PLAY WITH TRAFFIC

James Paterson shows you how to capture images that turn passing vehicles into glorious streaks of colour

- James Paterson

30 MINS

We photographers have a bit of a love/hate relationship with movement. Sometimes it’s a real pain, and we strive to keep it to a minimum, while at other times we want to celebrate it in all its blurry glory. The motion of traffic at night definitely falls into the latter category. By using a long exposure in the low evening light, the smooth motion of vehicle lights creates wonderful streaks of colour through the frame.

This is one of those camera skills that really reveals the magic of photography, and the best part is that it’s easy – anyone with a camera and tripod can do it. As such, it’s a great way to get started with long-exposure photography, as there’s no need for extra filters or even a cable release.

The biggest challenge is finding an interesting composition for your shot. Winding roads and mountainous scenery work perfectly, but why not try a multi-lane motorway, a city street, or a knotty junction? Another challenge is timing – we want a decent array of lights, but at night especially, traffic can be rather sparse. The solution? Shoot several frames, then combine them using simple editing skills, as we’ll explain here.

1 GET SET UP

Mount your camera on a tripod, and find a viewpoint where the winding road fills the foreground of the frame and then recedes into the distance, as this will make for more interesting trails than, say, a side-on view. Try a low-down or high-up view, and frame loosely to account for different heights of vehicle.