Late night color
This lighted centerpiece stands at the east entrance to The Dalles downtown area. Mark B. Gibson photo
This photograph was taken at night with the camera mounted on a tripod. The building in the background is an old flour mill once powered by an Edison electric motor with electricity generated at White River Falls near the Deschutes River. The Old Mill Winery is now located at the ground floor level of the mill.
To get the lights to show realistic, saturated color against a near black background, exposure was reduced from that recommended by the meter. Lens was stopped down for increased depth of field. The shutter was released using a self timer, to reduce the potential for vibration during the resulting long exposure.
This same setup works well for Christmas lights as well. IF you don’t have a tripod, you can set the camera on a stable surface and trigger it with the self timer. I generally bracket around the reduced exposure, to make sure I capture the lights as I intend.
