Night Photography using traditional 35mm film based cameras

If you already own a 35mm camera with a 'bulb' or 'B' time exposure setting (maybe even a 'T' setting on older models) and a tripod you already have the basic equipment for success. If you have a modern, electronic camera you can still use this to get started but you may find that your batteries do not last very long as long exposures and lower night time temperatures may affect their performance. Older, clockwork driven cameras are ideal for working at night and can often be bought secondhand at reasonable prices. Examples of 35mm cameras that I have personally used with complete satisfaction include the Olympus OM-1, OM-2, OM-2 Spot Program, Pentax K1000, LX, MX, ME Super and Nikon FM2n, but I am sure there are many other makes and models that will give excellent service so the choice of kit is a personal one.

I have tried using medium format cameras for night work but find the necessarily slower lenses and reduced depth of focus they produce unsatisfactory. However I should say that this may well be a by-product of my own style and subject matter. If you are working in brighter conditions than I do you can stop your medium format lens down for better depth of field, just don't expect the stars to show well in your photo! In brief, then, I would recommend first experimenting with 35mm kit and only investing in much more expensive medium format equipment if you are sure it will do what you want.

To start, load your camera with transparency (slide) film in the range 100-400 ISO, I don't recommend print film as you may find the processing lab will spoil your prints by automatically 'correcting' the interesting night time colours so that your work looks like it was taken in the day. Place the camera on a tripod (to hold it steady) and thread a locking cable release into the shutter button (to enable long time exposures to be made on the 'B' setting). Find the scene you want to photograph and compose the image you want to make.

As for the exposure to give, night exposures (i.e. those not made in the direct glare of electric light) are really the result of experiment and experience as light meters (whether in-camera or separate hand held professional models) cannot cope with truly low light and the way film sensitivity changes in long exposures (reciprocity failure). The key here is, at least to begin with, to stick exclusively with one film you find works well with your type of images and to make notes of the exposure times and lens apertures used to make each photograph. When the film returns from being processed, look at the results and make a note of which exposures worked and which did not. The next time you use that film at night you will already have a better understanding of how it will react to a particular scene and you will soon become good at estimating the best exposure. To start with, if you set your lens to, say, f4 and give a wide variety of exposure times you will have a good basis for learning about your film. For my own work, I would say I often give a series of exposures of 2, 5 and 10 minutes at f4 but this can vary widely depending on the effect I want, for example if I want to show stars as points I would give a much shorter exposure with a very wide aperture. Over time, you will work out the best technique and film for what you want to say in your picture and make your work truly personal.

As a final footnote, I find levelling a camera in the dark difficult as it is often hard to see the edges of the viewfinder frame with any distinctness. I really recommend buying a hot shoe mounted spirit level which will allow you to get perfect levels very easily.