scene more intimate.

NOTE

Live ND is limited to Manual or Shutter Priority and it is limited to a longest shutter of 60 seconds and high ISO of 800, although you probably wouldn’t want to use a high ISO anyway. You can add additional external filters but bear in mind the longest shutter speed of 60s limit. It is useful to be able to use a physical 6 stop ND and extend it by using 1 or 2 stop Live ND, or a physical 3 stop ND and extend it. I find it very useful for waterfalls when I only want to use 1 or two stops.

Understanding is key to learning, why is it limited to 60s? All cameras have a longest shutter they can meter and calculate exposure for, most are 30s, Olympus is 60s. Over this limit and we would traditionally have to use Bulb, working out exposure ourselves, and since the camera cannot know the exposure it cannot calculate anything to emulate. To access the traditional Bulb mode you would just switch Live Bulb off, however this cannot be combined with Live ND, nor can Live Time or High Res as there are also computational modes. Maybe one day, but right now it’s like trying to mash a potato and chip it for fries at the same time.

ISO LOW is best avoided as dynamic range is reduced significantly both on the EM-1 Mk3 and the OM-1. LOW settings are computational and whilst sometimes useful to slow shutter speeds you may notice highlight blow out easier than in a native ISO such as 200. A waterfall for example at the bottom where the water enters the river can quickly over-expose. Be aware of this and be prepared to take another frame under-exposing a little to blend in if necessary.

8-25mm Pro @8mm f7.1 ISO200 Exp 40s Live ND32 (5 Stops)

Top: Using Live ND to slow the sea movement down at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire.

Next Image: Surf at Spurn Point. Don’t be afraid to try Live ND hand held, with Olympus Stabilisation it be be rewarding and liberating.

12-100mm Pro @12mm f6.3 ISO200 Exp 2s Live ND8 (3 Stops)

12-100 Pro @38mm f7.1 ISO200 Exp 40s Live ND16 (4 Stops)

POLARISERS

A Polariser is probably one of the most essential filters any landscape photographer really should have. By removing polarised light reflections are reduced and the natural saturation of colour is revealed. They also reduce light entering the lens by a factor of around 1.5 stops which allows shutters to be slowed for creative uses.

Some scenes will require nothing more than a polariser to slow the shutter speed down. You do NOT have to remove a polariser when using an app to calculate exposure because the reading you took has already accounted for the reduction in light. If you take a reading without a polariser and fit it along with an ND your calculation will be incorrect unless you factor in the polariser too. You can determine a polariser’s ND factor by taking meter readings with and without, however most long exposure calculators do not include 1/2 stops for example, meaning you’d have to compensate yourself. It’s far easier just to take the reading with the polariser on.

8-25 Pro @10mm f8 ISO200 Exp 1.3s Circular Polariser

BUACHAILLE ETIVE MOR

The classic waterfall in front of the ‘Buckle’. Light was getting low as sunset approached and shutter speed is easily affected. My preference for waterfalls is around 1/3rd second, never more than 1 second. There are situations when all you will need is a polariser and nothing more.

I like to soften the water flow but not turn it completely soft, although this can work well in some situations. See the black and white image below of the ‘Wailing Widow’ waterfall. Black and white and very soft water suited the mood I wanted to convey.

EXAMPLES

7-14 Pro @ 7mm ISO200 f7.1 50s Exp 10 Stop ND

12-40 Pro @20mm f6.3 ISO200 60s Exp 6 Stop ND

8-25 Pro @10mm f6.3 ISO200 1/6s Exp Live ND 2 Stop

12-100 Pro @17mm ISO200 f8 1/3s

12-100 Pro @15mm f7.1 ISO200 230s Exp 10 stop ND

8-25 Pro @12mm f6.3 ISO200 80s Exp 10 Stop ND

8-25 Pro @8mm f6.3 ISO200 1/4s Exp Live ND4 2 Stop

CONCLUSION

You should feel more comfortable with using Live Time for long exposure images and using the in camera Live ND’s. In the next section we will explore what to do when the dynamic range of a scene is challenging, and how to bracket exposures.